16 castaways announced for “Survivor: South Pacific”

Group during SURVIVOR: SOUTH PACIFIC, scheduled to air on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Montry Brinton/CBS© 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc.

16 of 18 castaways who will be competing against each other on “Survivor: South Pacific” have been announced today in a news release.

Two of the 18 castaways, who are former castaways returning to seek redemption, will be revealed later this week.

“Survivor: South Pacific” has a 90-minute debut at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 on CBS.

The 18 castaways will be divided into two Tribes of nine; the Savaii Tribe and the Upolu Tribe, named after the two islands of Samoa, with the “Redemption Island” twist returning, in which castaways who have been eliminated from the game receive an opportunity to return for a chance to win the million dollar prize.

When a castaway is voted off each week at Tribal Council, they will be sent to live alone on Redemption Island and, to be able to stay in the game, will need to compete in a duel against the next person eliminated at Tribal Council.

The winner of each duel earns the right to continue fighting for a chance to return to the game and the opportunity to compete for the title of Sole Survivor; and the loser is sent home.

“Survivor: South Pacific” is hosted by Jeff Probst and is produced by SEG, Inc., with Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst and David Burris serving as executive producers and Leisa Francis serving as co-executive producer.

Castaways competing on “Survivor: South Pacific” in alphabetic order, and according to information provided by CBS, are:

SAVAII:                                                                    UPOLU:
Mark Caruso                                                           Sophie Clarke
Age: 48                                                                       Age: 22
Current Residence: Forest Hills, N.Y.                         Current Residence: Willsboro, N.Y.
Occupation: Retired NYPD Detective                         Occupation: Medical Student

John Cochran                                                            Albert Destrade
Age: 24                                                                       Age: 26
Current Residence: Washington D.C.                          Current Residence: Plantation, Fla.
Occupation: Harvard Law Student                               Occupation: Baseball/Dating Coach

Whitney Duncan                                                      Brandon Hantz
Age: 27                                                                       Age: 19
Current Residence: Nashville, Tenn.                            Current Residence: Katy, Texas
Occupation: Country Music Singer                              Occupation: Oil Tanker Crewman

Dawn Meehan                                                          Edna Ma
Age: 41                                                                       Age: 35
Current Residence: South Jordan, Utah                       Current Residence: Los Angeles
Occupation: English Professor                                     Occupation: Anesthesiologist