Jeff Probst reveals some Survivor 50 things fans will and won't be voting on

[Brian Smith]

Jeff Probst reveals some Survivor 50 things fans will and won't be voting on

"This is the riskiest idea we've done," says the host.

By Dalton Ross

Published on February 25, 2025 09:00AM EST

The only thing Survivor fans like to question more than the moves of the
players in the game are the creative decisions of the producers. That
Thursday morning quarterbacking is an essential part of Survivor fandom
as viewers love to discuss and debate every twist, idol, and advantage
on the island. And it doesn’t stop there. Are the contestants being
given too much food? Or is it not enough? Ask two Survivor fans and you
are likely to get two different answers.

But for all of us out there who deem ourselves wannabe TV producers with
very strong opinions about very trivial matters — our time has finally
come. That’s because Jeff Probst recently announced that the highly
anticipated Survivor 50 will allow viewers to vote several key elements
into the game.

Starting during Wednesday night’s CBS premiere of Survivor 48, fans will
be allowed to vote in four different creative categories for Survivor
50: In the Hands of the Fans. The result of those votes will determine
the official tribe colors, if the tribes are given rice or not, whether
the show continues with the final four fire-making competition or goes
back to a straight vote, and if they return to a live reunion show in LA
or stick with the Fijian After-Show. And there will be three more rounds
of voting after that, spaced out during the Survivor 48 season.

How wild is it for the producers to turn all of this power over to the
fans? “This is the riskiest idea we've done,” Probst tells Entertainment
Weekly. We sat down with the host over hearty salads in midtown
Manhattan to get the full scoop on all things Survivor 50, including why
fans are not voting players onto the season, whether other certain big
elements of the game could be up for a fan vote, if some of these vote
results could become permanent, and whether we might once again possibly
see Jeff Probst skydiving with an urn full of votes.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you land on the theme of a fan vote? You
knew you wanted to do something big for season 50. How is this where you
landed?

JEFF PROBST: It started with me saying I wanted it to be a thank you to
the fans because that's the whole reason we've been on so long is their
loyalty of sticking with us. Even if they don't love every idea, they
don't quit on us. And so that was it. And honestly, I was just sitting
in my office for a few days thinking, and I came up with the name In the
Hands of the Fans. That's when I kind of knew what the idea was and
let's let the fans be in charge. The first instinct is: Let them pick
the cast. But we've done that. I wanted to do something different, and
this is the riskiest idea we've done in that we're used to being in
charge of the game design,

But what makes it fun is it's forcing us to evolve again and say: Let's
create a variety of game elements that you will vote on, and then let's
just see what that mixture ends up being. Because we're more methodical.
We would lay out a season and say A connects to B, connects to C,
connects to D, and there's a theme and there's symmetry. We may not have
that in Survivor 50. We may have some people voting for one thing that
takes the game backwards, and voting for something that projects us into
the future.

I wondered whether this idea came out of what you all did with the fan
voting in the Second Chance season and if that was something you might
try again.

Second Chance was people who had something left to prove and they had a
burning desire. They wanted it so much that they would subject
themselves to a live vote, and know that they might not get chosen. For
Survivor 50, you can assume we're going to be bringing back some
legends, and you just can't ask a legend that you built the show on
their back and could argue they are part of building the show and then
turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.

It never worked for me. It always felt weird. I imagine somebody calling
me and saying something similar and I think, “Gosh, I’ve proven enough
that you either want me or you don't." So that was really it for me.
Plus, we had done it and we've never done this. To me, this was a much
more exciting idea because what I normally hear from fans is “If I was
in charge, this is what I would do.” And so well, now you are, and
really that's it.

I’m assuming there will be creative elements the fans will not be
involved with to maintain surprises for both the players and the
viewers, right?

That's a fair assumption. One of the fun things is how much uncertainty
you're going to create by letting the players see all the possibilities
but not know the result. The only people that are going to know the
results are the producers. Even the fans won't know the results until
the season starts. So I think the big twist to this is what we often do
on Survivor is we dangle something sparkly over here, but the real
intrigue is over here. And I think that's what this is. The fans can
pick from all of these different elements and assemble whatever game
they want.

The majority rules, that's how it's going to go. The most votes in that
category wins. But if you're the player, you now have a variety of
possibilities. So you can't make any assumptions — you don't know! And I
think what we're going to probably see play out is smart players
capitalizing on the fact that nobody's going to know if what I tell them
is the truth.

On Survivor 49, you can make an assumption there's going to be a Beware
Advantage. We've done it every time in the new era. So if you go on a
Journey, you could make an assumption that somebody might have a shot at
an advantage. So when you come back, there's sort of a context to the
situation. On Survivor 50, that's going to be tougher to do. And I think
that to me that's the most exciting part of this next evolution is if
this idea works, then maybe that's somewhere that heads us in a new
direction.

How does it impact your pre-production process, not knowing the answers
to these things in terms of what's going to be implemented?

It impacts. That's why we're going to have certain categories have to be
voted earlier. For instance, the color scheme — that's in the very first
category because we need to make the Buffs. We have not made them yet!
We would already have them by now. So [production designer] Zac Jensen
is waiting! And that's not the only thing that the fans are going to
decide on that has an aesthetic impact on the show.

The idea is not just gameplay, but also let's shape a little of the look
of the show, and let's also impact a little camp life, and then let's
impact gameplay as well. So it's a taste of everything that we do in
preparing a season. But I'm telling you the truth, I don't even know how
we're going to do it. We've never done it before. I haven't had time to
sit down and say, “Let's imagine what they're going to choose.” I'm not
spending time doing that. It's a waste of time. I'm just going to wait
and see what the result is and then say, “Okay, now we know what the
game is.”

What happens if you get a result that you don't think is the right one?
I mean, I know what happens: You'll do it if that’s how people vote. But
how are you feeling if you put something out there to the public, you
give them this power, and you think they're making the wrong decision?

Well, it's a personal vote. I would never give the players rice. Never.
Because I think having your cognitive ability start to decline quickly
makes it more interesting because people can't remember what lie they
told. So if somebody was asking me, “Jeff, what would you vote for?” I'd
say absolutely do not vote for anything that makes it easier. But
there's going to be a tendency from somebody who wants to make their
impact on the game, so they might vote opposite of whatever we're doing.
Okay, do that. It's not what I would do.

I'm saying design the game you want. Don't feel like you just need to
prove a point. If you really don't like the final four fire-making
challenge, then don't do it. Get rid of it. You're going to create new
uncertainty about what's going to come instead of it. So it all works.
But yeah, my bias is clear. I've been running the show for a long time.
I like to make players work and I like to keep them uncertain. But the
fans will have a chance to either in one way go back to our roots, but
in another way move us into the future. And I'm really curious where
that is going to go because we're going to give you some choices to make.

So could these choices impact future seasons? You brought up the
fire-making. What if you get an overwhelming response from people
saying, “We don't want it?” And you look at the numbers and you're like,
“Whoa!” Does that impact maybe what you do in seasons 51 or 52?

That remains to be seen, but I'm certainly open to it. I think there's
two things that you have to remember when you're listening to advice
from a fan. One is that's really how they feel and you've got to
consider that. The other is your job is to produce an entertaining show.
I've met people who said, “You should go back to season 1. No idols, no
advantages, no twists, nothing.” And I say, “Okay, we'll probably never
do that because that was 25 years ago and that game would be boring. And
I can tell you why, because an alliance of four can beat an alliance of
three because there's nothing that can stop anyone. You're going to not
be entertained.”

And anytime somebody says we should do a season with no idols, no
advantages, no twists, I say, “Fair enough, tell me your top 10 favorite
moments from Survivor.” And they all involve an idol, a twist, or an
advantage. So I'm feeling confident that the fans that are going to vote
are going to pause for a moment and say, “Do I want to just be contrary
or do I want to actually design the game I want to see played?” And then
we'll see. Maybe I'm the minority.

I want to ask you about a few specific things to see if these will be on
the table for the fan vote. Is 39 days on the table as an option for
season 50?

No. It's simply a production situation. We like this game and I can tell
you that even if we wanted to, we already have our leases, our land
agreements with Mana Island. 39 days isn't even an option.

What about final two versus final three? This is obviously one of the
big fan debates.

Honestly, Dalton, it's a great question. You and I have debated this
forever. I'm 100% certain on this. If I'm given the choice between
taking one of two people with me, I'm going to take the person I'm much
more likely to beat when I have another person. Now my equation is much
more difficult. I want to make the game difficult to win. You got to
beat two people now. It's a lot more complicated now. My game has to be
better than yours. And yours. I don't understand why anybody would
choose a final two. But again, just my opinion,

I totally get it. You don't want to be stuck with a great player versus
a goat. I just think A vs. B is inherently more compelling than pick one
of the above group.

Like the star showdown. Yeah, I like that. I get that. And that's
dramatic storytelling. Where it falls apart is if you have a true hero
and a true goat, you're in trouble. The argument I would make against
myself right now is that the type of people we're putting on the show,
we're putting on some pretty quality people. So the chances of having a
true goat at the end are diminished quite a bit.

Not only that, but some of the biggest “Oh my God!” moments are when
someone makes the “wrong” decision. Like when Colby brought Tina or when
Woo brought Tony to the final two.

Yeah, you’re right.

This might be more difficult because of the lead time you would need on
these production elements, but what about voting in a specific
challenge? Like, say, letting fans vote in either “Last Gasp” or
“Bob-Bob Bouy?”

With enough advanced time, we could do that. Absolutely. That would have
to be a little earlier because constructing a challenge takes a while. I
like that idea.

What about this one, which I assume might be difficult because it’s
right at the start, but could people choose whether the marooning is on
land or at sea?

That's actually a really fun one. I guess it'd have to have a little
more to it so that there was a game element to it and not just the
visual. I think so. If that were one of the options, I would probably
say that category would have a couple of other layers to give it some
context. Like do you want this kind of an opening where this happens at
sea, or do you want this kind of a marooning where it happens on the
beach? I mean, that's a really fun one.

Look, if you really want to give the fans what they want — in particular
this fan — will we get to vote on how you deliver the votes back to the
United States?

I mean, that's a possible option. It's definitely been on a list. Not
saying it'll make it because I'm not saying we have any great ideas for
how we would do it, but all the things you're hitting on are really
exciting to me because you have an array like picking a challenge, final
two or final three, marooning humor, something silly about delivering
the votes — you're really hitting at the core of what we want it to be.
It’s not just if there's an idol in play on episode 2 or not. It's the
whole idea of Survivor and everything that goes into the world. So I'm
taking all these notes. Some of them we may have, some of them might be
new to me.

Source:
https://ew.com/jeff-probst-reveals-survivor-50-things-fans-will-and-wont-be-voting-on-11685792

[Rick]

