Jeff Probst Says Survivor 50 Will Span All Eras Going Back to ‘Season 1, Player 1’

[Brian Smith]

Jeff Probst Says Survivor 50 Will Span All Eras Going Back to ‘Season 1,
Player 1’

The cast has still yet to be decided.

By Martin Holmes

27 Feb 2025

Casting for Survivor’s landmark 50th season is still underway, but host
and showrunner Jeff Probst promises the cast will span all eras,
reaching back all the way to Borneo.

Ahead of Survivor 48‘s premiere, Probst spoke to TVLine about plans for
Survivor 50, set to film in June. The season will feature a cast of
returning players for the first time since Survivor 40, Winners at War.
However, selecting the 18 or 20 players to represent such a milestone
season is proving to be a tough task.

“We started with roughly 200 people,” the Emmy-winning host explained.
“We had all our producers say, write down everybody you would like to
see play in 50. No restrictions. So, we had about 200, and these are all
interesting names. You could make a different case for each of them.”

He continued, “Then we got it down to 100. That first cut was brutal.
It’s kind of like an either/or. Then we got it down to 70, and now
there’s blood everywhere. So I’m not going to lie and tell you we know
who’s going to be on the show right now because we don’t. And it was
extremely exciting and painfully difficult to do because there are going
to be people disappointed all over the place.”

“But there’s going to be a lot of people very excited,” Probst added,
“to be the representative of our 50th season.”

When asked how far he’s looking back when it comes to casting, Probst
confirmed all eras of the show are under consideration. “All the way
back, Season 1, player one,” he confirmed. However, he kept schtum when
asked if previous winners were on the table.

Survivor’s first season aired in 2000, becoming a cultural phenomenon
and launching its 16 castaways into overnight stars. Since then, six of
the original Borneo cast have returned, including winner Richard Hatch
and runner-up Kelly Wiglesworth, in addition to Sue Hawk, Rudy Boesch,
Gervase Peterson, and Jenna Lewis.

Probst shared similar sentiments at a live Survivor 48 screening earlier
this week, telling the audience, “We want to satisfy you. We want a cast
that represents all types of players, spanning all the eras. An array of
people who have slept, bled, battled this ever-changing game design for
the last 25 years.”

Summing it up, he said, “Survivor 50 is a representation of everyone who
has ever played and the fans that have been with us for the entire time.”

It was announced on Monday that fans will have a chance to vote on game
elements for Survivor 50, starting tonight (February 26), after the
Survivor 48 premiere.

Who would you like to see on Survivor 50? Who from the first season
should come back?

Source:
https://insidesurvivor.com/jeff-probst-says-survivor-50-will-span-all-eras-going-back-to-season-1-player-1-59129

[Zeppo]

On Feb 26, 2025, Brian Smith quoted Martin Holmes

Post by Brian Smith
Who would you like to see on Survivor 50? Who from the first season
should come back?

First of all, I don’t believe Probst’s claim that there will be a player
from S1 invited to play S50. But, given the remote possibility that
I might be wrong, I only have two words to offer:

Colleen Haskell

If Probst were to somehow conjure the divine made flesh for
an encore performance, I promise never to mock him again. :-)

[Brian Smith]

Post by Zeppo
On Feb 26, 2025, Brian Smith quoted Martin Holmes

Post by Brian Smith
Who would you like to see on Survivor 50? Who from the first season
should come back?

First of all, I don’t believe Probst’s claim that there will be a player
from S1 invited to play S50. But, given the remote possibility that
Colleen Haskell
If Probst were to somehow conjure the divine made flesh for
an encore performance, I promise never to mock him again. :-)

Who was the first player Jeff talked to? If that person is still alive
then they'll be on S50. As for Colleen Haskell, is she even in the
Survivor universe right now?

On a related side note, do you find it strange that no one has asked
Jeff if the grand prize for S50 is going to be higher? If they're going
to be playing for just $1 million I can't see too many "legends" being
interested other than Cirie and Sandra.

[Zeppo]

Post by Brian Smith
As for Colleen Haskell, is she even in the
Survivor universe right now?

But is anybody from S01, with the exception of Hatch, still
in the Survivor universe?

[Brian Smith]

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
As for Colleen Haskell, is she even in the
Survivor universe right now?

But is anybody from S01, with the exception of Hatch, still
in the Survivor universe?

Not that I know. Guess that means we're going see Hatch play in S50.

