'Survivor' Cast: Host Jeff Probst Discusses Bringing Players Back & the Evolution of the Series [VIDEO]
Survivor host Jeff Probst recently revealed his thoughts on the future of the show and what he wants to see more of in new seasons.
When asked if Survivor would ever return to the format of 16 strangers competing with no twists and a final two, Probst suggested that it wasn't likely. Instead, he praised the twists as making the show more interesting.
"They juice up the ball a little bit, there's more home runs, it's more exciting for the audience. I think when you add elements like an idol, it layers the game in so many ways. Why would you take it out?" Probst told Xfinity in a Wednesday report. "Then you add in Redemption Island or Exile Island...it changes everybody's strategies. We're tossing around some other ideas for idols that would really throw people for a loop that maybe we'll do next season."
Probst added that Survivor is a continuously evolving game, explaining that new twists keep things unpredictable. "To go back to a straight game of sixteen people, thirty nine days, and then one will never happen," he concluded.
Though the game may never go back to how it was in the first few seasons, Probst admitted to Entertainment Weekly that he would like to see some contestants from early seasons come back.
"If I had my way and I was the only decision maker on Survivor - which I am clearly not - I would have a lot of people from earlier seasons," he told Entertainment Weekly in a Friday report. "There are tons of people I want to see play again, but the prevailing wisdom at the network is, we need recent players with bigger names. That's what 's drawing people in . . . But I feel like there are a lot of stories out there we haven't captured yet and brought back for a second chance."
On Survivor: Blood vs. Water, the upcoming season, the show has brought back contestants like Gervase from Survivor's first season as well as Tina Wesson, the winner of Survivor: Australia, the show's second season. They are returning to play with a loved one along with eight other returning players and their loved ones.
Survivor: Blood vs. Water is scheduled to premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 18 at 8 p.m. on CBS.
Watch Probst's assessment of the upcoming cast:
