RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Survivor returns to CBS 17 on Wednesday for its 45th season. Among the 18 castaways stranded on the islands of Fiji is North Carolina’s Sabiyah Broderick.
Originally from Locust Grove, Georgia, Broderick now lives in Jacksonville. The 28-year-old will have to outwit, outplay and outlast her competitors to win the title of Sole Survivor and the $1 million prize.
Broderick became a truck driver after leaving the Marines. Her experience sleeping in different environments makes Broderick confident in her ability to survive on the island.
“I’ve had to sleep outside for weeks at time so the physical side of things won’t be as tumultuous on my mind as some of the other characters,” she said.
Adding to her physical confidence is her background as a heptathlon athlete. Heptathlon athletes compete in seven track and field events.
“Survivor takes it to a whole other level where it’s not only my body versus your body, it’s my mind versus your mind,” she said.
Broderick is also confident in her ability to excel in the mental part of the competition.
“I’m a little bit of everything- truck driver, Marine, from the South. I’m the perfect hodgepodge where I can find something to connect to everyone that I talk to,” said Broderick.
If she wins, Broderick says the $1 million prize could change her life.
This season, Survivor will extend to 90-minute episodes and Emmy Award winner Jeff Probst will return as host.
CBS says after 23 years on television and 652 episodes, the show returns with the biggest season of the greatest game ever played. Through longer weekly episodes, Survivor will take a deeper dive into the players’ stories this time around.
The group of castaways will be divided into three tribes of six to face a faster, grittier season than ever before. The mental and physical challenges require players to constantly evolve their strategies to survive another day.