[Rick]

Post by Brian Smith
Jeff Probst Says Survivor 50 Will Span All Eras Going Back to ‘Season 1,
Player 1’
The cast has still yet to be decided.
By Martin Holmes
27 Feb 2025
Casting for Survivor’s landmark 50th season is still underway, but host
and showrunner Jeff Probst promises the cast will span all eras,
reaching back all the way to Borneo.
Ahead of Survivor 48‘s premiere, Probst spoke to TVLine about plans for
Survivor 50, set to film in June. The season will feature a cast of
returning players for the first time since Survivor 40, Winners at War.
However, selecting the 18 or 20 players to represent such a milestone
season is proving to be a tough task.
“We started with roughly 200 people,” the Emmy-winning host explained.
“We had all our producers say, write down everybody you would like to
see play in 50. No restrictions. So, we had about 200, and these are all
interesting names. You could make a different case for each of them.”
He continued, “Then we got it down to 100. That first cut was brutal.
It’s kind of like an either/or. Then we got it down to 70, and now
there’s blood everywhere. So I’m not going to lie and tell you we know
who’s going to be on the show right now because we don’t. And it was
extremely exciting and painfully difficult to do because there are going
to be people disappointed all over the place.”
“But there’s going to be a lot of people very excited,” Probst added,
“to be the representative of our 50th season.”
When asked how far he’s looking back when it comes to casting, Probst
confirmed all eras of the show are under consideration. “All the way
back, Season 1, player one,” he confirmed. However, he kept schtum when
asked if previous winners were on the table.
Survivor’s first season aired in 2000, becoming a cultural phenomenon
and launching its 16 castaways into overnight stars. Since then, six of
the original Borneo cast have returned, including winner Richard Hatch
and runner-up Kelly Wiglesworth, in addition to Sue Hawk, Rudy Boesch,
Gervase Peterson, and Jenna Lewis.
Probst shared similar sentiments at a live Survivor 48 screening earlier
this week, telling the audience, “We want to satisfy you. We want a cast
that represents all types of players, spanning all the eras. An array of
people who have slept, bled, battled this ever-changing game design for
the last 25 years.”
Summing it up, he said, “Survivor 50 is a representation of everyone who
has ever played and the fans that have been with us for the entire time.”
It was announced on Monday that fans will have a chance to vote on game
elements for Survivor 50, starting tonight (February 26), after the
Survivor 48 premiere.
Who would you like to see on Survivor 50? Who from the first season
should come back?
https://insidesurvivor.com/jeff-probst-says-survivor-50-will-span-all-eras-going-back-to-season-1-player-1-59129

I think the player I would be most intrigued to see come back from
Season 1 would be Gretchen Cordy, since she seemed like a likeable and
pretty decent player, she was sort of the unofficial leader of the
mostly younger Pagong tribe and the Tagi tribe clearly targeted her at
the merge. As far as I can recall, I have never seen her again after
that first season and have heard nothing about her in at least 20 years.
She was around 38 at the time of S1 which would mean, amazingly, that
she would be around 63 now. Assuming she is still alive and in good
health, I think it would be fascinating to see her back, assuming she
would even care to return.

The only other S1 player that might be semi-interesting to see back
would be Greg Buis, who broke with the rest of the Pagong jurors and was
basically the deciding vote for Rich (and no, I never bought the charade
that his vote was actually decided by the numbers he asked Kelly and
Rich to pick). I never really liked Greg and don't really want to see
him return but, like Gretchen, he never appeared again, and since he was
a pretty good physical player, it might be mildly interesting to see if
he is still in good shape as he is pushing 50.

[Brian Smith]