Post by Brian Smith
Jeff Probst reveals some Survivor 50 things fans will and won't be voting on
"This is the riskiest idea we've done," says the host.
By Dalton Ross
Published on February 25, 2025 09:00AM EST
The only thing Survivor fans like to question more than the moves of the
players in the game are the creative decisions of the producers. That
Thursday morning quarterbacking is an essential part of Survivor fandom
as viewers love to discuss and debate every twist, idol, and advantage
on the island. And it doesn’t stop there. Are the contestants being
given too much food? Or is it not enough? Ask two Survivor fans and you
are likely to get two different answers.
But for all of us out there who deem ourselves wannabe TV producers with
very strong opinions about very trivial matters — our time has finally
come. That’s because Jeff Probst recently announced that the highly
anticipated Survivor 50 will allow viewers to vote several key elements
into the game.
Starting during Wednesday night’s CBS premiere of Survivor 48, fans will
be allowed to vote in four different creative categories for Survivor
50: In the Hands of the Fans. The result of those votes will determine
the official tribe colors, if the tribes are given rice or not, whether
the show continues with the final four fire-making competition or goes
back to a straight vote, and if they return to a live reunion show in LA
or stick with the Fijian After-Show. And there will be three more rounds
of voting after that, spaced out during the Survivor 48 season.
How wild is it for the producers to turn all of this power over to the
fans? “This is the riskiest idea we've done,” Probst tells Entertainment
Weekly. We sat down with the host over hearty salads in midtown
Manhattan to get the full scoop on all things Survivor 50, including why
fans are not voting players onto the season, whether other certain big
elements of the game could be up for a fan vote, if some of these vote
results could become permanent, and whether we might once again possibly
see Jeff Probst skydiving with an urn full of votes.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you land on the theme of a fan vote? You
knew you wanted to do something big for season 50. How is this where you
landed?
JEFF PROBST: It started with me saying I wanted it to be a thank you to
the fans because that's the whole reason we've been on so long is their
loyalty of sticking with us. Even if they don't love every idea, they
don't quit on us. And so that was it. And honestly, I was just sitting
in my office for a few days thinking, and I came up with the name In the
Hands of the Fans. That's when I kind of knew what the idea was and
let's let the fans be in charge. The first instinct is: Let them pick
the cast. But we've done that. I wanted to do something different, and
this is the riskiest idea we've done in that we're used to being in
charge of the game design,
But what makes it fun is it's forcing us to evolve again and say: Let's
create a variety of game elements that you will vote on, and then let's
just see what that mixture ends up being. Because we're more methodical.
We would lay out a season and say A connects to B, connects to C,
connects to D, and there's a theme and there's symmetry. We may not have
that in Survivor 50. We may have some people voting for one thing that
takes the game backwards, and voting for something that projects us into
the future.
I wondered whether this idea came out of what you all did with the fan
voting in the Second Chance season and if that was something you might
try again.
Second Chance was people who had something left to prove and they had a
burning desire. They wanted it so much that they would subject
themselves to a live vote, and know that they might not get chosen. For
Survivor 50, you can assume we're going to be bringing back some
legends, and you just can't ask a legend that you built the show on
their back and could argue they are part of building the show and then
turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.
It never worked for me. It always felt weird. I imagine somebody calling
me and saying something similar and I think, “Gosh, I’ve proven enough
that you either want me or you don't." So that was really it for me.
Plus, we had done it and we've never done this. To me, this was a much
more exciting idea because what I normally hear from fans is “If I was
in charge, this is what I would do.” And so well, now you are, and
really that's it.
I’m assuming there will be creative elements the fans will not be
involved with to maintain surprises for both the players and the
viewers, right?
That's a fair assumption. One of the fun things is how much uncertainty
you're going to create by letting the players see all the possibilities
but not know the result. The only people that are going to know the
results are the producers. Even the fans won't know the results until
the season starts. So I think the big twist to this is what we often do
on Survivor is we dangle something sparkly over here, but the real
intrigue is over here. And I think that's what this is. The fans can
pick from all of these different elements and assemble whatever game
they want.
The majority rules, that's how it's going to go. The most votes in that
category wins. But if you're the player, you now have a variety of
possibilities. So you can't make any assumptions — you don't know! And I
think what we're going to probably see play out is smart players
capitalizing on the fact that nobody's going to know if what I tell them
is the truth.
On Survivor 49, you can make an assumption there's going to be a Beware
Advantage. We've done it every time in the new era. So if you go on a
Journey, you could make an assumption that somebody might have a shot at
an advantage. So when you come back, there's sort of a context to the
situation. On Survivor 50, that's going to be tougher to do. And I think
that to me that's the most exciting part of this next evolution is if
this idea works, then maybe that's somewhere that heads us in a new
direction.
How does it impact your pre-production process, not knowing the answers
to these things in terms of what's going to be implemented?
It impacts. That's why we're going to have certain categories have to be
voted earlier. For instance, the color scheme — that's in the very first
category because we need to make the Buffs. We have not made them yet!
We would already have them by now. So [production designer] Zac Jensen
is waiting! And that's not the only thing that the fans are going to
decide on that has an aesthetic impact on the show.
The idea is not just gameplay, but also let's shape a little of the look
of the show, and let's also impact a little camp life, and then let's
impact gameplay as well. So it's a taste of everything that we do in
preparing a season. But I'm telling you the truth, I don't even know how
we're going to do it. We've never done it before. I haven't had time to
sit down and say, “Let's imagine what they're going to choose.” I'm not
spending time doing that. It's a waste of time. I'm just going to wait
and see what the result is and then say, “Okay, now we know what the
game is.”
What happens if you get a result that you don't think is the right one?
I mean, I know what happens: You'll do it if that’s how people vote. But
how are you feeling if you put something out there to the public, you
give them this power, and you think they're making the wrong decision?
Well, it's a personal vote. I would never give the players rice. Never.
Because I think having your cognitive ability start to decline quickly
makes it more interesting because people can't remember what lie they
told. So if somebody was asking me, “Jeff, what would you vote for?” I'd
say absolutely do not vote for anything that makes it easier. But
there's going to be a tendency from somebody who wants to make their
impact on the game, so they might vote opposite of whatever we're doing.
Okay, do that. It's not what I would do.
I'm saying design the game you want. Don't feel like you just need to
prove a point. If you really don't like the final four fire-making
challenge, then don't do it. Get rid of it. You're going to create new
uncertainty about what's going to come instead of it. So it all works.
But yeah, my bias is clear. I've been running the show for a long time.
I like to make players work and I like to keep them uncertain. But the
fans will have a chance to either in one way go back to our roots, but
in another way move us into the future. And I'm really curious where
that is going to go because we're going to give you some choices to make.
So could these choices impact future seasons? You brought up the
fire-making. What if you get an overwhelming response from people
saying, “We don't want it?” And you look at the numbers and you're like,
“Whoa!” Does that impact maybe what you do in seasons 51 or 52?
That remains to be seen, but I'm certainly open to it. I think there's
two things that you have to remember when you're listening to advice
from a fan. One is that's really how they feel and you've got to
consider that. The other is your job is to produce an entertaining show.
I've met people who said, “You should go back to season 1. No idols, no
advantages, no twists, nothing.” And I say, “Okay, we'll probably never
do that because that was 25 years ago and that game would be boring. And
I can tell you why, because an alliance of four can beat an alliance of
three because there's nothing that can stop anyone. You're going to not
be entertained.”
And anytime somebody says we should do a season with no idols, no
advantages, no twists, I say, “Fair enough, tell me your top 10 favorite
moments from Survivor.” And they all involve an idol, a twist, or an
advantage. So I'm feeling confident that the fans that are going to vote
are going to pause for a moment and say, “Do I want to just be contrary
or do I want to actually design the game I want to see played?” And then
we'll see. Maybe I'm the minority.
I want to ask you about a few specific things to see if these will be on
the table for the fan vote. Is 39 days on the table as an option for
season 50?
No. It's simply a production situation. We like this game and I can tell
you that even if we wanted to, we already have our leases, our land
agreements with Mana Island. 39 days isn't even an option.
What about final two versus final three? This is obviously one of the
big fan debates.
Honestly, Dalton, it's a great question. You and I have debated this
forever. I'm 100% certain on this. If I'm given the choice between
taking one of two people with me, I'm going to take the person I'm much
more likely to beat when I have another person. Now my equation is much
more difficult. I want to make the game difficult to win. You got to
beat two people now. It's a lot more complicated now. My game has to be
better than yours. And yours. I don't understand why anybody would
choose a final two. But again, just my opinion,
I totally get it. You don't want to be stuck with a great player versus
a goat. I just think A vs. B is inherently more compelling than pick one
of the above group.
Like the star showdown. Yeah, I like that. I get that. And that's
dramatic storytelling. Where it falls apart is if you have a true hero
and a true goat, you're in trouble. The argument I would make against
myself right now is that the type of people we're putting on the show,
we're putting on some pretty quality people. So the chances of having a
true goat at the end are diminished quite a bit.
Not only that, but some of the biggest “Oh my God!” moments are when
someone makes the “wrong” decision. Like when Colby brought Tina or when
Woo brought Tony to the final two.
Yeah, you’re right.
This might be more difficult because of the lead time you would need on
these production elements, but what about voting in a specific
challenge? Like, say, letting fans vote in either “Last Gasp” or
“Bob-Bob Bouy?”
With enough advanced time, we could do that. Absolutely. That would have
to be a little earlier because constructing a challenge takes a while. I
like that idea.
What about this one, which I assume might be difficult because it’s
right at the start, but could people choose whether the marooning is on
land or at sea?
That's actually a really fun one. I guess it'd have to have a little
more to it so that there was a game element to it and not just the
visual. I think so. If that were one of the options, I would probably
say that category would have a couple of other layers to give it some
context. Like do you want this kind of an opening where this happens at
sea, or do you want this kind of a marooning where it happens on the
beach? I mean, that's a really fun one.
Look, if you really want to give the fans what they want — in particular
this fan — will we get to vote on how you deliver the votes back to the
United States?
I mean, that's a possible option. It's definitely been on a list. Not
saying it'll make it because I'm not saying we have any great ideas for
how we would do it, but all the things you're hitting on are really
exciting to me because you have an array like picking a challenge, final
two or final three, marooning humor, something silly about delivering
the votes — you're really hitting at the core of what we want it to be.
It’s not just if there's an idol in play on episode 2 or not. It's the
whole idea of Survivor and everything that goes into the world. So I'm
taking all these notes. Some of them we may have, some of them might be
new to me.
https://ew.com/jeff-probst-reveals-survivor-50-things-fans-will-and-wont-be-voting-on-11685792

Surely Jeff must realize that the tribe colors are of no interest to
anyone and have no real impact on the game. I wish Dalton had said
something to Jeff about the complete absurdity of this question. All
the other questions have an effect on the game. This absolutely does
not. What was Jeff thinking?

