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TV This Week

‘Survivor,’ still not showing its age

CBS reality show kicks off its record 28th season

By Louisa Ada Seltzer

February 26, 2014

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“Survivor” is entering rare territory with tonight’s 8 p.m. season premiere on CBS.

It’s the 28th season for the program that rewards strategic thinking, the ability to eat disgusting food, and a willingness to go without a shower for months at a time.

That ties MTV’s “The Real World” as the longest-running primetime entertainment program.

It’s just ahead of “The Simpsons” at 25 seasons, and it’s easily CBS’s longest-running non-news show.

When “Survivor” premiered in 2000, it was like nothing that had been seen on television. The reality genre was in its infancy, and the backstabbing and conniving we take for granted on unscripted shows today was totally new.

“Survivor” helped popularize reality, and every show that’s come since can be traced back to the CBS show’s success. If it had been a dud, the reality craze probably would have been delayed or perhaps never started in earnest.

And “Survivor” was huge. The first-season finale averaged 51.7 million total viewers, in the middle of August no less, and a 22.8 adults 18-49 rating, according to Nielsen.

The first 18 seasons of the show ranked among the top 20 programs in households each season.

“Survivor” has, as you’d expect, fallen off quite a bit since then in the ratings, but during the fall it won its timeslot among 18-49s, and it will probably finish second only to Fox’s “American Idol” in the hour this spring.

In the latest edition of “Survivor,” the tribes have been split into three factions, one of beautiful people, one of brainy people and one of brawny people.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	CBS	“Survivor” (R)	Season premiere. The 28th season is set on an island province of the Philippines.
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	The 13 finalists are tasked with performing a song that tells something about themselves.
9 p.m.	USA	“Psych” (D)	A backup singer from the 1960s tries to help solve a case that’s nearly 50 years old.
9:30 p.m.	ABC	“Mixology” (C)	Series premiere. The latest comedy to try and capitalize on the post-”Modern Family” timeslot.
10 p.m.	FX	“The Americans” (D)	Season premiere. Elizabeth and Philip worry after a mission doesn’t go as planned.
10:30 p.m.	TV Land	“Kirstie” (C)	Season finale. Maddie hatches a plan to help Arlo with a woman, but Frank and Thelma aren’t much help.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 27
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	CBS	“The Big Bang Theory” (C)	Sheldon takes a good look at his life after Leonard buys a dining room table for the apartment.
8:30 p.m.	NBC	“Parks and Recreation” (C)	Ben plans a surprise for his anniversary, and April and Donna clash at work.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Grey’s Anatomy” (D)	Alex gets upset after hearing news about his dad, and Meredith feels betrayed by Derek.
9 p.m.	Sundance	“The Red Road” (D)	Series premiere. New drama following a sheriff working in the New Jersey town where he grew up.
10 p.m.	History	“Vikings” (D)	Season premiere. The new season starts with a battle that sees Ragnar and King Horik’s armies face those of Jarl Borg and Rollo.
10 p.m.	IFC	“Portlandia” (C)	Season premiere. Sandra finds a soulmate, and intelligent ghosts haunt a young woman.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28
Time	Network	Program	Description
8 p.m.	ESPN	“NBA Basketball” (S)	The fun-to-watch Golden State Warriors take on the Knicks in New York.
8 p.m.	CBS	“Undercover Boss” (R)	The CEO of the Utah Jazz works as part of the halftime entertainment.
9 p.m.	TNT	“Inside Job” (R)	Series premiere. Reality competition in which contestants compete for a job. First up is the House of Blues.
10 p.m.	A&E	“Beyond Scared Straight” (R)	Season premiere. Two sisters and their cousin stay at jail in Virginia.
10 p.m.	Lifetime	“Betty White’s Off Their Rockers” (C)	Season premiere. Betty rolls out a new brand of salad dressing and gives out awards for best pranks.
10 p.m.	NBC	“Hannibal” (D)	Season premiere. Cynthia Nixon and Gillian Anderson guest on the season-two premiere.
SATURDAY, MARCH 1
Time	Network	Program	Description
9:55 a.m.	NBCSN	“Barclays Premier League Soccer” (S)	Stoke City takes on title hopefuls Arsenal in London.
3 p.m.	NBC	“PGA Golf” (S)	Coverage of the third round of the Honda Classic from Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
4 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	A key late-season ACC matchup between Syracuse and Virginia.
8 p.m.	Lifetime	“Happy Face Killer” (M)	An FBI agent tracks the 1990s serial murderer known as the Happy Face Killer.
8 p.m.	NBC	“NHL Hockey” (S)	Two of the league’s top teams, Chicago and Pittsburgh, face off in primetime.
9:45 p.m.	HBO	“Boxing” (S)	Among the matches is a featherweight title fight between Orlando Salido and Vasyl Lomachenko.
SUNDAY, MARCH 2
Time	Network	Program	Description
2:30 p.m.	Fox	“NASCAR Racing” (S)	The Subway Fresh Fit 500 from Phoenix International Raceway.
3 p.m.	NBC	“PGA Golf” (S)	Final round of the Honda Classic, won last year by Michael Thompson.
5:30 p.m.	E!	“Live From the Red Carpet” (A)	Ryan Seacrest and Giulana Rancic interview stars as they arrive at the Oscars.
8:30 p.m.	ABC	“Academy Awards” (A)	The 86th annual awards ceremony, hosted by Ellen DeGeneres.
9 p.m.	AMC	“The Walking Dead” (D)	The group ends up heading out on what turns out to be a strange mission.
9 p.m.	HBO	“True Detective” (D)	Hart and Cohle put their differences aside to look into a series of disappearances.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.