“This is the riskiest idea we’ve done,” says the host.
And it doesnt stop there.
Are the contestants being given too much food?
Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor 47’.Credit:Robert Voets/CBS
Or is it not enough?
Ask twoSurvivorfans and you are likely to get two different answers.
Thats becauseJeff Probst recently announcedthat the highly anticipatedSurvivor 50will allow viewers to vote several key elements into the game.
Jeff Probst on “Survivor 48'.Robert Voets/CBS
And there will be three more rounds of voting after that, spaced out during theSurvivor 48season.
How wild is it for the producers to turn all of this power over to the fans?
CBS
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How did you land on the theme of a fan vote?
Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor 47’.CBS
You knew you wanted to do something big for season 50.
How is this where you landed?
Even if they don’t love every idea, they don’t quit on us.
Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
And so that was it.
The first instinct is: Let them pick the cast.
But we’ve done that.
Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor 47’.Robert Voets/CBS
Because we’re more methodical.
We may not have that inSurvivor 50.
Second Chancewas people who had something left to prove and they had a burning desire.
Jeff Probst delivering the ‘Survivor: The Amazon’ votes to New York City.CBS
It never worked for me.
It always felt weird.
So that was really it for me.
Plus, we had done it and we’ve never done this.
And so well, now you are, and really that’s it.
That’s a fair assumption.
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.
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 could’t make any assumptions you don’t know!
OnSurvivor 49,you’re able to make an assumption there’s going to be a Beware Advantage.
We’ve done it every time in the new era.
So when you come back, there’s sort of a context to the situation.
OnSurvivor 50, that’s going to be tougher to do.
That’s why we’re going to have certain categories have to be voted earlier.
We have not made them yet!
We would already have them by now.
So [production designer] Zac Jensen is waiting!
So it’s a taste of everything that we do in preparing a season.
We’ve never done it before.
I’m not spending time doing that.
It’s a waste of time.
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 thats how people vote.
Well, it’s a personal vote.
I would never give the players rice.
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.
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.
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.
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.
You’re going to not be entertained.
And they all involve an idol, a twist, or an advantage.
And then we’ll see.
Maybe I’m the minority.
Is 39 days on the table as an option for season 50?
It’s simply a production situation.
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.
Now my equation is much more difficult.
I want to make the game difficult to win.
You got to beattwopeople now.
It’s a lot more complicated now.
My game has to be better than 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.
And that’s dramatic storytelling.
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, youre right.
Like, say, letting fans vote in either Last Gasp or Bob-Bob Bouy?
With enough advanced time, we could do that.
That would have to be a little earlier because constructing a challenge takes a while.
I like that idea.
That’s actually a really fun one.
I mean, that’s a really fun one.
I mean, that’s a possible option.
It’s definitely been on a list.
Its not just if there’s an idol in play on episode 2 or not.
It’s the whole idea ofSurvivorand 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.
