Season 47 of Survivor launches on CBS September 18, and introduces 18 new contestants. The season starts with a two-hour premiere, and shifts to 90-minute episodes a week later. 

Jeff Probst hosts. The winner goes home with $1 million. 

The contestants are Teeny Chiricillo, a writer from Manahawkin, New Jersey; Rome Cooney, an e-sports commentator from Phoenix; Anika Dhar, a marketing manager in Los Angeles; Terran “TK” Forester, an athlete marketing manager in Upper Marlboro, Maryland; Tiyana Hallums, a flight attendant from Aiea, Hawaii; Rachel LaMont, a graphic designer from Southfield, Michigan; Jon Lovett, a former speechwriter for Barack Obama and host of the Pod Save America podcast, who is based in Los Angeles; Genevieve Mushaluk, a lawyer from Winnipeg, Canada; Gabe Ortis, a radio host from Baltimore; Kyle Ostwald, a construction worker from Cheyboygan, Michigan; Kishan Patel, an ER doctor from San Francisco; Sam Phalen, a sports reporter based in Nashville; Andy Rueda, an AI research assistant in Brooklyn; Sue Smey, a flight school owner from Putnam Valley, New York; Caroline Vidmar, a strategy consultant from Chicago; Aysha Welch, an IT consultant from Houston; Sierra Wright, a nurse from Phoenixville, Pennsylvania; and Solomon “Sol” Yi, a medical device salesman out of Norwalk, Connecticut. 

Survivor is produced by S.E.G. Holdco., LLC. Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst, Matt VanWagenen, Kahaia Pearson and Jesse Jensen are executive producers.

Drew Basile, who was on season 45 of Survivor, will appear on Jeopardy! Wednesday, June 19. Basile is a graduate student from Birmingham, Michigan. 

“The haters have long called me a know-it-all. It’s time to prove them right,” Basile said on X.

The current Jeopardy! champion is Adriana Harmeyer, an archivist from West Lafayette, Indiana. A Jeopardy! Spokesperson said Basile applied to be on the show, and tested for it, same as any other contestant. 

Basile lists Oxford and the University of Pennsylvania as the universities where he’s studied in his bio on X. 

In an introductory video before season 45 of Survivor, Basile said the other castaways would see him as “the nutty professor” and “a guy who lives at the library.” He acknowledged his high level of intelligence, and added that he’s a trivia national champion and competitive Scrabble player. 

Dee Valladares won season 45 of Survivor, which began in September 2023. Austin Li Coon and Jake O’Kane were the runners-up. 

Basile made it to day 23, but was the 12th contestant voted out, out of the 18 that started the season. 

Season 45 of Survivor has its finale December 20 on CBS and Paramount Plus, with five contestants still in the running. The finale goes for two hours, and Jeff Probst hosts the one-hour aftershow. 

Still in the hunt for the $1 million prize are Jake O’Kane, an attorney in Boston; Katurah Topps, an attorney in Brooklyn; Austin Li Coon, a grad student in Chicago; Dee Valladares, a Miami entrepreneur; and Julie Alley, an attorney in Brentwood, Tennessee. 

Probst is the Survivor host and an executive producer with Mark Burnett, Matt VanWagenen, Kahaia Pearson and Jesse Jensen.

Season 45 kicked off September 27, as 18 castaways gathered in Fiji with an eye on the million bucks. For the first time, Survivor has featured 90-minute episodes all season long. Probst told B+C he had wished for longer episodes for years. “I’ve actually been pitching CBS to let us experiment with 90-minute episodes for the last several years because we always felt like 90 minutes would be a sweet spot for us,” he said. “When we get a first cut done for a 60-minute episode, we’re always 10 to 12 minutes heavy, which is a lot. And that’s after we’ve already cut stuff down. So we were hopeful that one day we could try this.”

The new season of Survivor kicks off on CBS on Wednesday, September 27, and it tries something that’s never been done in the show’s previous 44 seasons — 90-minute episodes. That means a deeper dive into the contestants and their backstories, more elaborate hidden immunity idols and a longer, richer look at the tribal council sessions that wrap each episode, according to the show’s host and executive producer, Jeff Probst. 

