Survivor completely changed reality TV when it premiered in 2000. A lot of imitations have come and gone over the years, but none have the longevity or fanbase of the original. Many fans expressed unhappiness with the casting choices for the show’s upcoming season that marks its 25th anniversary. Host Jeff Probst admitted that casting the new season was ‘heartbreaking.’ Keep reading to find out why.
Jeff Probst Admits Casting Survivor 50 Was ‘Heartbreaking’
Survivor has had many memorable contestants over the last 49 seasons, even if they ultimately didn’t win. Nearly 800 castaways have competed on the show over the years. A number of them have competed on more than one season.
The CBS reality show’s 50th season features its largest cast yet. 24 former contestants return for an all-star season that allows fans to vote on certain production elements. Jeff Probst opened up to PEOPLE magazine about the process of culling nearly 800 former contestants down to just 24.
“We did it one player at a time. 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,” the longtime host said of the casting process.
He revealed that they started with 200 possible contestants. “You just start putting people in the other pile going, ‘Oh my God, this is heartbreaking.’ Because I care,” he told the outlet.
His One Regret
The Survivor 50 cast was revealed in May and Jeff Probst said that he felt “really good” about the alums chosen. One of the biggest criticism from fans about the cast is that it features more players from the “New Era” than the earlier seasons. Starting with Season 41, the show changed formats from a 39-day game to a 26-day game.
Jeff Probst explained that the decision to cast newer all-stars was because many viewers don’t know the contestants from earlier seasons. “So that’s our job too, is to always big picture it,” he said.
The Survivor host only has one regret in casting Season 50. “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 told PEOPLE.
Executive Producer Reacts To Criticism
Survivor executive producer Matt Van Wagenen spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the upcoming season. The EP reacted to the backlash of casting recent contestants.
There were people who I would love to have seen play who said no… I probably asked John Cochran about 15 times, and he turned me down every time. So we couldn’t get everyone we wanted, and we couldn’t fit in everyone who wanted to be in there. That’s a tough position to be in,” he said.
He added, “We really wanted a representation of a lot of different eras, a lot of different styles and a lot of different personalities.”
Survivor 50 premieres on CBS on Wednesday, February 25.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger
