Jeff Probst Addresses His Future as Survivor Host Ahead of Season 50
Jeff Probst won’t be dropping his buff anytime soon.
Because the Survivor host doesn’t plan on going anywhere.
“I’m telling you right now, there’s no thought in my mind at all about leaving,” the 64-year-old, who has helmed the show since its premiere in 2000, told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Feb. 12. “I love where the show is. I love our crew. I love the type of people that are applying. It’s up in every category of ethnic diversity. Everybody’s saying it’s because ‘I see myself reflected and represented on the show, so now I want to be on the show.’ That makes me excited.”
Plus, the switch in 2021 from a 39-day competition to one lasting just over three weeks made everyone’s load a little lighter.
“The 26-day schedule got rid of a third of the shoot, and for everybody out here, that has been really positive, because the show is draining,” Probst told the outlet while filming season 50. “But now it’s doable. It’s still draining, but it’s doable.”
And if there is a time where his torch is snuffed—he’s not locked into an official contract—he isn’t worried about the series’ future.
“I absolutely, 100 percent know this show will go on without me, because it’s the format,” he said. “The key would be who’s going to be producing and who’s going to be hosting and what point of view are they going to bring to it.”
CBSBut it’s that point of view that Probst thinks is key for whoever eventually steps into his button down.
“You can’t just hire some talking head for Survivor,” he explained. “That would be a bad mistake. But if you hire somebody who has a point of view about humans and behavior and why we do the things we do, then they might bring a whole new point of view to it. They may look at it and go, ‘Here’s what I’m interested in.’”
And if there are people willing to outwit, outplay and outlast the competition, executive producer Matt Van Magenen is also happy to spend as much time in Fiji as he needs to.
CBS“I am hoping this show lasts long enough for my daughter to be on the Dream Team [that tests out all the challenges] and she’s 8. You have to be 21,” Van Magenen told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Feb. 3, teasing, “Maybe for her, we’ll make an exception and go 20.”
“I do not want it to end,” he emphasized. “I don’t even talk about an end of Survivor. It’s like, when is the NFL going to end? It’s become something different. So, I don’t envision an end.”
And with the premiere of season 50 just around the corner on Feb. 25, it’s an exciting time to be a Survivor fan. For a closer look at the players for the show’s milestone season, read on.