Probst also spoke with Broadcasting+Cable about how listening to Howard Stern for a long, long time shaped him as a host, and how much longer he sees himself in that role.  

A lightly edited transcript follows. 

B+C: In terms of the 90-minute episodes, did the network reach out to Survivor, or did you guys go to CBS and say, ‘Hey, we can go long with the strikes going on?’ 

Jeff Probst: It had nothing to do with the strike. I’ve actually been pitching CBS to let us experiment with 90-minute episodes for the last several years because we always felt like 90 minutes will be a sweet spot for us. When we get a first cut done for a 60-minute episode, we’re always 10 to 12 minutes heavy, which is a lot. And that’s after we’ve already cut stuff down. So we were hopeful that one day we could try this. It was back in October when CBS came to us and said, ‘Hey, we want to try your idea of 90 minutes as an experiment, but let's just do one season because we don't know if it's going to work.’ That gave us like six months to design the game to ensure that we would have entertaining episodes. 

I think the common thought is, ‘Just show more.’ But it doesn't really work that way. I’ll give you a couple of examples. Ninety-minute episodes allowed us to make our hidden immunity idols much more elaborate. So the players will have to be more clever and still you might need some assistance. But the only reason we could really take that kind of a deep dive with them is that we knew we would have time within the episode to show all the steps required to pull it off. And it’s fun. I think fans are really going to enjoy it. 

You also have more time to show reality at camp and more time to spend at tribal council. But we definitely designed with 90 minutes in mind. 

B+C: And it allows for a deeper dive into the contestants as well. 

JP: Absolutely. That’s the biggest thing. The 90 minutes allows us to spend a little more time with each player, whether it’s a backstory about where they’re from or whether it’s just spending a little more time in a conversation. Sometimes just an extra 30 seconds in a scene can make all the difference. When it comes down to editing, you find yourself often having to trim these beautiful little moments because they’re not necessarily illuminating anything new. It's just taking you deeper. And that’s why I think that fans and CBS are going to love 90 minutes. My hope is that we come back and try it again.

B+C: So it’s a test this season, and you don’t know how long the episodes will be next season?

JP: Right. 

B+C: I know you love all your new Survivor contestants. But who do you think has the best chance to pop?

JP: This group, I’m telling you, is dynamic. I’ll tell you who stands out to me for different reasons: Emily, Brandon, Kaleb, Drew, Austin, Sifu, Kellie, Kendra … And I swear to you, I’m not listing every player. All of those players pop.

This is not me blowing smoke. In the earlier seasons, the way we cast Survivor, there were people that stood out more because of their personality. That’s not the case anymore. Especially going back to the new era, with Survivor 41, when [CBS Entertainment president and CEO] George Cheeks said, ‘Look, diversity is no longer a consideration. It is a mandate,’ it will go down as one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to Survivor because it pushed us out of our comfort zone, and it forced us to go out and reexamine the way we find Survivor players. 

I think any lifelong Survivor fan has felt the difference. There is a freshness to our casting now. As a result, when you see somebody who looks like you, talks like you, thinks like you, then it gives you permission to apply. So it’s building on itself. 

Now the people applying are really compelling, bright, sparkly, smart, interesting people who have often overcome tremendous obstacles. I’m not saying everybody’s going to be a fan favorite, but there’s a lot of really interesting people out there.

B+C: You introduced a Survivor podcast last season. Tell me about season two of the podcast. 

JP: The original goal of On Fire was to take fans inside the making of the show, specifically from the producers’ point of view. We had two very clear words, how and why, and that's all we dealt with on the podcast. How do we do this? Why did we do it? We’re not a recap podcast. 

We thought what would be interesting now is to add a player point of view. We thought a lot about which player would be great. And we settled on Rick Devens, who played in Survivor Edge of Extinction, season 38. He was already a journalist in his other life. And he’s hosted a podcast. But he's also a really clever player with a great insight on strategy. And he’s a good talker. 

We've been working together to figure out how we want to approach this. And we landed at the same place — we want to go inside from the player point of view. What Devens is going to bring is an analysis. Jay [Wolff], who produces the podcast, and Devens will highlight the key turning points of each episode. And then Devens will go in and offer insight into why a player might’ve done a certain thing or said a certain thing. And then he’ll also add his own opinion about what he would’ve done. 

What’s going to be interesting is that a player can remind the audience of the things the audience doesn't know or forgets, simple things like, what's it like to form an alliance on day three, when you're fully cognitively functioning, and day 23, when you can't remember how to spell your own name? 

It's the little moments like that that I think are going to be really fun. We’ve walked through a couple of shows and how we might do it, and I think it's going to work. And I'll still be there to answer any questions about the how and the why of the episode. So you get the player, the fan and the producer point of view.

B+C: Is there one contestant from the 45 seasons that just pops into your mind a little more than the rest of them, for better or for worse? 

JP: The name that really pops out to me is this woman Emily. And you’re going to see why in the first minute of episode one. Emily is somebody who applied to be on the show because she saw Mike Gabler win [season 43] and she didn't like it. So that was her impetus to finally apply. She said, ‘It just didn't sit well with me. So I decided to apply.’ And so she comes out and applies based on that. And then she gets out there and within the first minute, she’s speaking so openly about her opinions that it is shocking.

And then the question becomes, why is she doing this? Is this really her? Is this a game plan? Is she testing the water? That's the kind of player that I really lean into because of the authenticity. She's throwing it out there and saying, ‘This is who I am, this is what I sound like and this is what I think.’ How do you respond to that? 

That’s where the game turns and she forces a reaction from somebody early on. It’s only as significant as it becomes, but the move from her to do it is what was so compelling.

It's no different really than Carolyn [Wiger]. We started Survivor 44 with this really tiny moment that I’m not sure ever really fully resonated as to why we did it. But the opening of Survivor 44 is Carolyn. And you hear the voice of our producer Clark [Bernstein], and he says, ‘So Carolyn, tell us about yourself.’

And she’s stumped. She says, ‘What do you mean?’ And Clark says, ‘Your name and what you do.’ 

The reason we started there is, one, to remind the audience that the responsibility of the storytelling is on the player. And two, the journey this woman is about to start on starts with not even being certain of how to describe who she is. And then 26 days later, she’s in the Survivor Hall of Fame because of that authenticity — in every moment that she spoke, you knew you were getting her truth. Starting with the opening moment when she didn't know how to describe who she was. 

That's the kind of person that really rocks me. And I felt that from Emily. The very first time I Zoomed with her in casting, I sat back and went, ‘Whoa, OK. She’s a lot.’

B+C: Will there soon be a season where we have returning players?

JP: We’re definitely going to do another season of returning players. Those are not gone forever. But I’ve got to be honest, I’m loving the new players and there are some people in this season you’re definitely going to want to see back for a second season. And in order to do a returning-player season, you have to find the players who are going to be the returning players. 

B+C: Is there another host, whether it’s a game show, a competition series, a talk show, that maybe you emulate a little bit, that’s an influence?

JP: My biggest influence in terms of how I interview is Howard Stern, because listening to Howard Stern for so many years I learned how powerful it can be to actually just say what you’re thinking and to ask the question that you want to ask. And that’s what drives me on Survivor. I never hesitate with a question. Never. I feel, if I’m curious, then I’m pretty sure the audience is curious. And that’s allowed me to have some really interesting conversations that I’m not sure I would’ve had without that kind of a mentorship. 

There are other people that I’m not sure I emulate, but I wish I would. Larry King had a beautiful style, which is he just asked the question and the question was usually like eight to 10 words. And it was so clear and direct: ‘Why’d you quit? Why’d you get divorced? Why’d you just stop drinking?’ I try to remember that — you don’t have to be clever, you just have to be clear. 

The reason I don’t emulate anyone is, I want to have my own point of view. And I do have a point of view. 

B+C: If you're watching an episode from an early season, how do you feel? Do you like it? Do you cringe?

JP: It's hard to go back and watch early seasons. I try to give myself some grace because I was learning, and Survivor is essentially a live television show every day. We don't go back and do anything over, and that includes what I say and how I behave. The editors leave in what I say. They know I don’t want to pull out my poor grammar or a questionable response. I want to live by the same code that we ask the players to live by, which is, we’re going to tell what happened out there. 

But yeah, there are earlier seasons where I look back and I cringe, and it's not just because I wore a cowboy hat. It’s also because I was learning how to host a really unique show. The reason I give myself grace is [that] I was learning.

B+C: Do you see an end date for you as host of Survivor?

JP: It’s funny when I hear that question because I laugh at how excited I still am about Survivor. I'll run into somebody, a Survivor family, and we’ll talk about Survivor and then I’ll see maybe the dad looking at me with his head tilted, like, is this guy for real? You really still love this show so much? I’m telling you, I do.

There was a big shift for me at the end of Survivor 40. I was a little burned out and I felt like the show in that version had run its course and that the players were so savvy to all of the ideas that we had that they could sort of deduce three or four things that might be coming. And it just felt like we needed to do something. 

So having a bit of a [COVID-19-related] break actually helped us from a standpoint of, we were able to step back and say, ‘Where should we take the show?’ And it led to this new era. We didn't set out to create a new era. We set out to create a new game, but what resulted was something significantly different. And it's revitalized me, and my enthusiasm is genuine. 

A lot of it comes from the people that we’re putting on the show. I like the drive, I like the diversity. It’s not just ethnicity — it’s background, it’s where you were born, how you were raised, your age, your gender, your sexuality, your approach to all of that makes this really interesting tapestry. 

And then you still have that same beautiful, simple format. You have to work together to survive while conspiring against each other. And in the end, what happens is you get the journey of your fucking life.

Rick Devens, a past contestant on Survivor, joins the second season of On Fire: The Official Survivor Podcast. Devens will offer the player perspective, while Jeff Probst, Survivor host and showrunner, provides the producer perspective, and podcast producer Jay Wolff offers the fan perspective. 

Season 45 of Survivor is on CBS Wednesday, September 27, and season two of the podcast begins the same day.  

“The inspiration for On Fire was to give Survivor fans an even deeper connection to their favorite show by taking them inside the making of Survivor from the producer's point of view,” said Probst. “For season two, we’re really excited to have Rick Devens add the player's point of view. Devens is a fan favorite for a reason, and he offers interesting insight into each episode. I think fans are going to really enjoy him on the podcast!”

Devens has a background as a local TV anchor, having worked at WGXA Macon when he was on Survivor in 2019. That season had an Edge of Exctinction theme. He joined Middle Georgia State University as communications director last year. 

“He was already a journalist in his other life, and he's hosted a podcast,” Probst told B+C. “But he's also a really clever player with a great insight on strategy. And he's a good talker.” 

The podcast reveals “how the show is made and why they do the things they do,” according to CBS. New this season, never-before-seen Survivor clips that did not make it into the show will be released on the Survivor YouTube channel, with Probst offering context and commentary on the podcast.  

Survivor is produced by S.E.G. Holdco., LLC. Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst, Matt VanWagenen, Kahaia Pearson and Jesse Jensen are executive producers.

CBS is putting Survivor buffs, the stretchy bandanas the players wear, on landmarks around the country, including a Marilyn Monroe statue in Palm Springs and the Miles the Monster monument in Dover, Delaware. 

The “Survivor Buff Takeover” campaign runs September 21 until September 27, when season 45 starts. 

Getting a buff are the Green Giant statue in Blue Earth, Minnesota; the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture in Boston; Forever Marilyn in Palm Springs, California; Ripley’s Believe It or Not! in Hollywood; the Miles the Monster monument outside Dover Motor Speedway in Delaware; Gulfstream Park’s Pegasus and The Dragon statue in Hallandale Beach, Florida; the Tuska elephant statue at University of Alabama and Ralphie buffalo statue at University of Colorado in Boulder. 

In a nod to Survivor’s torches, the Empire State Building in New York will be illuminated in yellow, blue and red on Tuesday, September 26, representing each tribe on season 45, and viewfinders on the 86th-floor observatory will be donning buffs as well.

The campaign also sees football mascots for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and college football’s Alabama Crimson Tide and Colorado Buffaloes wear Survivor buffs. 

The largest buff, at 104 feet by 14 feet, belongs to Miles the Monster in Delaware. Second is the 66-by-11-foot buff sported by Pegasus. 

CBS said each landmark symbolizes the concept of strength, a prerequisite to last on Survivor. 

“This campaign honors the tremendous impact Survivor has had on American culture with 652 exciting episodes over its 23 years on CBS,” Mike Benson, president and chief marketing officer at CBS, said. “What better way to celebrate the 45th season of this great game — and arguably its biggest season yet — than by draping a group of giant landmarks throughout the country with the biggest Survivor buffs of all time and lighting the Empire State Building, a beloved beacon of the New York City skyline, with this Survivor season’s iconic tribe colors.”

The new season features 90-minute episodes for the first time.  

The show is hosted by Jeff Probst. Mark Burnett, Probst, Matt VanWagenen, Kahaia Pearson and Jesse Jensen are executive producers for S.E.G. Holdco., LLC.

The castaways have been announced for season 45 of Survivor. The season begins Wednesday, September 27 on CBS. For the first time, episodes will be 90 minutes long. 

The 18 castaways will be divided into three tribes of six. With the longer episodes, “Survivor will take a deeper dive into the players’ stories as they’re stranded on the stunning islands of Fiji,” CBS said. “Viewers will watch as castaways form a society and adapt to their physical and social surroundings while contending with treacherous new elements and navigating an ever-shifting social game.”

Broadcast networks are leaning heavily on their unscripted shows this coming season, with scripted series hard to come by amid the Hollywood writers and actors strikes. 

The castaways are: Julie Alley, an attorney from Brentwood, Tennessee; Nicholas “Sifu” Alsup, a gym owner from O’Fallon, Illinois; Drew Basile, a grad student in Philadelphia; Sabiya Broderick, a truck driver from Jacksonville; Austin Li Coon, a grad student in Chicago; Brandon Donlon, a content producer from Sicklerville, New Jersey; Sean Edwards, a school principal in Provo, Utah; Emily Flippen, an investment analyst in Laurel, Maryland; Kaleb Gebrewold, a software salesperson in Vancouver, Canada; Janani Krishnan-Jha, a singer who goes by J. Maya, in Los Angeles; Brandon Meyer, a software developer in Seattle; Kendra McQuarrie, a bartender from Steamboat Springs, Colorado; Kellie Nalbandian, a nurse in New York; Jake O’Kane, an attorney in Boston; Bruce Perreault, an insurance agent in Warwick, Rhode Island; Hannah Rose, a therapist in Baltimore; Katurah Topps, an attorney in Brooklyn, New York; and Dee Valladares, an entrepreneur who grew up in Havana, Cuba, and lives in Miami. 

Jeff Probst hosts the show. The winner gets $1 million. 

Survivor is produced by S.E.G. Holdco., LLC. Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst, Matt VanWagenen, Kahaia Pearson and Jesse Jensen are executive producers.

The cast for season 44 of Survivor has been revealed, The season begins March 1 on CBS and the cast includes a NASA student in Atlanta, a yogi in Arizona and a firefighter in the Bronx.  

Jeff Probst hosts. The participants, first-time Survivor contestants, will be divided into three tribes of six in Fiji, and face a “faster, more dangerous season” than previous seasons, CBS teases. The last remaining survivor gets $1 million. 

The cast includes Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho, a salon owner in Puerto Rico; Matt Blankinship, a software engineer in San Francisco; Brandon Cottom, a security specialist in Newton, Pennsylvania; Kane Fritzler, a law student in Saskatoon, Canada; Carson Garrett, a NASA engineering student in Atlanta; Matthew Grinstead-Mayle, a barbershop owner in Columbus, Ohio; Lauren Harpe, a school teacher in Mont Belvieu, Texas; Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt, an engineering manager in Pittsburgh; Helen Li, a product manager in San Francisco; Frannie Marin, a research coordinator in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Danny Massa, a firefighter in the Bronx; Bruce Perrault, an insurance agent in Warwick, Rhode Island; Maddy Pomilla, a charity projects manager in Brooklyn; Claire Rafson, a tech investor in Brooklyn; Jaime Lynn Ruiz, a yogi in Mesa, Arizona; Sarah Wade, a management consultant in Chicago; Carolyn Wiger, a drug counselor in Hugo, Minnesota; and Josh Wilder, a podiatrist in Atlanta. 

The season premiere goes for two hours. 

Mike Gabler won season 43.

