CBS has announced Survivor: Samoa -- the nineteenth installment of the long-running reality series -- will premiere Thursday, September 17 at 8PM ET/PT.

ADVERTISEMENT
At it has for the last eight years, Survivor's premiere will mark the debut of CBS' new fall schedule.  The rest of the network's schedule won't begin premiering until Monday, September 21, the official start of the 2009-2010 television season.

Survivor: Samoa will take place in the South Pacific island nation of Samoa, which was formerly known as Western Samoa. 

Slightly smaller than the state of Rhode Island, Samoa is located only a few hundred miles northeast of New Zealand and is comprised of the western islands of the Samoan Islands group (American Samoa, a United States territory, comprises the eastern islands).

"Deep in the exotic waters of the South Pacific, eighteen strangers will be abandoned on the rugged islands of Samoa, a tropical paradise straight from Robert Louis Stevenson's legendary tale, 'Treasure Island,'" said Survivor host Jeff Probst during a Survivor: Samoa preview at the conclusion of May's Survivor: Tocantins reunion show.

"This majestic land of towering waterfalls, mysterious rainforests, and a fierce warrior culture will be the castaways' home for 39 days.  Forced to work together, they must learn to adapt or they will be voted out.  And in the end, only one will remain to claim the million dollar prize and the title of sole survivor."

Several other South Pacific Ocean locations -- Borneo, the Cook Islands, Fiji, the Marquesas Islands, Palau, Vanuatu -- have also hosted previous Survivor editions, however Samoa will mark Survivor's first return to the area since Survivor: Micronesia, one of the two Survivor editions that has filmed in Palau, was filmed in late 2007.

In February, CBS ordered the nineteenth and twentieth editions of Survivor for broadcast during the upcoming 2009-2010 season.

In addition to Survivor: Samoa's premiere, CBS also announced The Amazing Race's fifteenth season will debut with a special two-hour episode on Sunday, September 27 at 8PM ET/PT. 

Beginning October 4, The Amazing Race will serve as the lead-in for Three Rivers, a new scripted drama that will air in the Sundays 9PM ET/PT timeslot.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
Christopher Rocchio is an entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and has covered the reality TV genre for several years.