Applications were due June 16, 2006. In late July and early August, about 800 applicants were selected for an interview by CBS. Out of those 800, about 48 semi-finalists were selected to go to Los Angeles in September. Twenty contestants were then picked out of the 48.

The premiere of this season of Survivor aired on February 8, 2007. The two-hour season finale aired on May 13, 2007, followed by the Reunion show live from Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City.

In a twist from previous seasons of Survivor, all contestants participated in a challenge before being split into two tribes and moving to two different camps. One camp (built by all contestants in the initial challenge) was given several luxuries, including furniture, shelters built from pre-cut wood and hardware, a kitchen area with dishware, a shower and a toilet, and the means to maintain fire; the other camp was only given a water well and a machete. The tribes did not switch camps except after a possible twist for winning a challenge and after a tribal swap.

Exile Island was also in play for Survivor: Fiji. However, unlike previous seasons, there were two hidden Immunity Idols with one at each camp. Once a hidden Immunity Idol was used, it was rehidden. The idols were good through the final five and they had to be used before the votes are read, but after the castaways have voted.

For the first time in U.S. Survivor history, the winner, Earl Cole, was unanimously decided by the jury. In previous seasons, the second-highest vote-gaining contestant was awarded $100,000 but CBS has made no mention of how that will be resolved for this season since the other two castaways in the three-way vote received no votes at all. Yau-Man Chan reports that Andria (Dre) “Dreamz� Herd and Cassandra Franklin will receive $100,000, as they both received the same amount of votes for sole survivor (zero) and tied for second place. He also reports that he will receive $60,000 for coming in third.

Mellisa McNulty, a 27-year-old talent manager from Los Angeles, would have been the twentieth castaway but dropped out and returned home the night before the show began because of panic attacks. Because of the timing and lack of alternates, her spot could not be replaced.