[Brian Smith]

Post by Rick

Post by Brian Smith
Jeff Probst reveals some Survivor 50 things fans will and won't be voting on
"This is the riskiest idea we've done," says the host.
By Dalton Ross
Published on February 25, 2025 09:00AM EST
The only thing Survivor fans like to question more than the moves of
the players in the game are the creative decisions of the producers.
That Thursday morning quarterbacking is an essential part of Survivor
fandom as viewers love to discuss and debate every twist, idol, and
advantage on the island. And it doesn’t stop there. Are the
contestants being given too much food? Or is it not enough? Ask two
Survivor fans and you are likely to get two different answers.
But for all of us out there who deem ourselves wannabe TV producers
with very strong opinions about very trivial matters — our time has
finally come. That’s because Jeff Probst recently announced that the
highly anticipated Survivor 50 will allow viewers to vote several key
elements into the game.
Starting during Wednesday night’s CBS premiere of Survivor 48, fans
will be allowed to vote in four different creative categories for
Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans. The result of those votes will
determine the official tribe colors, if the tribes are given rice or
not, whether the show continues with the final four fire-making
competition or goes back to a straight vote, and if they return to a
live reunion show in LA or stick with the Fijian After-Show. And there
will be three more rounds of voting after that, spaced out during the
Survivor 48 season.
How wild is it for the producers to turn all of this power over to the
fans? “This is the riskiest idea we've done,” Probst tells
Entertainment Weekly. We sat down with the host over hearty salads in
midtown Manhattan to get the full scoop on all things Survivor 50,
including why fans are not voting players onto the season, whether
other certain big elements of the game could be up for a fan vote, if
some of these vote results could become permanent, and whether we
might once again possibly see Jeff Probst skydiving with an urn full
of votes.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you land on the theme of a fan vote? You
knew you wanted to do something big for season 50. How is this where
you landed?
JEFF PROBST: It started with me saying I wanted it to be a thank you
to the fans because that's the whole reason we've been on so long is
their loyalty of sticking with us. Even if they don't love every idea,
they don't quit on us. And so that was it. And honestly, I was just
sitting in my office for a few days thinking, and I came up with the
name In the Hands of the Fans. That's when I kind of knew what the
Let them pick the cast. But we've done that. I wanted to do something
different, and this is the riskiest idea we've done in that we're used
to being in charge of the game design,
Let's create a variety of game elements that you will vote on, and
then let's just see what that mixture ends up being. Because we're
more methodical. We would lay out a season and say A connects to B,
connects to C, connects to D, and there's a theme and there's
symmetry. We may not have that in Survivor 50. We may have some people
voting for one thing that takes the game backwards, and voting for
something that projects us into the future.
I wondered whether this idea came out of what you all did with the fan
voting in the Second Chance season and if that was something you might
try again.
Second Chance was people who had something left to prove and they had
a burning desire. They wanted it so much that they would subject
themselves to a live vote, and know that they might not get chosen.
For Survivor 50, you can assume we're going to be bringing back some
legends, and you just can't ask a legend that you built the show on
their back and could argue they are part of building the show and then
turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.
It never worked for me. It always felt weird. I imagine somebody
calling me and saying something similar and I think, “Gosh, I’ve
proven enough that you either want me or you don't." So that was
really it for me. Plus, we had done it and we've never done this. To
me, this was a much more exciting idea because what I normally hear
from fans is “If I was in charge, this is what I would do.” And so
well, now you are, and really that's it.
I’m assuming there will be creative elements the fans will not be
involved with to maintain surprises for both the players and the
viewers, right?
That's a fair assumption. One of the fun things is how much
uncertainty you're going to create by letting the players see all the
possibilities but not know the result. The only people that are going
to know the results are the producers. Even the fans won't know the
results until the season starts. So I think the big twist to this is
what we often do on Survivor is we dangle something sparkly over here,
but the real intrigue is over here. And I think that's what this is.
The fans can pick from all of these different elements and assemble
whatever game they want.
The majority rules, that's how it's going to go. The most votes in
that category wins. But if you're the player, you now have a variety
of possibilities. So you can't make any assumptions — you don't know!
And I think what we're going to probably see play out is smart players
capitalizing on the fact that nobody's going to know if what I tell
them is the truth.
On Survivor 49, you can make an assumption there's going to be a
Beware Advantage. We've done it every time in the new era. So if you
go on a Journey, you could make an assumption that somebody might have
a shot at an advantage. So when you come back, there's sort of a
context to the situation. On Survivor 50, that's going to be tougher
to do. And I think that to me that's the most exciting part of this
next evolution is if this idea works, then maybe that's somewhere that
heads us in a new direction.
How does it impact your pre-production process, not knowing the
answers to these things in terms of what's going to be implemented?
It impacts. That's why we're going to have certain categories have to
be voted earlier. For instance, the color scheme — that's in the very
first category because we need to make the Buffs. We have not made
them yet! We would already have them by now. So [production designer]
Zac Jensen is waiting! And that's not the only thing that the fans are
going to decide on that has an aesthetic impact on the show.
The idea is not just gameplay, but also let's shape a little of the
look of the show, and let's also impact a little camp life, and then
let's impact gameplay as well. So it's a taste of everything that we
do in preparing a season. But I'm telling you the truth, I don't even
know how we're going to do it. We've never done it before. I haven't
had time to sit down and say, “Let's imagine what they're going to
choose.” I'm not spending time doing that. It's a waste of time. I'm
just going to wait and see what the result is and then say, “Okay, now
we know what the game is.”
What happens if you get a result that you don't think is the right
one? I mean, I know what happens: You'll do it if that’s how people
vote. But how are you feeling if you put something out there to the
public, you give them this power, and you think they're making the
wrong decision?
Well, it's a personal vote. I would never give the players rice.
Never. Because I think having your cognitive ability start to decline
quickly makes it more interesting because people can't remember what
lie they told. So if somebody was asking me, “Jeff, what would you
vote for?” I'd say absolutely do not vote for anything that makes it
easier. But there's going to be a tendency from somebody who wants to
make their impact on the game, so they might vote opposite of whatever
we're doing. Okay, do that. It's not what I would do.
I'm saying design the game you want. Don't feel like you just need to
prove a point. If you really don't like the final four fire-making
challenge, then don't do it. Get rid of it. You're going to create new
uncertainty about what's going to come instead of it. So it all works.
But yeah, my bias is clear. I've been running the show for a long
time. I like to make players work and I like to keep them uncertain.
But the fans will have a chance to either in one way go back to our
roots, but in another way move us into the future. And I'm really
curious where that is going to go because we're going to give you some
choices to make.
So could these choices impact future seasons? You brought up the fire-
making. What if you get an overwhelming response from people saying,
“We don't want it?” And you look at the numbers and you're like,
“Whoa!” Does that impact maybe what you do in seasons 51 or 52?
That remains to be seen, but I'm certainly open to it. I think there's
two things that you have to remember when you're listening to advice
from a fan. One is that's really how they feel and you've got to
consider that. The other is your job is to produce an entertaining
show. I've met people who said, “You should go back to season 1. No
idols, no advantages, no twists, nothing.” And I say, “Okay, we'll
probably never do that because that was 25 years ago and that game
would be boring. And I can tell you why, because an alliance of four
can beat an alliance of three because there's nothing that can stop
anyone. You're going to not be entertained.”
And anytime somebody says we should do a season with no idols, no
advantages, no twists, I say, “Fair enough, tell me your top 10
favorite moments from Survivor.” And they all involve an idol, a
twist, or an advantage. So I'm feeling confident that the fans that
are going to vote are going to pause for a moment and say, “Do I want
to just be contrary or do I want to actually design the game I want to
see played?” And then we'll see. Maybe I'm the minority.
I want to ask you about a few specific things to see if these will be
on the table for the fan vote. Is 39 days on the table as an option
for season 50?
No. It's simply a production situation. We like this game and I can
tell you that even if we wanted to, we already have our leases, our
land agreements with Mana Island. 39 days isn't even an option.
What about final two versus final three? This is obviously one of the
big fan debates.
Honestly, Dalton, it's a great question. You and I have debated this
forever. I'm 100% certain on this. If I'm given the choice between
taking one of two people with me, I'm going to take the person I'm
much more likely to beat when I have another person. Now my equation
is much more difficult. I want to make the game difficult to win. You
got to beat two people now. It's a lot more complicated now. My game
has to be better than yours. And yours. I don't understand why anybody
would choose a final two. But again, just my opinion,
I totally get it. You don't want to be stuck with a great player
versus a goat. I just think A vs. B is inherently more compelling than
pick one of the above group.
Like the star showdown. Yeah, I like that. I get that. And that's
dramatic storytelling. Where it falls apart is if you have a true hero
and a true goat, you're in trouble. The argument I would make against
myself right now is that the type of people we're putting on the show,
we're putting on some pretty quality people. So the chances of having
a true goat at the end are diminished quite a bit.
Not only that, but some of the biggest “Oh my God!” moments are when
someone makes the “wrong” decision. Like when Colby brought Tina or
when Woo brought Tony to the final two.
Yeah, you’re right.
This might be more difficult because of the lead time you would need
on these production elements, but what about voting in a specific
challenge? Like, say, letting fans vote in either “Last Gasp” or “Bob-
Bob Bouy?”
With enough advanced time, we could do that. Absolutely. That would
have to be a little earlier because constructing a challenge takes a
while. I like that idea.
What about this one, which I assume might be difficult because it’s
right at the start, but could people choose whether the marooning is
on land or at sea?
That's actually a really fun one. I guess it'd have to have a little
more to it so that there was a game element to it and not just the
visual. I think so. If that were one of the options, I would probably
say that category would have a couple of other layers to give it some
context. Like do you want this kind of an opening where this happens
at sea, or do you want this kind of a marooning where it happens on
the beach? I mean, that's a really fun one.
Look, if you really want to give the fans what they want — in
particular this fan — will we get to vote on how you deliver the votes
back to the United States?
I mean, that's a possible option. It's definitely been on a list. Not
saying it'll make it because I'm not saying we have any great ideas
for how we would do it, but all the things you're hitting on are
really exciting to me because you have an array like picking a
challenge, final two or final three, marooning humor, something silly
about delivering the votes — you're really hitting at the core of what
we want it to be. It’s not just if there's an idol in play on episode
2 or not. It's the whole idea of Survivor and everything that goes
into the world. So I'm taking all these notes. Some of them we may
have, some of them might be new to me.
Source: https://ew.com/jeff-probst-reveals-survivor-50-things-fans-
will-and-wont-be-voting-on-11685792

