On reflecting on the most popular players, they realized that these players were either seen as likable or despised for those respective seasons, and opted to use that as the theme for this season.Īccording to Probst, the production initially selected 50 players from the past seasons, paring those down to twenty and keeping one spot open for a possible player from Samoa.

Jeff Probst, the show's host, stated that while they wanted to do another season where they brought back former players for the show's 10-year anniversary and 20th cycle, they did not want to simply do another 'All-Stars' season. The cast was officially announced during the 36th People's Choice Awards on January 6, 2010. Villains featured ten former castaways known for their acts of integrity and honor, the Heroes, and ten former castaways known for their deeds of deception and duplicity, the Villains. Villains was done simultaneously with casting for Samoa. Unlike previous seasons where a break in production occurred between seasons, the twentieth season was shot twenty days after Survivor: Samoa was completed, taking advantage of the existing infrastructure from that season.

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