Jeff Probst Reveals ‘Heartbreaking’ Casting Process for Survivor’s 50th Season: ‘I Care’ (Exclusive)

Jeff Probst knows there are former Survivor contestants who are disappointed at missing out on the chance to play again in the show’s 50th season.

Speaking with PEOPLE on location in Fiji during the first days of the production’s landmark season back in June, Probst says Survivor‘s team started with a list of 200 past cast members before narrowing it down to 24 contestants for the returnee edition.

“We did it one player at a time,” the host and showrunner says. “I was just looking through my season 50 notebook at the first stack of players, and it’s crazy how many people we started with — and we had a case for all of them.”

Probst continues that they had to cut the initial 200 names in half, “and you just start putting people in the other pile going, ‘Oh my God, this is heartbreaking.’ Because I care.”

Despite some tough decisions, Probst says he feels “really good” about the final cast and its representation of Survivor‘s 25 years on television, noting that young viewers “don’t know” old-school players like Stephenie LaGrossa-Kendrick and Colby Donaldson nearly as well as they know more recent additions like season 46’s Charlie Davis or Dee Valladares, the winner from season 45.

“So that’s our job too, is to always big picture it,” he says.

“I’m really happy with this group, but if there was anything I could change, it would be just softening the blow for the people who didn’t get on,” he adds.

The all-star cast of Survivor 50 was unveiled in May, before the players made their way to Fiji for filming. Jerri Manthey, who played three times after making a splash on the second season set in the Australian Outback, was one of the names that didn’t make the cut and publicly expressed her disappointment.

“I’m devastated as well, as you can imagine,” Manthey said in a video shared to her Instagram. “The outpouring of support and encouragement from everybody online has just been so helpful in helping me start the process of healing, but I’m not going to lie: I am p—ed, I’m disappointed, I’m sad and I sometimes am asking that very same question too: How am I going to get through this?”

Manthey said she’s been “sitting with my own thoughts and processing what happened,” and admitted she felt “utter disrespect” for being left out of the monumental season despite spending the “past 25 years of my life, which is almost half of my life, involved in, supporting, being a part of making an effort to be a part of the Survivor community.”

Survivor 50‘s cast includes Jenna Lewis from the show’s debut season and two returnees from the most recent edition, including season 49 winner Savannah Louie. Other notable additions include The White Lotus creator Mike White, Survivor 48 winner Kyle Fraser, fan favorite and The Traitors winner Cirie Fields and fifth-timer Ozzy Lusth.