Surely Jeff must realize that the tribe colors are of no interest to
anyone and have no real impact on the game.  I wish Dalton had said
something to Jeff about the complete absurdity of this question.  All
the other questions have an effect on the game.  This absolutely does
not.  What was Jeff thinking?

Maybe Mike White trolled Jeff and told him tribe colors are important.

Have you noticed how there's been no mention of tribe sizes for S50? I
see people keep mentioning 20 players but I don't recall Jeff saying
anything about cast size. For me, the thing I most want to see is a move
away from the three tribe crap we've been subjected to for the last
~20(?) seasons. Give me a season with just two tribes! With my luck,
we'll end up four tribes of five.

[Rick]

Post by Brian Smith

Post by Rick

Post by Brian Smith
Jeff Probst reveals some Survivor 50 things fans will and won't be voting on
"This is the riskiest idea we've done," says the host.
By Dalton Ross
Published on February 25, 2025 09:00AM EST
The only thing Survivor fans like to question more than the moves of
the players in the game are the creative decisions of the producers.
That Thursday morning quarterbacking is an essential part of Survivor
fandom as viewers love to discuss and debate every twist, idol, and
advantage on the island. And it doesn’t stop there. Are the
contestants being given too much food? Or is it not enough? Ask two
Survivor fans and you are likely to get two different answers.
But for all of us out there who deem ourselves wannabe TV producers
with very strong opinions about very trivial matters — our time has
finally come. That’s because Jeff Probst recently announced that the
highly anticipated Survivor 50 will allow viewers to vote several key
elements into the game.
Starting during Wednesday night’s CBS premiere of Survivor 48, fans
will be allowed to vote in four different creative categories for
Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans. The result of those votes will
determine the official tribe colors, if the tribes are given rice or
not, whether the show continues with the final four fire-making
competition or goes back to a straight vote, and if they return to a
live reunion show in LA or stick with the Fijian After-Show. And
there will be three more rounds of voting after that, spaced out
during the Survivor 48 season.
How wild is it for the producers to turn all of this power over to
the fans? “This is the riskiest idea we've done,” Probst tells
Entertainment Weekly. We sat down with the host over hearty salads in
midtown Manhattan to get the full scoop on all things Survivor 50,
including why fans are not voting players onto the season, whether
other certain big elements of the game could be up for a fan vote, if
some of these vote results could become permanent, and whether we
might once again possibly see Jeff Probst skydiving with an urn full
of votes.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you land on the theme of a fan vote?
You knew you wanted to do something big for season 50. How is this
where you landed?
JEFF PROBST: It started with me saying I wanted it to be a thank you
to the fans because that's the whole reason we've been on so long is
their loyalty of sticking with us. Even if they don't love every
idea, they don't quit on us. And so that was it. And honestly, I was
just sitting in my office for a few days thinking, and I came up with
the name In the Hands of the Fans. That's when I kind of knew what
the idea was and let's let the fans be in charge. The first instinct
is: Let them pick the cast. But we've done that. I wanted to do
something different, and this is the riskiest idea we've done in that
we're used to being in charge of the game design,
Let's create a variety of game elements that you will vote on, and
then let's just see what that mixture ends up being. Because we're
more methodical. We would lay out a season and say A connects to B,
connects to C, connects to D, and there's a theme and there's
symmetry. We may not have that in Survivor 50. We may have some
people voting for one thing that takes the game backwards, and voting
for something that projects us into the future.
I wondered whether this idea came out of what you all did with the
fan voting in the Second Chance season and if that was something you
might try again.
Second Chance was people who had something left to prove and they had
a burning desire. They wanted it so much that they would subject
themselves to a live vote, and know that they might not get chosen.
For Survivor 50, you can assume we're going to be bringing back some
legends, and you just can't ask a legend that you built the show on
their back and could argue they are part of building the show and
then turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.
It never worked for me. It always felt weird. I imagine somebody
calling me and saying something similar and I think, “Gosh, I’ve
proven enough that you either want me or you don't." So that was
really it for me. Plus, we had done it and we've never done this. To
me, this was a much more exciting idea because what I normally hear
from fans is “If I was in charge, this is what I would do.” And so
well, now you are, and really that's it.
I’m assuming there will be creative elements the fans will not be
involved with to maintain surprises for both the players and the
viewers, right?
That's a fair assumption. One of the fun things is how much
uncertainty you're going to create by letting the players see all the
possibilities but not know the result. The only people that are going
to know the results are the producers. Even the fans won't know the
results until the season starts. So I think the big twist to this is
what we often do on Survivor is we dangle something sparkly over
here, but the real intrigue is over here. And I think that's what
this is. The fans can pick from all of these different elements and
assemble whatever game they want.
The majority rules, that's how it's going to go. The most votes in
that category wins. But if you're the player, you now have a variety
of possibilities. So you can't make any assumptions — you don't know!
And I think what we're going to probably see play out is smart
players capitalizing on the fact that nobody's going to know if what
I tell them is the truth.
On Survivor 49, you can make an assumption there's going to be a
Beware Advantage. We've done it every time in the new era. So if you
go on a Journey, you could make an assumption that somebody might
have a shot at an advantage. So when you come back, there's sort of a
context to the situation. On Survivor 50, that's going to be tougher
to do. And I think that to me that's the most exciting part of this
next evolution is if this idea works, then maybe that's somewhere
that heads us in a new direction.
How does it impact your pre-production process, not knowing the
answers to these things in terms of what's going to be implemented?
It impacts. That's why we're going to have certain categories have to
be voted earlier. For instance, the color scheme — that's in the very
first category because we need to make the Buffs. We have not made
them yet! We would already have them by now. So [production designer]
Zac Jensen is waiting! And that's not the only thing that the fans
are going to decide on that has an aesthetic impact on the show.
The idea is not just gameplay, but also let's shape a little of the
look of the show, and let's also impact a little camp life, and then
let's impact gameplay as well. So it's a taste of everything that we
do in preparing a season. But I'm telling you the truth, I don't even
know how we're going to do it. We've never done it before. I haven't
had time to sit down and say, “Let's imagine what they're going to
choose.” I'm not spending time doing that. It's a waste of time. I'm
just going to wait and see what the result is and then say, “Okay,
now we know what the game is.”
What happens if you get a result that you don't think is the right
one? I mean, I know what happens: You'll do it if that’s how people
vote. But how are you feeling if you put something out there to the
public, you give them this power, and you think they're making the
wrong decision?
Well, it's a personal vote. I would never give the players rice.
Never. Because I think having your cognitive ability start to decline
quickly makes it more interesting because people can't remember what
