Survivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American competitive reality television series, Survivor. The season was filmed from June 26 to August 3, 2006, and premiered on September 14 of that year. Filmed in the Cook Islands, it was broadcast by CBS.
The season had 20 contestants who were initially divided into four "tribes" by ethnicity: African American, Asian American, Latino, and Caucasian. The tribes were named after some of the Cook Islands: Manihiki, Pukapuka, Aitutaki, and Rarotonga, respectively. They were later merged into a single tribe, Aitutonga. The season was the first with a final consisting of three participants, rather than two. Yul Kwon defeated Ozzy Lusth and Becky Lee by a jury vote of 5–4–0 and was named the Sole Survivor, winning $1,000,000.
Format
Survivor is a reality television show based on the Swedish show Expedition Robinson, created by Mark Burnett and Charlie Parsons. The series follows a number of participants isolated in a remote location, where they must provide food, fire, and shelter. One participant is removed from the series by majority vote every three days, with challenges held to give a reward (ranging from living- and food-related prizes to a car) and immunity from being voted out of the series. The last remaining player receives a prize of $1,000,000.
Contestants
The tribes were named after the islands of the Cook Islands: Manihiki, Pukapuka, Aitutaki, and Rarotonga. They were later merged into a single tribe, Aitutonga.
Notable people on this cast include professional volleyball player J. P. Calderon; and actor, producer, and screenwriter, Jonathan Penner. +List of Survivor: Cook Islands contestantsContestantAgeFrom Tribe Finish Original Switched Post-mutiny Merged Placement Day 45Los Angeles,California1st voted outDay 3 36New York City,New York rowspan="3" 2nd voted outDay 6 29 Oakland,California3rd voted outDay 8 30 Long Beach,California rowspan="2" 4th voted outDay 11 35Columbia,South Carolina5th voted out Day 14 42Christiansburg,Virginia6th voted outDay 15 35 Santa Monica,California7th voted out 27Chico,California8th voted outDay 18 29Santa Monica,California rowspan="4" rowspan="8" 9th voted out1st jury memberDay 21 34Laurelton,New York10th voted out2nd jury memberDay 24 36Lake Forest,Illinois11th voted out3rd jury member 26Playa del Rey,California rowspan="9" 12th voted out4th jury memberDay 27 23Washington,D.C. rowspan="4" rowspan="2" 13th voted out5th jury memberDay 30 44Los Angeles,California14th voted out6th jury memberDay 33 23West Hollywood,California rowspan="2" 15th voted out7th jury memberDay 36 27San Diego,California16th voted out8th jury memberDay 37 31Los Angeles,California rowspan="4" rowspan="4" Eliminated9th jury memberDay 38 28Washington,D.C.2nd runner-upDay 39 24Venice,CaliforniaRunner-up Yul Kwon31San Mateo,CaliforniaSole Survivor
Future appearances Jonathan Penner, Ozzy Lusth, and Parvati Shallow were selected to compete again in Survivor: Micronesia. Shallow returned for Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains with Candice Woodcock. Lusth returned for a third time in Survivor: South Pacific and for a fourth time in Survivor: Game Changers. Penner returned for his third time in Survivor: Philippines. Woodcock returned for her third time, this time as "Candice Cody," in Survivor: Blood vs. Water along with her husband, John. Shallow and Yul Kwon returned to compete on Survivor: Winners at War.Meet the cast of Survivor: Winners at War Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 19, 2019 Shallow competed on the world tribe of Survivor: Australia V The World in 2025. Lusth also competed on Survivor 50: In the Hands of Fans.
Outside of Survivor, Lusth competed on the second season of American Ninja Warrior. Kwon was a contestant on the USA Network reality competition series, Snake in the Grass. In 2024, Shallow competed on the second season of the Peacock reality TV series The Traitors. In 2025, Shallow competed on the second season of Deal or No Deal Island.
