Ben “Coach” Wade and Oscar “Ozzy” Lusth are the two cast members returning for Survivor South Pacific. They’ll compete in Samoa with 16 new people, as Jeff Probst revealed during last season’s finale.
Reports that Coach would return first surfaced on Survivor Sucks (where Jeff Probst recently responded to criticism about the show), while news of Ozzy’s return first came from Survivor Skills’ website. Ozzy’s return was confirmed in a report today on TVFunSpot, and that he’s taken a leave of absence from his job as a waiter.
Calling this pairing or season Coach vs. Ozzy makes little sense, because besides the fact that Russell and Rob never faced off during Survivor Redemption Island, Ozzy and Coach never appeared on the same season. The only way it’d be Coach vs. Ozzy is if the producers start both returnees on Redemption Island, where they’d face off in a duel, with the winner remaining to face off against the first person voted out of the game. I wish they’d do something like that but think it’s a safe bet that Coach and Ozzy will be placed on tribes, just like Rob and Russell were.
Meanwhile, the media contingent left for Samoa last week and arrived by Friday, meaning that interviews with the cast were likely Saturday, and the game started on Monday, Memorial Day in the United States.