Survivor is currently airing its 47th season, and even after so many years, fans continue to watch the show with the same enthusiasm as they did two decades ago. The show has undergone remarkable changes, and the man responsible for this would be longtime host and showrunner Jeff Probst. The show, based on the tagline “Outwit. Outplay. Outlast,” focuses on participants who are stranded on an island.
And the candidates will have to fight it out in order to earn immunity. While this is known to many, how the players get on the show has always remained a point of contention online. However, in his podcast, the host has simplified the entire process.
Jeff Probst Detailed How the Casting Process of Survivor Works
The reality show Survivor boasts a huge fan following, with people wanting to be a part of the thrilling adventure. But in this, only a few get the chance to truly showcase their mental as well as physical capabilities on the show. On the same subject, host Jeff Probst detailed how the participants are selected and what all it takes to make the final cut.
In his podcast On Fire with Jeff Probst, he detailed how the casting process of the show has evolved over time. As in the past, potential players were flown to Los Angeles so that they could do an in-person interview. But with age and technology, even Survivor has changed drastically. He also added:
We used to … fly everyone to L.A., and we would meet them for the first time in L.A.,” he said. “That was exciting, but there’d be people where you’re like, ‘Oh, that’ll never work.’ Well, now we’ve figured out we can change that part of the process and figure that part out over FaceTime so that the people we’re flying to L.A. are only people that we wanna meet.
The main reason behind the face-time interviews was so that the participants could be at ease and not anxious. These are laid-back conversations, where Probst sips his coffee and converses with the potential candidates for about 10 minutes. Probst also added that the first and most important element for any player was authenticity.
Further, the main goal for him was to bring in participants who were comfortable in their own skin. Apart from this, he also added that the players have to go through a mandatory psychological evaluation. Further, these tests are somewhat similar to the Myers-Briggs test and evaluate things like behavior, how each person handles stress, as well as their resilience capacity.
Controversial Survivor Winner Calls Out Jeff Probst
Winning the very first season of Survivor would be a huge achievement, but for Richard Hatch, his life took a completely different turn when he won the coveted title in 2000. Even in the show, he was somewhat of a controversial figure, but despite this, he managed to ace the game and win the $1 million prize money. But soon after, he got in trouble with the IRS for tax evasion.
Now in a recent interview via TooFab, he voiced his frustrations against the show as well as host Jeff Probst. Hatch added that he still loved the show and has never missed an episode. But the leadership, especially Probst and Mark Burnett, have not properly treated the former contestants.
Further, despite his legal troubles, neither Probst nor Burnett have reached out to him. He further added:
I have no idea where I stand with the franchise, but there are the folks behind … Mark Burnett and Jeff Probst, for example, who have acted incredibly irresponsibly with respect to not engaging with me and not correcting their own kind of mistakes that could have prevented my family and life from being devastated.
Despite his anger and frustrations, Hatch did add that he would like to return to the show if the right conditions are laid out in front of him.
You can watch Survivor on Hulu.