Season summary
The 20 participants, divided into four tribes (based on race) for the first six days of the competition, were then merged into two tribes. An early visit to Exile island resulted in Yul discovering the hidden immunity idol. With the tribes equal at six members each on Day 19, the castaways were given the choice to mutiny and join the other tribe; Candice and Jonathan opted to do so, leaving the Aitutaki tribe at four members (Yul, Ozzy, Becky, and Sundra) against the eight-member Rarotonga tribe. With teamwork, Yul's intelligence and Ozzy's swimming skills, Aitutaki defeated Rarotonga at every subsequent challenge and left Rarotonga with only five members at the merge.
While the Aitu Four merged, Yul cemented his Aitutaki alliance by showing them the idol and convinced Jonathan to vote with them. The Aitu Four took control of the game, and were the final four players remaining. With Yul holding the hidden immunity idol and Ozzy winning the final challenge, the four agreed to let a fire-making challenge decide who would join them at the final tribal council; it took over an hour to complete, with Becky victorious. The jury, seeing Becky following Yul and her poor performance in the fire-making challenge, did not vote for her; Yul's brains edged out Ozzy's brawn, five votes to four.
+Challenge winners and eliminations by episodeEpisodeChallenge winner(s)ExileIslandEliminatedNo.TitleOriginal air dateRewardImmunityTribePlayer1"I Can Forgive Her, but I Don't Have toBecause She Screwed with My Chickens"September 14, 2006 colspan="2" rowspan="3" rowspan="3" Sekou colspan="2" colspan="2" 2"Dire Strengths and Dead Weight"September 21, 2006 colspan="2" rowspan="3" rowspan="3" Billy colspan="2" 3"Flirting and Frustration"September 28, 2006Cecilia4"Ruling the Roost"October 5, 2006J.P.5"Don't Cry Over Spilled Octopus"October 12, 2006Stephannie6"Plan Voodoo"October 19, 2006 rowspan="2" Cao Boi NateCristina7"A Closer Look"October 26, 2006Recap Episode8"Why Aren't You Swimming?!"November 2, 2006Jessica9"Mutiny"November 9, 2006Brad10""People That You Like Want To See You Suffer"November 16, 2006 rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" RebeccaJenny11"Why Would You Trust Me?"November 23, 2006 Ozzy rowspan="6" Nate12"You're a Rat..."November 30, 2006 AdamCandiceCandice13"Arranging a Hit"December 7, 2006Parvati[Adam, Sundra]OzzyJonathanJonathan14"I Have the Advantage...For Once"December 14, 2006Ozzy,Parvati, YulOzzyAdamParvati15"This Tribe Will Self-Destruct in 5, 4, 3..."December 17, 2006 rowspan="2" Ozzy rowspan="2" Adam OzzySundra16"Reunion"
In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.
Episodes
Voting history Original tribesSwitched tribesPost-mutiny tribesMerged tribe Episode12345689101112131415 Day368111415182124273033363738 colspan="2" Eliminated Sekou Billy Cecilia J.P. Stephannie Cao Boi Cristina Jessica Brad Rebecca Jenny Nate Candice Jonathan Parvati Adam Sundra Votes 3–2 4–1 5–3 7–2 7–1 6–1–1 4–2 6–1 7–1 6–1 4–2 5–4 5–3 6–1 4–2 4–1 2–2 ChallengeVoterVoteYul Cecilia Cao Boi Jessica Nate Candice Jonathan Parvati Adam Sundra Ozzy Billy Becky Cao Boi Jessica Nate Candice Jonathan Parvati Adam Becky Becky Cecilia Cao Boi Jessica Nate Candice Jonathan Parvati Adam SundraSundra Sekou Becky Cao Boi Jessica Nate Candice Jonathan Parvati Adam BeckyAdam J.P. Stephannie Cristina Brad Rebecca Jenny Yul Jonathan Jonathan Sundra YulParvati J.P. Stephannie Cristina Brad Rebecca Jenny Yul Jonathan Jonathan SundraJonathan Cecilia Cao Boi Jessica Brad Rebecca Jenny Nate Candice AdamCandice Cao Boi Jessica Brad Rebecca Jenny Yul JonathanNate Sundra Stephannie Stephannie Brad Rebecca Jonathan YulJenny J.P. Stephannie Cristina Brad Rebecca JonathanRebecca Sekou J.P. Stephannie Cristina Brad JonathanBrad J.P. Stephannie Jenny JonathanJessica Cecilia Jonathan JonathanCristina Billy J.P. Stephannie JennyCao Boi Cecilia CandiceStephannie Sekou J.P. CristinaJ.P. Billy StephannieCecilia Billy BeckyBilly OzzySekou Sundra
Jury vote Episode16 Day39 FinalistYulOzzyBecky Votes5–4–0JurorVoteSundraAdamParvatiJonathanCandiceNateJennyRebeccaBrad
Production Filming Pre-production began in spring 2006, and principal photography lasted from July 3 to August 11, 2006.
