Grand Prairie Mortician Joins New "Survivor" Cast
GRAND PRAIRIE (CBSDFW.COM) - A mortician from Grand Prairie is among the latest group of castaways to hit the beach on the CBS reality television show "Survivor: South Pacific" this fall. The new cast members were officially announced on Monday, with two more to be named later in the week.
The 23rd season of "Survivor" takes the hit show back to the South Pacific, where 16 new players will be joined by two unnamed returning players. The group will be split into two tribes – Savaii and Upolu – named for two islands in Samoa, where the series was filmed earlier this summer.
The Redemption Island twist also returns, giving players who are voted out of the game a chance to come back, if they can defeat their fellow competitors in a duel. This new game element made its debut last season, where castaway Matt won nearly every Redemption Island challenge before returning cast member 'Boston Rob' Mariano ultimately won the $1 million prize.
Stacey Powell will represent North Texas during the show's latest season. The mortician from Grand Prairie said that she has no tolerance for pessimism. "I don't like negativity. I do not like any negative vibes coming in my area," the 44-year-old said. "If you do, gotta shut you down. Gotta go. Get out of here. Can't be here with me."
But Stacey is not the only Texan joining the new cast. Brandon Hantz from Katy works as an oil tanker crewman, and you might recognize the 19-year-old's last name. Brandon is the nephew of notorious "Survivor" villain Russell Hantz, who lost out in the final rounds of both "Survivor: Samoa" and "Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villians" before making an early exit in last season's "Survivor: Redemption Island."
And there's one more famous face in the new cast – country music artist Whitney Duncan is among the new castaways. Whitney shot to fame on "Nashville Star" and is now known for singles like "Skinny Dippin'" and "When I Said I Would." She was excited to join a new television show. "I'm stoked," Whitney said before the game. "I've never done anything like this, so this is completely out of my comfort zone. And I think my fans will have an amazing time watching me do this."
Other new castaways include a Harvard law student, a retired NYPD detective, a lingerie football player, an anesthesiologist and a medical marijuana dispenser. (Click here to meet all of the new castaways.)
See if Stacey, Brandon, and Whitney can outwit, outplay and outlast the others when the new season of "Survivor: South Pacific" has its big 90-minute premiere on September 14 at 7:00 p.m. only on CBS.
