Twenty-five years ago, “Survivor” premiered its first season with a group of 16 castaways stranded on a beach in Borneo. The show became an instant cultural phenomenon, with millions of viewers tuning in to watch the finale of the monumental first season.

The premiere of the 50th season of “Survivor” aired, and it felt like a return to the original excitement of the series. The season garnered early anticipation with the announcement that it would be another all-returnee cast. Speculation about who would be cast started immediately, with fan-favorite names like Amanda Kimmel and Courtney Yates mentioned as potential contestants.

Eventually, the official cast was announced and was met with a mix of excitement and hesitancy. There was a heavy focus on players from the “new era” — seasons 41-49 of “Survivor” — that many fans had mixed opinions on. However, the cast also had some heavy hitters from earlier seasons like Cirie Fields and Benjamin “Coach” Wade. Generally, fans were excited to see where this cast would go.

The episode opened with a montage of iconic moments from the past 50 seasons. The episode then went through the normal motions of a “Survivor” episode, including challenges to win rewards and immunity from elimination. In traditional “Survivor” fashion, a contestant was eventually voted out at the climax of the episode — Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, who initially played on the first and eighth seasons.

The length and cast of the episode made it special. The viewers got to spend substantial time with each tribe, learning about this season’s cast of characters. Each castaway had their moment to shine and the viewers got a glimpse into their early strategy and how this season would fare differently from their previous adventures on the show.

The cast has a wide range of personalities and play styles in the game of “Survivor.” There are three previous winners, noted heroes and villains, social players and physically dominant players. The contestants are sure to provide a lot of alliances, drama and iconic moments — glimpses of which we already saw in this first episode.

There were two plot twists in this first episode that kept the viewer curious about how the rest of the season would play out. After the opening challenge, the three tribes each sent one member to fight in a challenge for additional supplies. After the winner was chosen, the remaining two castaways spent the night on the island by themselves, in “exile.” This was an unexpected twist, dividing the two players from their tribes while leaving room for them to form an alliance of their own.

The second twist in this episode was a celebrity-themed advantage, with the Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol, found by former “Survivor 47” contestant Genevieve Mushaluk. A normal immunity idol is a totem that allows a castaway to negate all votes toward them during a tribal council and evade elimination.

However, the Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol comes with a twist, as the receiver must give it away to another castaway from an opposing tribe. If that castaway is eventually voted out without using the Boomerang Idol, the receiver will get it back. The immunity idol has been in the game for years, but this twist reinvented the same mechanic and kept the idol feeling like a new strategic addition to “Survivor.”

New twists like these keep the show interesting and new without overly interfering with the core of “Survivor” — the social, mental and physical game that has kept it as the most successful reality TV show of the 21st century.

This premiere capitalizes on the nostalgia longtime fans feel for the show, while also setting up what seems to be an engaging and well-done season of reality television. This premiere highlighted the cast, a variety of characters expected to create interesting drama and compelling storylines.

The first episode served as a solid starting point for new fans of “Survivor,” showing the basic premise in a new, exciting way. While “Survivor” has been airing for 25 years, the premiere instilled hope for a unique and interesting season.