Survivor: The Australian Outback
| Survivor seasons |
| Pulau Tiga |
| Australian Outback |
| Africa |
| Marquesas |
| Thailand |
| Amazon |
| Pearl Islands |
| All-Stars |
| Vanuatu |
Survivor: The Australian Outback was the second installment of the popular United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed during 2000 and aired from January 28, 2001 to May 3, 2001 on CBS. It was set in what the producers called the Outback of Australia. In fact, the location was only slightly remote by Australian standards (it was within three hours drive of Cairns, a small city on the coastline), and it was located in a wet, semi-tropical area rather than the arid, true outback. The two initial tribes were Kucha and Ogakor.
Fourteen episodes aired weekly. The elimination of contestant Michael Skupin during the sixth episode is noteworthy for being the only case where a Survivor contestant has had to be evacuated due to injuries. Skupin fainted and fell into a campfire he was starting, suffering severe burns; as a result of his evacuation, no immunity challenge or tribal council were held. The winner, Tina Wesson, was announced on May 3, 2001.
In terms of gameplay changes, this edition of Survivor was quite similar to the one that preceded it; the only true change made was that instead of the game lasting 39 days, it lasted for 42 days, meaning that the rapidfire elimination of a "Final Four" turned into a "Final Three". This series also marked the start of the Survivor tradition of revealing the results live, so that none of the castaways would have any idea who won until the finale.
Contestants
Contestants include (in order of how they finished, starting from the first one eliminated and ending with the winner):
- Debb Eaton (Kucha)
- Kel Gleason (Ogakor)
- Maralyn Hershey (Ogakor)
- Mitchell Olson (Ogakor)
- Kimmi Kappenberg (Kucha)
- Michael Skupin (Kucha)
- Jeff Varner (Kucha)
- Alicia Calaway (Kucha)
- Jerri Manthey (Ogakor)
- Nick Brown (Kucha)
- Amber Brkich (Ogakor)
- Rodger Bingham (Kucha)
- Elisabeth Filarski (Kucha)
- Keith Famie (Ogakor)
- Colby Donaldson (Ogakor) won $100,000 US
- Tina Wesson (Ogakor) won $1,000,000 US
Five of the sixteen contestants became a part of Survivor All Stars: Tina Wesson, Colby Donaldson, Amber Brkich, Jerri Manthey, and Alicia Calaway. Of them, Amber went on to win the million dollars by one vote.