'Survivor: The Race Wars'

There were an awful lot of white folks in the last season of “Survivor,” which also happened to fall a bit in the ratings and buzz.

So for this fall’s “Survivor: Cook Islands,” they’ve packed the cast with minorities.

Unfortunately, they’ll initially all be pitted against one another, too.

The new contestants were announced Wednesday, with five Asians, five blacks and five Latinos all up against white castaways.

Just as last season was divided by age and gender, this time, the initial teams will be divided by race. Producers had to recruit heavily to get this kind of diversity. “Most of the people who apply are white,” host Jeff Probst has been quoted as saying. “That’s just a fact.”

Eventually the players will all get together come the melting pot known as the merge.

I'm not as shocked by this development as many people seem to be. For one thing, the four-team ploy only lasts about two weeks tops usually. For another, it's long been up to reality shows to inadvertently address race issues while most scripted network shows are content to ignore the issues after they've cast the requisite black sidekick character.

Reality show situations are contrived but you have to believe the unscripted reactions of their participants have some basis in reality. And that's how we see what a big unspoken issue race continues to be among people (at least people who agree to participate in such shows). It's shocking how little time white people give to blacks, for example, or are quick to misunderstand them.

The participation of different racial groups on reality shows have been awkward occasionally, as on the family version of "The Amazing Race" when the sole African-American family whose name was Black was constantly referred to as "the Black family" (as when host Phil Koeghan finally told them, "Black family, you've been eliminated from the race"). (It was a similar case when a group of African-American contestants on the recently ended "Treasure Hunters" were named Brown).

Women of color are only given lip service by white candidates on reality dating shows like "The Bachelor" or "Joe Millionaire." And it's been black women, generally, who have been cast as the '"dangerous" or crazy contestants, (hello, Omarosa and Stacy J) on "The Apprentice" which reportedly toyed with a black vs. white season last time before network officials scotched it.

If nothing else, the new season of "Survivor" will mean there are at least 15 contestants of color in the mix and not just the usual white folks.

While a couple of season 12’s castaways had local or regional ties –- including the almost winning Terry Dietz of Simsbury -- there’s nobody in season 13 from Connecticut or Massachusetts.

Instead, the group, ranging in age from 23 to 45 includes a pro volleyball player, a heavy metal guitarist, a cop, a jazz musician, and a few hyphenates: the usual writer/producer, but also the more unusual performance artist/roller girl and boxer/waitress.

As in “Survivor: Panama: Exile Island” one player will be separated from the rest of the players – in exile – each week.

“Survivor: Cook Islands” begins its season in the South Pacific Sept. 14.