'Survivor' Premieres With All-Veteran Castaways Including Norwalk Local

HOLLYWOOD, CA — The 34th season of "Survivor" begins at 8 p.m. Wednesday evening on CBS with its 500th episode and Norwalk resident Cirie Fields is among the 20 castaways.

The season was conducted in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji and has the theme "Game Changers" with a set of castaways who previously played the game and "helped evolve the game even further by launching an accelerated level of competition and proven willingness to risk it all in order to become the Sole Survivor," according to CBS.

Fields was part of the cast three times in the past, finishing fourth in the series' 12th season, third in the 16th and 17th in the 20th.

"I’ve matured mentally. Plus, I’m healthier, stronger, and in better shape," said Fields in a statement provided by CBS, when asked how she's changed since the last time she played.

Other castaways include two-time winner Sandra Diaz-Twine, Tony Vlachos, the winner in the 28th season, Aubry Bracco, the runner-up in the 32nd season, and Brad Culpepper, an NFL defensive end for nine seasons turned lawyer who finished 15th in the 27th season.

While many previous seasons have included castaways who have played in the past, this is only the second all of them have. Host and executive producer Jeff Probst says he has no preference among a season with all new castaways, a mix of new and returning castaways or all returning castaways.

"I just like the game, the challenges (to) your morality, justifying ethics, changing your line in the sand," Probst said.

Photo credit: CBS (Fields is kneeling in the lower left corner)

SoCal Patch (Patch Staff) contributed to this report

(Editor's Note: Patch is re-posting this story in case you missed it the first time around.)