Survivor at 25: The Show Shaping Our Century

From Reality TV to Real Life: The Lasting Impact of The Apprentice and Survivor

Above: Will the first quarter of the 21st century be called the Survivor era? Survivor, which launched on CBS-TV 25 years ago, brought reality TV and tribalism to America. Survivor continues today with its 48th season of competitions, but it also spawned “The Apprentice,” which brought the same challenge to business, providing Donald Trump a television vehicle that accelerated his rise to the White House. Image by Joseph Serwach using Grok.

The Survivor century? Survivor debuted 25 years ago, inspiring 600 reality shows, modern tribalism, and especially the leadership of Donald Trump.

Survivor (2000-today) and The Apprentice (2004–2016) were both Mark Burnett productions with incredibly similar styles, strategies, and tactics that have spread across U.S. culture, especially in media battles.

Watching those old reality shows today, you can see the “Trump style” and all-consuming tribalism of social media, the world watches in the latest breaking news.

On Saturday at 10 p.m., Trump stood in the White House backed up by his vice president, and secretaries of state and defense, declaring, “Iran’s key nuclear enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated.”

Historically, presidents make such announcements alone, but “the tribe” and team became all-important when Survivor swept through Western media and U.S. culture a quarter century ago.

So Trump’s top men (each considered a potential future presidential candidate, each a media voice on his own) stood behind him, not saying a word but showing strength in numbers, the hallmark of the…