lie they told. So if somebody was asking me, “Jeff, what would you
vote for?” I'd say absolutely do not vote for anything that makes it
easier. But there's going to be a tendency from somebody who wants to
make their impact on the game, so they might vote opposite of
whatever we're doing. Okay, do that. It's not what I would do.
I'm saying design the game you want. Don't feel like you just need to
prove a point. If you really don't like the final four fire-making
challenge, then don't do it. Get rid of it. You're going to create
new uncertainty about what's going to come instead of it. So it all
works. But yeah, my bias is clear. I've been running the show for a
long time. I like to make players work and I like to keep them
uncertain. But the fans will have a chance to either in one way go
back to our roots, but in another way move us into the future. And
I'm really curious where that is going to go because we're going to
give you some choices to make.
So could these choices impact future seasons? You brought up the
fire- making. What if you get an overwhelming response from people
saying, “We don't want it?” And you look at the numbers and you're
like, “Whoa!” Does that impact maybe what you do in seasons 51 or 52?
That remains to be seen, but I'm certainly open to it. I think
there's two things that you have to remember when you're listening to
advice from a fan. One is that's really how they feel and you've got
to consider that. The other is your job is to produce an entertaining
show. I've met people who said, “You should go back to season 1. No
idols, no advantages, no twists, nothing.” And I say, “Okay, we'll
probably never do that because that was 25 years ago and that game
would be boring. And I can tell you why, because an alliance of four
can beat an alliance of three because there's nothing that can stop
anyone. You're going to not be entertained.”
And anytime somebody says we should do a season with no idols, no
advantages, no twists, I say, “Fair enough, tell me your top 10
favorite moments from Survivor.” And they all involve an idol, a
twist, or an advantage. So I'm feeling confident that the fans that
are going to vote are going to pause for a moment and say, “Do I want
to just be contrary or do I want to actually design the game I want
to see played?” And then we'll see. Maybe I'm the minority.
I want to ask you about a few specific things to see if these will be
on the table for the fan vote. Is 39 days on the table as an option
for season 50?
No. It's simply a production situation. We like this game and I can
tell you that even if we wanted to, we already have our leases, our
land agreements with Mana Island. 39 days isn't even an option.
What about final two versus final three? This is obviously one of the
big fan debates.
Honestly, Dalton, it's a great question. You and I have debated this
forever. I'm 100% certain on this. If I'm given the choice between
taking one of two people with me, I'm going to take the person I'm
much more likely to beat when I have another person. Now my equation
is much more difficult. I want to make the game difficult to win. You
got to beat two people now. It's a lot more complicated now. My game
has to be better than yours. And yours. I don't understand why
anybody would choose a final two. But again, just my opinion,
I totally get it. You don't want to be stuck with a great player
versus a goat. I just think A vs. B is inherently more compelling
than pick one of the above group.
Like the star showdown. Yeah, I like that. I get that. And that's
dramatic storytelling. Where it falls apart is if you have a true
hero and a true goat, you're in trouble. The argument I would make
against myself right now is that the type of people we're putting on
the show, we're putting on some pretty quality people. So the chances
of having a true goat at the end are diminished quite a bit.
Not only that, but some of the biggest “Oh my God!” moments are when
someone makes the “wrong” decision. Like when Colby brought Tina or
when Woo brought Tony to the final two.
Yeah, you’re right.
This might be more difficult because of the lead time you would need
on these production elements, but what about voting in a specific
challenge? Like, say, letting fans vote in either “Last Gasp” or
“Bob- Bob Bouy?”
With enough advanced time, we could do that. Absolutely. That would
have to be a little earlier because constructing a challenge takes a
while. I like that idea.
What about this one, which I assume might be difficult because it’s
right at the start, but could people choose whether the marooning is
on land or at sea?
That's actually a really fun one. I guess it'd have to have a little
more to it so that there was a game element to it and not just the
visual. I think so. If that were one of the options, I would probably
say that category would have a couple of other layers to give it some
context. Like do you want this kind of an opening where this happens
at sea, or do you want this kind of a marooning where it happens on
the beach? I mean, that's a really fun one.
Look, if you really want to give the fans what they want — in
particular this fan — will we get to vote on how you deliver the
votes back to the United States?
I mean, that's a possible option. It's definitely been on a list. Not
saying it'll make it because I'm not saying we have any great ideas
for how we would do it, but all the things you're hitting on are
really exciting to me because you have an array like picking a
challenge, final two or final three, marooning humor, something silly
about delivering the votes — you're really hitting at the core of
what we want it to be. It’s not just if there's an idol in play on
episode 2 or not. It's the whole idea of Survivor and everything that
goes into the world. So I'm taking all these notes. Some of them we
may have, some of them might be new to me.
Source: https://ew.com/jeff-probst-reveals-survivor-50-things-fans-
will-and-wont-be-voting-on-11685792

Surely Jeff must realize that the tribe colors are of no interest to
anyone and have no real impact on the game.  I wish Dalton had said
something to Jeff about the complete absurdity of this question.  All
the other questions have an effect on the game.  This absolutely does
not.  What was Jeff thinking?

Maybe Mike White trolled Jeff and told him tribe colors are important.
Have you noticed how there's been no mention of tribe sizes for S50? I
see people keep mentioning 20 players but I don't recall Jeff saying
anything about cast size. For me, the thing I most want to see is a move
away from the three tribe crap we've been subjected to for the last
~20(?) seasons. Give me a season with just two tribes! With my luck,
we'll end up four tribes of five.

If not Mike White, then Tyler Perry...

I don't think number of players would be up to a vote since that would
affect budgets and costs. More players = more expense.

I don't mind the smaller size tribes since it makes it harder for
players to stay under the radar. Larger tribes always seem to have one
or two "purple" players where you start to wonder - who is that one
player who never seems to talk? Also with only two tribes, you
sometimes have one tribe that is so dominant it literally wipes the
other tribe out. Remember season 10 Palau when Tom's tribe literally
won every challenge leaving the other tribe with just Stephenie La
Grossa who just got absorbed into the other tribe? With three tribes
you sometimes have one tribe that's really weak, but there's usually not
one dominant tribe that wins all the challenges.

For me, I will say again I would love an old-style season where there
are no idols or gimmicks, just old-fashioned relationship building and
winning ICs. I still remember season 6 very fondly, because no one had
any built-in advantages, and it was a mystery right to the end who was
gonna win. Other than Rob Cesternino - who was so smart he made himself
into a target who couldn't make the finals - no one player really dominated.

[Zeppo]

Post by Brian Smith
For
Survivor 50, you can assume we're going to be bringing back some
legends, and you just can't ask a legend that you built the show on
their back and could argue they are part of building the show and then
turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.

It seems to me that Probst used up all of his “legends” in S40.
I really don’t want to see any of those people play again.