The tribal camps, Exile Island, and many of Survivor: Cook Islands challenges were filmed on motu (islets) in the Aitutaki lagoon. The Rarotonga (later Aitutonga) tribe's camp was on Moturakau, and the Aitutaki tribe lived on Motukitiu. The short-lived tribes of Manihiki and Pukapuka lived on Rapota and Muritapua, respectively. Most challenges were filmed on Tekopua and Tapuaetai (One Foot Island). Exile Island is a small sand cay south of Tapuaetai, and the bow of the wooden ship was brought in for the show. West of Tapuaetai is another sand cay, called "Nude Island" by locals because of its lack of vegetation. The third challenge was staged in the shallow water just off the shore of Nude Island. Akaiami hosted challenges and "The Ponderosa", where eliminated contestants remained until the end of the game. The Tribal Council, the production camp, and a few challenges were located on the main island of Aitutaki. There were three reward trips to the neighboring islands of Atiu, Mitiaro, and Rarotonga.Morrison, Cheyenne. "Survivor Series 13: Aitutaki Cook Islands ." Private Islands . May 14, 2006. Retrieved on September 14, 2006. Taio Shipping diverted the MV Maungaroa from its usual schedule to a charter for the producers of Survivor: Cook Islands in June 2006, triggering fuel and electricity crises on the island of Mangaia.
Reception Survivor: Cook Islands received mixed reviews when it was first broadcast, but has become more popular over time. Although the racial cast divide was seen as polarizing, Kwon, Lusth and Penner were praised. Dalton Ross of Entertainment Weekly ranked the season 18th out of 40, calling it "listless" until the mutiny. In 2014, Joe Reid of The Wire ranked the season fifth out of 27. A Rob Has a Podcast poll the following year ranked the season 14th out of 30, with Rob Cesternino ranking it 24th. Cesternino's 2021 Survivor All-Time Top 40 Rankings podcast ranked the season 19th out of 40. The Purple Rock Podcast ranked this season seventh out of 40 in 2020, saying that it "features one of the more compelling narratives the show has ever had, and gives you the rare opportunity to see in-depth strategy talk between players." Later that year, Inside Survivor ranked the season 18th out of 40 and praised it for "having one of the best underdog stories of all time." In 2021, Kristen Kranz of Collider ranked Cook Islands as the 7th best season of the series and praised the diversity of the contestants, the "phenomenal" gameplay, as well as the introduction of "another group of influential players that would go on to shape the game in ways we couldn't imagine." In 2024, Nick Caruso of TVLine ranked this season 21st out of 47. In the 2015 issue of CBS Watch commemorating the 15th anniversary of Survivor, three of the top ten contestants voted by viewers as the greatest were in this season (Shallow, Lusth, and Kwon).
Kwon's gameplay had a positive reception. In the 2015 issue of CBS Watch commemorating the 15th anniversary of Survivor, he was ranked the ninth-greatest contestant in series history by viewers. That year, shortly before the premiere of Survivor: Worlds Apart, host Jeff Probst called Kwon one of his top ten winners and one of his top six male winners. A 2007 online readers' poll by Entertainment Weekly chose Kwon as its favorite Survivor winner. In 2017, the magazine had fans rank the 34 winners of Survivor; Kwon was ranked ninth.