Survivor: Why Cagayan’s Brice Izyah Deserves A Second Chance

The 28th season of Survivor, Cagayan, is often considered one of the greatest in the show’s history, and though several members of its cast have returned to the game since, pre-merge boot Brice Izyah has yet to get the call. Of Cagayan‘s 18-person cast, six players have made return trips to Survivor, including Tony Vlachos, Spencer Bledsoe, Kass McQuillen, Tasha Fox, Woo Hwang, and Sarah Lacina. Sarah went on to win Survivor: Game Changers, while Cagayan‘s champ, Tony, became the second two-time Survivor winner when he was crowned the victor of Survivor: Winners at War.

Brice Izyah, who went by Brice Johnston during his time on the show, was an early boot in the season. He was a member of the beauty tribe, Solana, to start the game and struggled to make strategic inroads in the small tribe. He was viewed as a social threat by his tribemates and became the third person voted off the season but not before providing a memorable moment at Tribal Council when he chastised Alexis Maxwell for targeting him and not working around the camp. “I feel like everyone should pull their own weight around camp…” Brice started. “Dot dot dot?” host Jeff Probst prompted. “Dot dot dot… Hmm!” Brice retorted with a spirited head shake, leading to one of Survivor‘s most gif-worthy moments.

Though his time on the show was short and was undoubtedly disappointing for him, Brice is one of the most beloved members of the Survivor community. He remains a huge fan of the show and has built a reputation as one of the game’s most engaged and personable contestants. Though casual fans may struggle to remember someone who left the game as early as Brice did, Survivor superfans are very familiar with Brice thanks to his engagement with the fanbase and community at large. Brice first built a following thanks to his memorable appearances on Survivor All-Star Rob Cesternino’s podcast, Rob Has A Podcast. Rob and Brice developed a unique and hilarious rapport, with Brice often making Rob burst into laughter with his various catchphrases and unpredictable anecdotes.

Brice’s appearances on RHAP have been so successful that he eventually launched his own podcast on the RHAP network, called the Purple Pants Podcast, a play on his “Purple Pants Badass” nickname, coined from his attire on Cagayan. Brice and his good friend, Wendell Holland, the winner of Survivor: Ghost Island, also host events for Survivor fans together, including viewing parties and meet-and-greets as a way to foster more community engagement for Survivor.

Brice’s post-show success in the Survivor community is indicative of his social strengths, which would make him a great pick for a return to Survivor. Brice has spoken about how he felt he was at a disadvantage by being the only Black and gay person on a small tribe in his season. As a founding member of the Soul Survivor Organization, Brice was instrumental in lobbying CBS to increase diversity in casting and production, leading to the network instituting a mandate that all future CBS reality shows would feature a cast that was at least 50% BIPOC. If Brice were given a chance to return, he would not only be a fan favorite but would also get to play with a diverse cast, which would give him the opportunity to let his incredible personality and love for the game shine. Hopefully, the Survivor powers that be recognize Brice’s potential and give him another shot.

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