Portrait of Stephen Fishbach

Stephen Fishbach

This is my wizard lightning shooting you back home; kapow! Survivor 18, E9

Played on

68 days played

Game record

Vote alignment74%of 19 ballots

61st percentile of 423 castaways

Immunity record1career immunity win

77th percentile of 751 castaways

Idol impact0of 1 idol play canceled a vote

Too few idol plays to rank

Occupation at casting Corporate Consultant Hometown New York City, New York

Played with 34 castaways across 2 seasons See every connection ↓

Fishbach has shared a beach with thirty-four other castaways.

Biography

Stephen Fishbach was the brainy strategist of Survivor: Tocantins (Season 18), the analytical foil to charismatic winner J.T. Thomas. Together they formed one of the show's most famous duos, an alliance of brains and brawn, but Stephen's cerebral, self-aware game came up just short as he finished runner-up, losing the jury vote to his golden-boy partner.

A writer and prominent Survivor analyst off-screen, Stephen returned for Survivor: Cambodia - Second Chance (Season 31), a season whose cast was chosen by fan vote. He embodied the superfan-strategist archetype he helped popularize through his long-running strategy columns and podcasts.

Thoughtful and endlessly analytical, Stephen Fishbach bridged the gap between playing Survivor and studying it, a popular runner-up whose off-screen commentary shaped how a whole generation of fans came to understand the game.

Get to know Stephen Fishbach

Born in New York City, New York

Alliances fans have named

Survivor never names an alliance on screen. These names, and who counts as a member, are how the fan community records the game rather than an official record of it.

Birthplace, pre-game profile and alliance facts adapted from Survivor Fandom and Wikipedia, retrieved 2026-07-21. Licensed CC BY-SA.

Fan poll Players

Survivor Hall of Fame: is Stephen Fishbach in or out?

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Seasons

Season Result Days Tribes Votes against Confessionals
Tocantins Season 18, 2009 Jalapao Forza 1 61
Cambodia Season 31, 2015 11th voted out Bayon Orkun 4 42

Castaway network

Stephen Fishbach’s connections

The strongest overlaps are surfaced first; every castmate is organized by season below.

34
castaway connections
19
tribemates
3
winners
22
returning players

Connections worth exploring

Repeat pairings, other-show overlaps, tribe overlap, winners and Survivor veterans rise to the top.

Survivor 18

J.T. Thomas

3 Survivor seasons

Shared a tribe Winner

Survivor 31

Joe Anglim

3 Survivor seasons

Shared a tribe

Every castaway, by season

Open a season for the complete cast list and the context behind each connection.

Tocantins Season 18, 2009 15 castaways 2 winners 3 returning players View cast

Explore the full Tocantins cast →

Cambodia Season 31, 2015 19 castaways 1 winner 19 returning players View cast

Explore the full Cambodia cast →

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