Survivor is produced by S.E.G. Holdco LLC. Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst, Matt VanWagenen, Kahaia Pearson and Jesse Jensen are executive producers. ■

Mike Gabler, who won season 43 of Survivor, will donate his $1 million prize to Veterans in Need, in honor of his father, Robert. Gabler is a heart valve specialist from Houston with a long beard and tattoos across his body.

The winner was revealed in the season finale December 14, as Gabler beat out Cassidy Clark and Owen Knight for the million. In the after-show reunion, Gabler gave an emotional announcement about the donation.

"There are people that need that money more," Gabler said. "We'e gonna save lives, we're gonna do something good."

Gabler's father was a Green Beret.

At 51, he is the second-oldest winner in the history of Survivor. Bob Crowley won season 17 in Gabon. He was 57.

The show airs on CBS. Jeff Probst hosts and executive produces. ■

Survivor announced the cast for the 43rd season, which starts Wednesday, September 21 on CBS. There are 18 castaways competing for $1 million.

The cast includes Cassidy Clark of Plano, Texas; Cody Assenmacher of Honolulu; Dwight Moore of Collierville, Tennessee; Elisabeth Scott of Salt Lake City; Geo Bustamante of Honolulu; James Jones of Philadelphia; Jeanine Zheng of San Francisco; Jesse Lopez of Durham, North Carolina; Justine Brennan of Marina Del Rey, California; Karla Cruz Godoy of Newark, Delaware; Lindsay Carmine of Downington, Pennsylvania; Mike Gabler of Meridian, Idaho; Morriah Young of Philadelphia; Nneka Ejere of Weatherford, Texas; Noelle Lambert of Manchester, New Hampshire; Owen Knight of New Orleans; Ryan Medrano of El Paso; and Sami Layadi of Las Vegas.

Jeff Probst hosts the unscripted action in Fiji and executive produces the show with Mark Burnett, Matt VanWagenen, Kahaia Pearson and Jesse Jensen.

The season 43 premiere will be the 621st Survivor episode. The show premiered in 2000. ■

Survivor has announced the cast for season 42, which begins Wednesday, March 9 on CBS and on Paramount Plus. CBS calls it “one of the most intense versions of Survivor ever,” full of game-changing twists. The season begins with a two-hour episode. 

“Values will be tested and the players’ motivations highlighted when the fierce competition unfolds on the beautiful islands of Fiji. These determined players will be divided into three tribes of six and face a faster, more extreme season from the moment they step foot on the beach. The unpredictable situations will test even the strongest competitor, as food is scarce, rewards and supplies are minimal, and the mental and physical challenges force players to make impossible decisions and adjust their strategies, while still navigating the complex social game,” said CBS. 

Jeff Probst hosts. The last Survivor standing gets $1 million. 

The contestants are Chanelle Howell, an executive recruiter in New York; Daniel Strunk, a law clerk from New Haven, Connecticut; Drea Wheeler, a fitness consultant in Montreal; Hai Giang, a data scientist from New Orleans; Jackson Fox, a healthcare worker from Houston; Jenny Kim, a creative director in Brooklyn; Jonathan Young, a beach service company owner in Gulfshores, Alabama; Lindsay Dolashewich, a dietitian from Asbury Park, New Jersey; Lydia Meredith, a waitress in Santa Monica; Marya Sherron, a stay-at-home mother in Noblesville, Indiana; Maryanne Oketch, a seminary student in Ontario; Mike Turner, a retired firefighter in Hoboken, New Jersey; Omar Zaheer, a veterinarian in Ontario; Rocksroy Bailey, a stay-at-home father based in Las Vegas; Romeo Escobar, a pageant coach in Norwalk, California; Swati Goel, a student from Palo Alto; Tori Meehan, a therapist in Rogers, Arkansas; and Zach Wurtenberger, a student in St. Louis. ■ 

Survivor returns on CBS Sept. 22, as season 41 premieres. Three tribes of six will compete in what CBS calls "a faster, more intense and more dangerous season than ever before. The contestants are together for 26 days, not the usual 39, since a 14-day quarantine was required in Fiji. 

Jeff Probst, host and executive producer, shared about the “reengineered” show on the Series Business podcast. “How do you make 26 days as difficult as 39? You start with no food. And then to make it a little more difficult, you reduce rewards significantly,” he said. “And to make it more difficult, you give them a pot, a machete and a flint, and that’s it.”

