CBS's Survivor is going with three tribes in the new season instead of two, hoping to recapture the magic of previous three-tribe seasons like Cagayan and Philippines.

Survivor: Worlds Apart will feature three tribes divided by socioeconomic status, with one tribe of "white collar" players, another of "blue collar" players and a third of "no collar" players. With six people on each tribe, Survivor host Jeff Probst is hoping that this will allow viewers to get to know the players better.

"Three tribes gives us a few advantages," Probst said in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly. "One is even tough we tend to have the same amount of people out there, because they are broken down into smaller groups it appears that it is easier to get to know people more quickly, because you can capture a tribe that is only six people. So you can kind of quickly go 'Oh I know that person and I kind of like that person.' As opposed to looking at maybe 10 people on a single tribe."

The other advantage Probst described is that it makes for a more dynamic game now that it is a "triangle" rather than just two sides opposing each other.

"Survivor has always been a game in which one tiny little change can really result in a big result-a sweeping result. And so that's what we tried to do and it's always my preference now if the creative lines up to do three tribes, because of that."

Survivor has used the three-tribe format in only three seasons over the course of its 15 years, Survivor: All Stars (season 8), Survivor: Philippines (season 25) and Survivor: Cagayan (season 28). While All Stars is divisive among fans of the show, Philippines and Cagayan are some of the most highly regarded seasons ever, so it's possible that Worlds Apart could reach that level of love this spring.

Survivor: Worlds Apart is set to premiere on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Tags
Survivor, Reality TV, CBS