Finalists Selected for ‘Survivor’ Competition

Sixteen people ranging in age from a 22-year-old college student to a 72-year-old retired Navy Seal have been selected as finalists for “Survivor,” a CBS series whose premise involves stranding a small group on an island near Borneo, where they will compete for $1 million.

“Survivor” is based on a controversial format that originated in Sweden. The voyeuristic concept allows viewers to watch the contestants, who gradually vote members off the island week by week. At the end of 13 episodes, those expelled choose between the two remaining “players” to see who wins the money.

Of the finalists--culled from more than 6,000 applicants across the U.S.--three are married while 13 are single or divorced. Two reside in Northern California and two are from Wisconsin, while the others come from a dozen different states.

The group includes an attorney, a biochemist, a truck driver, two college students, a traveling salesman and a homemaker. CBS has identified them only by name, age and occupation. The participants were gathered briefly for a photo session but were not allowed to speak or have any interaction and will not be allowed to meet again before the program begins this summer.

“Survivor” is one of two unorthodox series CBS will air this summer that isolate ordinary people as part of an elaborate competition. The other, “Big Brother,” also began in Europe and will focus on a group kept in a house together for 100 days.