CBS’s longest running show, Survivor, has just returned to the islands of Fiji to kick off its forty-eighth season. And one contestant who said his pet peeve is “losing to UCLA” is a member of the Trojan Family
USC alum Thomas Krottinger is digging deep as a contestant on the show.
In a pre-season promotional interview with CBS, Krottinger described himself a self-proclaimed “hoot and a half” from Texas.
“I’ve built my whole life from the ground up, being myself, and I can play the game the same way,” Krottinger said.
Krottinger graduated from the Thornton School of Music back in 2012 with a degree in music industry. He also has a Bachelor’s in theater from the School of Dramatic Arts
Krottinger told Rob Cesternino the host of a Survivor fan podcast “Rob Has a Podcast,” that he found a passion for a special side of music while he was at USC.
“I took a music law class in college and like fell in love with the music business,” Krottinger said.
He then went on to have a successful career at Sony Music. In fact, he’s the one who signed Olivia Rodrigo, also a Trojan, to Sony Music even before her hit album “Sour” was released.
“My job is to find songwriters, find people that make amazing music, put them together, help them get their stuff out there,” Krottinger said. “So all of the espionage, the craziness of the music business, it’s just like ‘Survivor’ but with food and cocktails.”
“Survivor” has been around for twenty-five years. But recently the show’s viewership has reached an all-time high. For the first time since its second season way back in 2000, “Survivor” was the number one entertainment show in many younger demographics.
Including Ella Janes, a freshman majoring in cinematic arts, film and television. She’s been watching the show with her mom since she was 8 years old. This season, she’s rooting for Krottinger, and not just because he went to USC.
“Definitely one of my favorite players. I feel like he has a good social strategy. It feels like he knows a lot of people,” Janes said.
Janes likes to imagine what she would do on the show to win the million dollar prize.
“I like to picture myself in the situations, and I genuinely think like I would win that million dollars. And so I like play my own game when I watch it,” Janes said.
The upcoming season 50, which will air in a year, will let fans like Janes have more say in the game. Survivor Host Jeff Probst announced survivor fans will get to vote on key parts of season 50, including whether or not there will be a live reunion in L.A.
“We’re doing a theme called ‘in the hands of the fans’ where we are literally turning over the creating of the show to the fans. So we won’t be in charge they will so it’s a terrifying idea but exciting,” Probst said.
It’s only episode two, but for now, Krottinger’s torch hasn’t been snuffed and he’s confident.
“What they don’t realize is that I’m the biggest threat on the whole cast,” Krottinger said.