Season 40, Winners at War, aired in the winter and spring of 2020. COVID held up subsequent seasons, and Probst and his fellow exec producers started rethinking the unscripted staple. “I realized this was a beautiful opportunity,” he said. “This is a time for us to truly step back and utilize this extra six months and just look at the show with no pressure. Where could we take it? What could we do? It opened up a lot of doors that we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

Eighteen castaways compete, including a former NFL player, Danny McCray. There are no Survivor veterans in the cast. CBS said, “The unpredictable, accelerated pace will test even the strongest superfan, as supplies are minimal, reward challenges are scarce, and players find themselves faced with advantages that could significantly help their game or, just as easily, extinguish their torch."

The new season features the so-called Game Within the Game, where viewers will have to spot a hidden rebus puzzle within the episode and solve it. Probst said the Game Within the Game is designed for kids “who dream of playing Survivor.”

Probst called the Game Within the Game an experiment. “If you really are dreaming of playing the show, then let’s get that brain starting to think the way a Survivor has to think,” he said. 

There’s also the Shot in the Dark. Each contestant has one Shot in the Dark. If you think you might get voted out, you sacrifice your vote at tribal council, reach into a bag, and hope the scroll you pick says you’re saved. 

It too is an experiment. “It’s designed to complicate the vote,” said Probst. 

I asked Probst about the Survivor contestant he thinks about the most today. He mentioned Cirie Fields, a New Jersey nurse who wasn’t particularly fit or athletic, but loved the game, played it well and came close to winning. Her audition saw her tell the producers how she used to sit on the couch and watch Survivor, then decided to get off the couch and play. 

“We had never had anyone tell us that before,” Probst said, “and it really moved us.” 

Probst is pumped to see what viewers think of season 41. It won’t be an asterisk season, he stressed. “I think, when it’s over, even the most die-hard fan will say, yeah, that was pretty intense,” said Probst. “That was pretty kick-ass, and there were no shortcuts.” 

Series Business is a new podcast from Broadcasting+Cable and Multichannel News, featuring candid conversations with executive producers about launching a new show or new season.

B+C's Michael Malone chats with Survivor host and executive producer Jeff Probst about rethinking the show during its pandemic delay.

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The 18 castaways for season 41 of Survivor on CBS have been announced. The cast includes Danny McCray, former NFL player; Shantel Smith, a pastor in Washington; and Ricard Foyé, a flight attendant from Washington State. 

McCray was a defensive back and special teams player for the Cowboys and Bears. 

The season begins Sept. 22 and offers some new elements from its Fiji base. Three tribes of six will compete in what CBS calls "a faster, more intense and more dangerous season than ever before. The unpredictable, accelerated pace will test even the strongest superfan, as supplies are minimal, reward challenges are scarce, and players find themselves faced with advantages that could significantly help their game or, just as easily, extinguish their torch."

"I cannot remember a time when I've been this excited to launch a new season of Survivor," said executive producer and host Jeff Probst. "Survivor 41 features a really likable group of savvy Survivor players and they are in for the most intense, most difficult and most dangerous season we've ever done. We know we have the most loyal fans of any show on television, and we are pumped to bring them a new, exciting season of Survivor!"

The sole remaining survivor gets $1 million. 

For the first time, Probst "will also take viewers inside the action, addressing the audience directly throughout the season, even letting fans in on some twists before the players are made aware," said CBS. Fans can test their Survivor skills by playing the new Game Within the Game. Each week, viewers will have to spot a hidden rebus puzzle within the episode and solve it.

The remaining cast members are Brad Reese of Shawnee, Wyoming; David Voce of Highland, California; Deshawn Radden of Miami; Eric Abraham of San Antonio; Erika Casupanan of Toronto; Evvie Jagoda of Arlington, Massachusetts; Genie Chen of Portland; Heather Aldret of Charleston; Jairus Robinson of Oklahoma City; Liana Wallace of Washington; Naseer Muttalif of Morgan Hill, California; Sara Wilson of Boston; Sydney Segal of Brooklyn; Tiffany Seely of Plainview, New York; and Xander Hastings of Jacksonville, Florida. 