Post by Rick

Post by Brian Smith
Jeff Probst Says Survivor 50 Will Span All Eras Going Back to ‘Season
1, Player 1’
The cast has still yet to be decided.
By Martin Holmes
27 Feb 2025
Casting for Survivor’s landmark 50th season is still underway, but
host and showrunner Jeff Probst promises the cast will span all eras,
reaching back all the way to Borneo.
Ahead of Survivor 48‘s premiere, Probst spoke to TVLine about plans
for Survivor 50, set to film in June. The season will feature a cast
of returning players for the first time since Survivor 40, Winners at
War. However, selecting the 18 or 20 players to represent such a
milestone season is proving to be a tough task.
“We started with roughly 200 people,” the Emmy-winning host explained.
“We had all our producers say, write down everybody you would like to
see play in 50. No restrictions. So, we had about 200, and these are
all interesting names. You could make a different case for each of them.”
He continued, “Then we got it down to 100. That first cut was brutal.
It’s kind of like an either/or. Then we got it down to 70, and now
there’s blood everywhere. So I’m not going to lie and tell you we know
who’s going to be on the show right now because we don’t. And it was
extremely exciting and painfully difficult to do because there are
going to be people disappointed all over the place.”
“But there’s going to be a lot of people very excited,” Probst added,
“to be the representative of our 50th season.”
When asked how far he’s looking back when it comes to casting, Probst
confirmed all eras of the show are under consideration. “All the way
back, Season 1, player one,” he confirmed. However, he kept schtum
when asked if previous winners were on the table.
Survivor’s first season aired in 2000, becoming a cultural phenomenon
and launching its 16 castaways into overnight stars. Since then, six
of the original Borneo cast have returned, including winner Richard
Hatch and runner-up Kelly Wiglesworth, in addition to Sue Hawk, Rudy
Boesch, Gervase Peterson, and Jenna Lewis.
Probst shared similar sentiments at a live Survivor 48 screening
earlier this week, telling the audience, “We want to satisfy you. We
want a cast that represents all types of players, spanning all the
eras. An array of people who have slept, bled, battled this ever-
changing game design for the last 25 years.”
Summing it up, he said, “Survivor 50 is a representation of everyone
who has ever played and the fans that have been with us for the entire
time.”
It was announced on Monday that fans will have a chance to vote on
game elements for Survivor 50, starting tonight (February 26), after
the Survivor 48 premiere.
Who would you like to see on Survivor 50? Who from the first season
should come back?
Source: https://insidesurvivor.com/jeff-probst-says-survivor-50-will-
span-all-eras-going-back-to-season-1-player-1-59129

I think the player I would be most intrigued to see come back from
Season 1 would be Gretchen Cordy, since she seemed like a likeable and
pretty decent player, she was sort of the unofficial leader of the
mostly younger Pagong tribe and the Tagi tribe clearly targeted her at
the merge.  As far as I can recall, I have never seen her again after
that first season and have heard nothing about her in at least 20 years.
 She was around 38 at the time of S1 which would mean, amazingly, that
she would be around 63 now.  Assuming she is still alive and in good
health, I think it would be fascinating to see her back, assuming she
would even care to return.
The only other S1 player that might be semi-interesting to see back
would be Greg Buis, who broke with the rest of the Pagong jurors and was
basically the deciding vote for Rich (and no, I never bought the charade
that his vote was actually decided by the numbers he asked Kelly and
Rich to pick).  I never really liked Greg and don't really want to see
him return but, like Gretchen, he never appeared again, and since he was
a pretty good physical player, it might be mildly interesting to see if
he is still in good shape as he is pushing 50.

Here's an article about the S1 cast from Feb 24, 2023. Gretchen would be
about 63. Colleen Haskell would be about 57.

https://meaww.com/where-is-survivor-season-1-cast-from-lawsuit-drama-to-deaths-heres-what-happened-to-contestants

[Zeppo]

Post by Rick
I think the player I would be most intrigued to see come back from
Season 1 would be Gretchen Cordy, since she seemed like a likeable and
pretty decent player,

I agree with your assessment of Gretchen, but how many viewers
of the show would even know who she is? IMO, the only living
players from S1 who still have name recognition are Hatch and
Sue.

Post by Rick
The only other S1 player that might be semi-interesting to see back
would be Greg Buis.

I liked Greg a lot, but Probst despised him because of the delight
he took in mocking the rituals of tribal council.

[Rick]

Post by Zeppo

Post by Rick
I think the player I would be most intrigued to see come back from
Season 1 would be Gretchen Cordy, since she seemed like a likeable and
pretty decent player,

I agree with your assessment of Gretchen, but how many viewers
of the show would even know who she is? IMO, the only living
players from S1 who still have name recognition are Hatch and
Sue.

When Gervase and Kelly Wiglesworth came back during seasons 27 and 31,
I'm pretty sure they had some kind of intro packages for them for anyone
who didn't remember or recognize them since they hadn't been on in so long.

I'm sure if they brought Gretchen back, they would show clips of her and
make a big deal about how she got voted out at the very first TC of a
merged tribe when Rich's Tagi alliance successfully ganged up on her
while the Pagong tribe pretty much all voted for different people with
no coordination. Her shocked face when she said "It's me" as the votes
started to be read with her name is one of the iconic moments from that
first season.

Regarding S1 players who would still be recognized today, I kind of
think Colleen Haskell may have comparable name reaction to Sue Hawk.

Post by Zeppo

Post by Rick
The only other S1 player that might be semi-interesting to see back
would be Greg Buis.

I liked Greg a lot, but Probst despised him because of the delight
he took in mocking the rituals of tribal council.