Keeping the same quality of tasks and challenges for more than two decades is not an easy feat. However, the reality competitive show Survivor has managed to do this throughout the last 46 seasons. The show is currently airing its 47th season and the tasks are more gruesome than the last. Further, the subject of Survivor won’t be complete without Jeff Probst, who has been a loyal part of the show since its beginning.
Apart from his hosting duties, the host also never shies away from recounting several stories from his stint on the show. In one such recollection, he detailed how a contestant had hidden some matches.
Jeff Probst Will Never Forget His Craziest Frisking Experience on Survivor
In the midst of Jeff Probst‘s several interviews, one with Conon O’Brien recently resurfaced. In this, the host as well as showrunner of Survivor was seen promoting a new season of the show (Survivor: Panama). Probst claimed that this year, he’s trying to push the game to a whole new level. This would also feature some wild challenges as well as dramatic eliminations.
Probst then talked about how in the new season they have introduced the concept of Exile Island. In this, the contestants will be completely cut off from resources and help. Surprisingly, the only person with them on the island is a new producer who will have to stay there for 39 days, with nothing but a camera.
Unlike the contestants, he gets no food or shelter, showing just how tough Survivor really is. Even though contestants get a flint to start fires, many still struggle, even after 12 seasons of practice. Probst then also talked about how in past seasons, some participants have tried sneaky ways to bring food, even hiding matches in unusual places. He added:
In fact, we had a couple of seasons ago, we had a guy who kept saying, I’m not really worried about making fire. You know? I think, I think I’ll be okay with fire. And we realized something was funky about that. And we frisked him and found out that he had hidden some matches in the darkest of orifices.
Meanwhile, host Jeff Probst enjoys food while the contestants suffer. He joked about eating on set and no longer worrying about the contestants seeing him eat. He also shared stories of getting injured, like being stung by a scorpion in Africa and a jellyfish in a sensitive area, proving that even hosting Survivor has its risks.
Jeff Probst Explains the Game-Changing ‘Happy Hour’ Twist
In Survivor: Season 47, Episode 5, the show introduced a brand-new twist called ‘The Survivor Social.’ This twist gave contestants a rare chance to hang out and connect with members of other tribes before the usual merge. The winners of the reward challenge were taken to the sanctuary, where they enjoyed a barbecue and played cornhole together, creating a relaxed, ‘happy hour’ type of atmosphere.
Jeff Probst, the show’s host and producer, explained the idea behind this twist on his podcast On Fire via TV Insider. He added:
Probst: The idea is a temporary switch — key on temporary — for the reward challenge only. So really it is a chance to co-mingle with the opposition. And the question you’re posing is what will each player do with this opportunity? Because as Charlie can speak to, you can enhance or injure your game with every single decision you make. Davis (runner-up for Season 46) replies: Oh, yes. Big time.
On the podcast, Jeff Probst shared an interesting behind-the-scenes detail about the name ‘The Survivor Social.’ He explained that it was just a temporary name that ended up sticking. The production team thought about letting the players name the twist themselves, but they decided against it because it would take up too much time on the show.
Probst said, “I actually considered and suggested what if we let them name it and let them own it? … You’d be giving agency to the players.” And that while he likes how the twist turned out, they might make a few changes if they decide to use it again in the future.
You can watch Survivor on Hulu.
