Australian Survivor will relocate its filming location from Samoa to Malaysia beginning with its 2027 season, following the conclusion of its 2026 season titled “Redemption,” according to production details.

According to the Survivor crew, Samoa was getting costly and production costs had increased over the years. 

The move ends a five-season stretch of filming on Upolu, where the reality competition series has been based in recent years. The 2026 season will mark the final instalment filmed in Samoa before production shifts to Asia.

According to reports, the decision to move to Malaysia is aimed at refreshing the long-running franchise, improving production efficiencies and managing rising costs. The new location is expected to provide a different environment for the show’s survival format.

The Malaysia-based season is scheduled for a 2027 release and will feature 24 new players. Producers have also promised a “world-first” theme for the upcoming instalment, though further details have not yet been released.

The 2026 season, “Redemption,” features former player David Genat as host, marking a new direction for the series that is expected to continue into the 2027 production cycle.

The relocation marks a significant shift for the franchise after five consecutive seasons in Samoa.

The Survivor series spent close to three to four months in production each year in Samoa, offering employment opportunities in many areas to locals. This includes being part of the production team, drivers, caterers and security officers. The production crew also spends a significant amount of time staying at local resorts. 

Samoa has previously offered significant financial incentives to attract the production of “Survivor,” including tax exemptions and reduced fees under legislation passed in 2011. The so-called “Survivor Bill” waived income tax, sales tax, departure tax and immigration permit costs for the production company in exchange for its continued filming in the country.

After the bill had been passed, former Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi had said that the arrangement delivered substantial economic benefits.

“The company is spending up to US$16 million in the country filming two seasons,” he had said in 2011. “That money goes to hotels, to restaurants, to rental car companies, to haulage companies, to builders, to supermarkets where they buy food, to hardware stores, to bars where the crew relax, handicraft makers, to farmers where they buy vegetables, to fishermen where they buy fish, to a myriad of other businesses not to mention the 150 or so local people directly employed by Survivor.”

Similar incentives have been used by host countries to attract the long-running reality series, a model that helps explain how productions such as “Australian Survivor” secure international filming locations and why governments compete to host them.