Expedition Robinson 1997

Expedition Robinson 1997 was the first version of Expedition Robinson, or Survivor as it is referred to in some countries, to air in the world. This season premiered on 13 September 1997. Martin Merlin became the winner on 13 December 1997, with a jury vote of 6-2 over Runner-Up Kent Larsen. Despite being the premiere season, the first season was the lowest rated season of the original seven having only garnered around 1.2 million viewers for most of its regular episodes and 2.3 million viewers for its final episode. A major controversy occurred during this season when the first person voted out, Sinisa Savija, committed suicide a month after returning home from the island. Because of this, the first episode to air covered the events between the time when the contestants first arrived on the island and the second elimination. Following the success of the first season, Åsa Vilbäck, Kent Larsen, and Martin Melin all became well known in Sweden.