Post by Brian Smith
No. It's simply a production situation. We like this game and I can tell
you that even if we wanted to, we already have our leases, our land
agreements with Mana Island. 39 days isn't even an option.

I’m calling bullshit on this. Beginning in S41, the players were
on-site for the standard 39 days, but for the first two weeks they
were in quarantine. Now Probst is saying that Production only
has access to to the location for 26 days twice a year?

Post by Brian Smith
Like the star showdown. Yeah, I like that. I get that. And that's
dramatic storytelling. Where it falls apart is if you have a true hero
and a true goat, you're in trouble. The argument I would make against
myself right now is that the type of people we're putting on the show,
we're putting on some pretty quality people. So the chances of having a
true goat at the end are diminished quite a bit.

No they aren’t. In the “new era”, there have been several players
who, IMO, qualify as “true goats” and were dragged to FTC:
-Romeo Escobar
-Carolyn Wiger
-Jake O’Kane
-Ben Katzman
-Sue Smey

Probst is delusional if he really believes that any of these people
had a chance of winning.

[Brian Smith]

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
For
Survivor 50, you can assume we're going to be bringing back some
legends, and you just can't ask a legend that you built the show on
their back and could argue they are part of building the show and then
turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.

It seems to me that Probst used up all of his “legends” in S40.
I really don’t want to see any of those people play again.

I was surprised to see him say that they're going to bring back some
"legends" for S50. Of all the rumors floating around, the only one I
fully believe is that there will be no past winners. Who qualifies as a
legend who hasn't won? Cirie?

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
No. It's simply a production situation. We like this game and I can tell
you that even if we wanted to, we already have our leases, our land
agreements with Mana Island. 39 days isn't even an option.

I’m calling bullshit on this. Beginning in S41, the players were
on-site for the standard 39 days, but for the first two weeks they
were in quarantine. Now Probst is saying that Production only
has access to to the location for 26 days twice a year?

They're not doing the quarantine thing anymore. Obviously production has
access to the island for a lot more than 52 days/year. Probst himself
said it takes a long time to set things up so he's clearly not being
honest with us. He should just say it's financial and that would
probably put an end to the constant whining.

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
Like the star showdown. Yeah, I like that. I get that. And that's
dramatic storytelling. Where it falls apart is if you have a true hero
and a true goat, you're in trouble. The argument I would make against
myself right now is that the type of people we're putting on the show,
we're putting on some pretty quality people. So the chances of having a
true goat at the end are diminished quite a bit.

No they aren’t. In the “new era”, there have been several players
-Romeo Escobar
-Carolyn Wiger
-Jake O’Kane
-Ben Katzman
-Sue Smey
Probst is delusional if he really believes that any of these people
had a chance of winning.

For a noticeable segment of online fans, Carolyn is a legend. I'm with
you though. She was a goat.

[Rick]

Post by Brian Smith

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
For
Survivor 50, you can assume we're going to be bringing back some
legends, and you just can't ask a legend that you built the show on
their back and could argue they are part of building the show and then
turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.

It seems to me that Probst used up all of his “legends” in S40.
I really don’t want to see any of those people play again.

I was surprised to see him say that they're going to bring back some
"legends" for S50. Of all the rumors floating around, the only one I
fully believe is that there will be no past winners. Who qualifies as a
legend who hasn't won? Cirie?

Gosh, I hope it's not Cirie. She has perhaps been more over-exposed
than any other non-winner. Given her upcoming appearance on Survivor
Australia, I doubt we will see her here.

My guess might be someone like Rick Devens (whom he seems to like) or
maybe Chrissy? I'm sure Mike White is too busy and famous to come back.
I guess the person who literally came closest to winning was Domenick,
who literally got the same number of votes as the winner and needed a
tie-break vote to lose.

Post by Brian Smith

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
No. It's simply a production situation. We like this game and I can tell
you that even if we wanted to, we already have our leases, our land
agreements with Mana Island. 39 days isn't even an option.

I’m calling bullshit on this. Beginning in S41, the players were
on-site for the standard 39 days, but for the first two weeks they
were in quarantine. Now Probst is saying that Production only
has access to to the location for 26 days twice a year?

They're not doing the quarantine thing anymore. Obviously production has
access to the island for a lot more than 52 days/year. Probst himself
said it takes a long time to set things up so he's clearly not being
honest with us. He should just say it's financial and that would
probably put an end to the constant whining.

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
Like the star showdown. Yeah, I like that. I get that. And that's
dramatic storytelling. Where it falls apart is if you have a true hero
and a true goat, you're in trouble. The argument I would make against
myself right now is that the type of people we're putting on the show,
we're putting on some pretty quality people. So the chances of having a
true goat at the end are diminished quite a bit.

No they aren’t. In the “new era”, there have been several players
-Romeo Escobar
-Carolyn Wiger
-Jake O’Kane
-Ben Katzman
-Sue Smey
Probst is delusional if he really believes that any of these people
had a chance of winning.

For a noticeable segment of online fans, Carolyn is a legend. I'm with
you though. She was a goat.

At the time, I thought Carolyn was playing a unique and interesting game
and had a shot at votes. I totally underestimated how much she was
disliked or at least not appreciated. I had a similar feeling about
Xander who, while not on Zepp's list, also got zero votes. I think they
were the zero-vote new era finalists who surprised me the most.

[Brian Smith]

Post by Brian Smith

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
For
Survivor 50, you can assume we're going to be bringing back some
legends, and you just can't ask a legend that you built the show on
their back and could argue they are part of building the show and then
turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.

It seems to me that Probst used up all of his “legends” in S40.
I really don’t want to see any of those people play again.

I was surprised to see him say that they're going to bring back some
"legends" for S50. Of all the rumors floating around, the only one I
fully believe is that there will be no past winners. Who qualifies as
a legend who hasn't won? Cirie?

Gosh, I hope it's not Cirie.  She has perhaps been more over-exposed
than any other non-winner.  Given her upcoming appearance on Survivor
Australia, I doubt we will see her here.

She and other Survivor "legends" have definitely been cashing in the
last few years. The only big reality show Cirie hasn't done is TAR.

My guess might be someone like Rick Devens (whom he seems to like) or
maybe Chrissy?  I'm sure Mike White is too busy and famous to come back.
 I guess the person who literally came closest to winning was Domenick,
who literally got the same number of votes as the winner and needed a
tie-break vote to lose.

I've seen Dom's name mentioned a lot. But is he a legend? I thought he
was a good player but I would say Devens is more popular.Christian would
probably be another great choice but does he want to play again? He'd
have a huge target on his back from the start.

Post by Brian Smith

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
No. It's simply a production situation. We like this game and I can tell
you that even if we wanted to, we already have our leases, our land
agreements with Mana Island. 39 days isn't even an option.

I’m calling bullshit on this. Beginning in S41, the players were
on-site for the standard 39 days, but for the first two weeks they
were in quarantine. Now Probst is saying that Production only
has access to to the location for 26 days twice a year?

They're not doing the quarantine thing anymore. Obviously production
has access to the island for a lot more than 52 days/year. Probst
himself said it takes a long time to set things up so he's clearly not
being honest with us. He should just say it's financial and that would
probably put an end to the constant whining.

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
Like the star showdown. Yeah, I like that. I get that. And that's
dramatic storytelling. Where it falls apart is if you have a true hero
and a true goat, you're in trouble. The argument I would make against
myself right now is that the type of people we're putting on the show,
we're putting on some pretty quality people. So the chances of having a
true goat at the end are diminished quite a bit.

