Jeff Probst and the Survivor producers haven’t given us a ton of details about the next season featuring returning players. We don’t know exactly when it’ll happen. We don’t know the theme. We don’t know any of the players who will be involved. We haven’t even really started getting rumors. We only know it’s coming sooner rather than later, but my assumption is that at least the preliminary conversations have started quietly happening. They’re talking about themes. They’re talking about timing and players, and as they do that, I really need everyone involved to keep something in mind.The fanbase was stoked and tuned in with huge numbers to see returning players on Survivor 50, but they were particularly stoked to see returning players from different eras of the show. It was so much fun to see legends of the game like Coach, Cirie, Ozzy and Colby interact with modern favorites like Q, Rizo, Dee and Genevieve. Part of what worked so well about 50 was its extreme diversity from an age and gameplay standpoint, and producers would do well to keep that in mind as they cast the next season.The history of returning player seasons on Survivor is one of heavy bias toward recency. Survivor 50 was billed as a celebration of the entire history of the show. That was literally the whole point, and even still, 12 of the 24 players were from 45 to 49. That means the first 44 seasons of the show had an average of .27 castaways selected from each cast, and the most recent 5 seasons had an average of 2.4 players from each cast. And once again, that was as part of a theme that was meant to honor the entire history of the franchise. What do we think would have happened if the season had a different theme? How much worse would the discrepancy have been?The Survivor fanbase is very split on what the theme should be for this impending season featuring returning players. Some people want to see Second Chances. Others want to see Blood vs Water or Heroes vs Villains or a theme we’ve never gotten before, like a battle between two or three specific casts. I’m open to any of the above, but like most other fans, what I feel much more strongly about is that I want to see players from more than just the New Era. Yes, give me Carolyn, Jesse, Sophi Balerdi, Xander, Shan, Sai and other standouts, but pair them with other deeper cut players that first appeared back in the day like Amanda Kimmel, Abi-Maria, Jerri, Sean Rector, Cydney, Malcolm and Rob Cesternino. I want to see an alliance between Russell Hantz and Venus. I want to see Natalie Bolton play the game with Kaleb. Survivor doesn’t cast nearly as wide a net as it used to, at least when it comes to age and socioeconomic status. Bringing back players from different eras helps create that personality clash and makes for fascinating television, at least for those who make the edit. I can’t wait for this returning season, whenever it does happen. It’s going to be a delight to see many of my favorites play together in Fiji, but the best possible scenario involves looking outside the New Era and expanding that casting net as wide as possible. That’s the lesson producers should be taking from Survivor 50, and I hope they keep it in mind as they pick from hundreds of potential players, most of whom have not played in the last two or three years.