Survivor Season 49 premiere pays tribute to crew member Vince Costello after his death

The Survivor Season 49 premiere aired on September 24, 2025, and the episode closed with a short on-screen dedication that read:

“In loving memory of Vince Costello, forever in our hearts.”

The dedication appeared after the credits and gave viewers a clear moment to acknowledge a loss within the production team. The episode honored a crew member whose work helped make the season possible.

The dedication directed attention to the people who build the show’s locations, sets, and camera coverage, which most viewers notice only as scenery. The public notes that accompanied the tribute linked that credit to a fundraiser and to interviews explaining Costello’s long involvement with the Fiji shoots.

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Vince Costello’s role and family ties

Vince Costello worked as the locations manager after Survivor moved filming to Fiji in 2016. He helped scout beaches, coves, and challenge sites in the Mamanuca Islands and handled the local logistics that enabled production to run smoothly on remote islands.

His children also worked on Survivor Season 49. Aline served as a location assistant, and Patrick took on camera roles, which made the project a family effort on the ground in Fiji.

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Quoted words from family and organizers

Public reporting and the fundraiser include direct, verifiable wording. The GoFundMe organized by executive producer Jesse Jensen opened with,

“Our good friend Vince Costello has recently been diagnosed with late-stage Hepatocellular Carcinoma (Liver Cancer).”

In People’s report, Aline Costello said of working with her father,

“We’re a very tight family, so I feel like if anyone could do it, it would be us. It’s been good.”

Vince Costello once told People that Fiji’s culture and respect made the work meaningful,

“Fiji is very much into culture and into respect, and it's been great working for Survivor in that respect. From every single Fijian citizen on this job and for all the citizens of our little country, we've been very grateful.”

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How does the dedication appear in the Survivor Season 49 episode?

The card ran after the credits of Survivor Season 49 and did not interrupt the premiere’s narrative. Outlets that covered the premiere described the title card as a production acknowledgement of a crew death, and they connected it to the GoFundMe and to public reporting on Vince Costello’s diagnosis and family presence on set. That placement made the tribute visible without altering the episode’s structure.

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Specific details from the premiere itself

The opening episode of Survivor Season 49 set up tribes, the first immunity challenge, and recorded the first vote. Reporters on site noted early social tensions and named the first player voted out after a string of missteps in camp. Those concrete game beats, challenges, alliances forming, and the first tribal council ran as the episode’s main story, with the dedication arriving only at the end of the broadcast.

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After the Survivor Season 49 episode aired, colleagues and fans shared brief remembrances on social media posts and in interviews, discussing how often local hires and family members make the crew feel like a community.