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When Survivor premiered in the summer of 2000, nobody thought it would last. A show about regular people lying, backstabbing, and eating bugs for a million dollars? It felt like a novelty. A stunt. Something we'd get bored of by season three. 

We did not get bored. 

Fifty seasons later, Survivor is still on television, still producing moments that make you gasp, cry, and question your own moral compass. And with season 50 bringing back some of the most iconic players in the show's history, it feels like the right moment to ask a question we've been dancing around for 25 years: what has this show actually been telling us about ourselves? 

Because here's the thing. Survivor was never really about the game. It was never about immunity idols or tribal council or who could eat a bug without flinching. It was always about people. Specifically, it was about what happens to people when you strip everything away and force them to figure out who they are. 

With a divided country and a landmark season upon us, the answer might matter more than you'd think. 

Tom Ellis spent six seasons as the Devil on Lucifer, charming his way through Los Angeles with a smirk and an open shirt. Now he's trading in the penthouse for the shadows as a CIA operative in Dick Wolf's new CBS drama, CIA, and the transition makes more sense than you'd think. 

I recently chatted with Ellis on the Parting Shot Podcast about why signing onto a Dick Wolf project felt like a no-brainer, what it was like playing a complete sociopath on Tell Me Lies (spoiler: he didn't enjoy it, well, he did, but... it’s complicated), and why his Lucifer fan base still stops him cold anywhere in the world, including the woman who showed up to a fan convention with his face freshly tattooed and still bleeding. 

He's charming, self-aware, and surprisingly candid about what it costs to live inside characters like these. 

The devil, it turns out, had more range than we gave him credit for. 

Netflix’s most-watched film of all time began as a simple pitch: a K‑pop girl group who moonlight as demon hunters.

Seven years later, directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans have turned that idea into a global hit with two Academy Award nominations and one of the most passionate fan communities the streamer has ever seen.

Watching Alex Honnold scale the 1,667-foot Taipei 101 tower live without ropes in January was terrifying. In his new show, the world’s most famous climber goes home to Nevada.

He spoke to Newsweek about his upcoming series, as well as prospects for new climbs and why he doubts he would ever get to climb America’s tallest building, One World Trade Center.

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