No they aren’t. In the “new era”, there have been several players
-Romeo Escobar
-Carolyn Wiger
-Jake O’Kane
-Ben Katzman
-Sue Smey
Probst is delusional if he really believes that any of these people
had a chance of winning.

For a noticeable segment of online fans, Carolyn is a legend. I'm with
you though. She was a goat.

At the time, I thought Carolyn was playing a unique and interesting game
and had a shot at votes.  I totally underestimated how much she was
disliked or at least not appreciated.  I had a similar feeling about
Xander who, while not on Zepp's list, also got zero votes.  I think they
were the zero-vote new era finalists who surprised me the most.

Carolyn was playing a unique game but was it a good game? I don't think
it was. Yam Yam was fortunate he got to play with that cast because his
game wasn't that great either. And thank God that POS Carson didn't win.

[Rick]

Post by Brian Smith

Post by Brian Smith

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
For
Survivor 50, you can assume we're going to be bringing back some
legends, and you just can't ask a legend that you built the show on
their back and could argue they are part of building the show and then
turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.

It seems to me that Probst used up all of his “legends” in S40.
I really don’t want to see any of those people play again.

I was surprised to see him say that they're going to bring back some
"legends" for S50. Of all the rumors floating around, the only one I
fully believe is that there will be no past winners. Who qualifies as
a legend who hasn't won? Cirie?

Gosh, I hope it's not Cirie.  She has perhaps been more over-exposed
than any other non-winner.  Given her upcoming appearance on Survivor
Australia, I doubt we will see her here.

She and other Survivor "legends" have definitely been cashing in the
last few years. The only big reality show Cirie hasn't done is TAR.

My guess might be someone like Rick Devens (whom he seems to like) or
maybe Chrissy?  I'm sure Mike White is too busy and famous to come
back.   I guess the person who literally came closest to winning was
Domenick, who literally got the same number of votes as the winner and
needed a tie-break vote to lose.

I've seen Dom's name mentioned a lot. But is he a legend? I thought he
was a good player but I would say Devens is more popular.Christian would
probably be another great choice but does he want to play again? He'd
have a huge target on his back from the start.

Christian's still at the front-end of his career, so I doubt he would
have the motivation to go back, especially since, as you point out, he'd
be an early target.

If we're truly talking about "legends", perhaps the biggest name to
never win is the proverbial "Rob that sucks", Rob Cesternino. With his
growing podcast empire and the fact he has two young children at home,
it's really hard to see him doing this since you would think he'd also
be an obvious target. But who knows? If they offered him a ton of
perhaps under-the table cash and Nicole went along, maybe his ego would
convince him to do it. After all, he might figure that many of the
younger players might not even know who he is. And surely he has enough
people working on his network that his absence could be covered for the
amount of time he'd have to be away.

Post by Brian Smith

Post by Brian Smith

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
No. It's simply a production situation. We like this game and I can tell
you that even if we wanted to, we already have our leases, our land
agreements with Mana Island. 39 days isn't even an option.

I’m calling bullshit on this. Beginning in S41, the players were
on-site for the standard 39 days, but for the first two weeks they
were in quarantine. Now Probst is saying that Production only
has access to to the location for 26 days twice a year?

They're not doing the quarantine thing anymore. Obviously production
has access to the island for a lot more than 52 days/year. Probst
himself said it takes a long time to set things up so he's clearly
not being honest with us. He should just say it's financial and that
would probably put an end to the constant whining.

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
Like the star showdown. Yeah, I like that. I get that. And that's
dramatic storytelling. Where it falls apart is if you have a true hero
and a true goat, you're in trouble. The argument I would make against
myself right now is that the type of people we're putting on the show,
we're putting on some pretty quality people. So the chances of having a
true goat at the end are diminished quite a bit.

No they aren’t. In the “new era”, there have been several players
-Romeo Escobar
-Carolyn Wiger
-Jake O’Kane
-Ben Katzman
-Sue Smey
Probst is delusional if he really believes that any of these people
had a chance of winning.

For a noticeable segment of online fans, Carolyn is a legend. I'm
with you though. She was a goat.

At the time, I thought Carolyn was playing a unique and interesting
game and had a shot at votes.  I totally underestimated how much she
was disliked or at least not appreciated.  I had a similar feeling
about Xander who, while not on Zepp's list, also got zero votes.  I
think they were the zero-vote new era finalists who surprised me the
most.

Carolyn was playing a unique game but was it a good game? I don't think
it was. Yam Yam was fortunate he got to play with that cast because his
game wasn't that great either. And thank God that POS Carson didn't win.

[Brian Smith]

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
For
Survivor 50, you can assume we're going to be bringing back some
legends, and you just can't ask a legend that you built the show on
their back and could argue they are part of building the show and then
turn around and ask them to subject themselves to a vote.

It seems to me that Probst used up all of his “legends” in S40.
I really don’t want to see any of those people play again.

Post by Brian Smith
No. It's simply a production situation. We like this game and I can tell
you that even if we wanted to, we already have our leases, our land
agreements with Mana Island. 39 days isn't even an option.

I’m calling bullshit on this. Beginning in S41, the players were
on-site for the standard 39 days, but for the first two weeks they
were in quarantine. Now Probst is saying that Production only
has access to to the location for 26 days twice a year?

Eliza's calling bullshit on what Probst said as well.

The fact that 39 day season isn’t on the table for season 50 is truly a
travesty.

They’ve done 39 day seasons in Fiji before (many, in fact). The excuses
are bullshit.

And say what you want about me for calling this out but 26 day seasons
are simply NOT the same.
#Survivor

https://x.com/elizaorlins/status/1894786883869114681

[Zeppo]

On Feb 26, 2025, Brian Smith quoted Eliza Orlins

Post by Brian Smith
The fact that 39 day season isn’t on the table for season 50 is truly a
travesty.
They’ve done 39 day seasons in Fiji before (many, in fact). The excuses
are bullshit.
And say what you want about me for calling this out but 26 day seasons
are simply NOT the same.
#Survivor

Yeah! You tell ‘em Eliza. I’ll even forgive you for dissing Ozzy’s
Immunity object.

[Brian Smith]

Post by Zeppo
On Feb 26, 2025, Brian Smith quoted Eliza Orlins

Post by Brian Smith
The fact that 39 day season isn’t on the table for season 50 is truly a
travesty.
They’ve done 39 day seasons in Fiji before (many, in fact). The excuses
are bullshit.
And say what you want about me for calling this out but 26 day seasons
are simply NOT the same.
#Survivor

Yeah! You tell ‘em Eliza. I’ll even forgive you for dissing Ozzy’s
Immunity object.

Was that Ozzy she dissed? Are you talking about the "fucking stick"?

[Zeppo]

Post by Brian Smith
Was that Ozzy she dissed? Are you talking about the "fucking stick"?

I am indeed. Given all of the effort that Ozzy had put into creating it,
referring to it as a fucking stick was way out of line IMO. :-)

[Rick]

Post by Zeppo

Post by Brian Smith
Was that Ozzy she dissed? Are you talking about the "fucking stick"?

I am indeed. Given all of the effort that Ozzy had put into creating it,
referring to it as a fucking stick was way out of line IMO. :-)

But wasn't it really....just a stick? It wasn't like a lot of
creativity went into it, like the one Bob Crowley made.

[Zeppo]

But wasn't it really....just a stick? It wasn't like a lot of
creativity went into it, like the one Bob Crowley made.

Ozzy drew a smiley face on it. :-)

[Rick]

Post by Zeppo

But wasn't it really....just a stick? It wasn't like a lot of
creativity went into it, like the one Bob Crowley made.

Ozzy drew a smiley face on it. :-)

That's right! I forgot it had a face!