Season 40 premiered early in 2020, with the pandemic delaying season 41. 

Survivor is produced by S.E.G. Holdco., LLC. Mark Burnett, Jeff Probst, Matt VanWagenen, Kahaia Pearson and Jesse Jensen are executive producers.

CBS has revealed its 2021-2022 schedule, which includes four new dramas, two freshman comedies and 22 returning series. Competition series Survivor returns in the fall after being put on hold last summer due to the pandemic. 

On Mondays, The Neighborhood and Bob Hearts Abishola lead into season 19 of NCIS. NCIS: Hawai'i, with Vanessa Lachey as the Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Pearl Harbor field office, follows. 

Tuesdays, FBI, rookie FBI: International and FBI: Most Wanted are on. All are Dick Wolf creations. 

On Wednesdays, it’s Survivor, Tough as Nails and CSI: Vegas. CSI: Vegas brings back William Petersen and Jorja Fox from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. 

Thursdays have Young Sheldon, United States of Al, new comedy Ghosts, based on a BBC series and starring Rose McIver and Utkarsh Ambudkar, B Positive and drama Bull. 

On Fridays it’s SWAT, Magnum P.I. and Blue Bloods. 

Saturdays offer reruns. Sundays have 60 Minutes, The Equalizer, NCIS: Los Angeles and the four-episode SEAL Team “event,” CBS said, before the military drama shifts to Paramount Plus. When that happens, SWAT moves to 10 p.m. 

“This season, we proved we could create a winning schedule against seemingly insurmountable odds,” said Kelly Kahl, president, CBS Entertainment. “Next season, we aim to repeat that success with bold, strategic scheduling moves designed to strengthen nights and maximize flow across the week. We’re expanding three of our biggest, globally popular franchises, returning 22 fan favorites while nurturing our newer rising hits, and adding a host of year-round original programming that will appeal to viewers and advertisers alike.”

Debuting later in the season are dramas Good Sam and Blood & Treasure, comedy Smallwood, competition series Come Dance With Me and veteran unscripted series Undercover Boss and The Amazing Race.

Special-event programming includes competition series The Activist and Christmas movies A Christmas Proposal and Christmas Takes Flight. 

I know what the Malones are watching tonight, and I know what we’re watching tomorrow. 

Contestants on some tropical island, strategizing over meager portions of rice. Immunity challenges. Tribal Council. Jeff Probst overseeing the whole affair. 

Survivor. 

The kids are obsessed with the unscripted staple, similar to how my wife and I were, along with much of America, when Survivor launched in 2000. (Surely you remember Richard Hatch, and maybe Rudy Boesch, and perhaps even Kelly Wiglesworth). 

Like many families, we seek out programming the family can watch together, to prevent the kids from ducking into rooms with no one else in them to watch YouTube. So a few years ago, I suggested the new season of Survivor. The kids went for it, watching Nick win the David vs. Goliath season, No. 37, and loved it right away. They learned of this archaic boomer concept known as appointment viewing. 

CBS announced that Survivor was not airing this fall due to the pandemic, so we crashed through old seasons of the show on Hulu, then CBS All Access, now Paramount Plus. Winners at War. Heroes vs. Villains. Ghost Island. 

Most nights, we watch two episodes. My kids, a boy and a girl, talk about Parvati, Boston Rob, Sandra, Cirie, Coach and slippery Russell Hantz as if they are our neighbors. They talk about Survivor locales--Tocantins, Cook Islands, Micronesia--as though they’ve lived in them. 

It was 21 years ago that my wife, who was not yet my wife, and I watched Survivor every week, and talked about it--Hatch’s conniving ways, Rudy’s cranky old-guy barbs, Susan’s odd way of saying tapioca (TAAApioca)--the rest of the week. 

After a few seasons--Colby and Jerri in season two, Ethan Zohn in season three, Boston Rob in season four--my wife and I lost interest, watching other stuff or going out, doing whatever it is you do as a young person in Manhattan.  

As we no longer do whatever you do as a young person in Manhattan, we are back to Survivor. We watch so much of it that the kids don’t want to watch much of anything else. We snuck in a whole season of Secrets of Sulphur Springs on Disney Channel--we enjoyed that--but pretty much everything else on the TV during prime has been Survivor. 

The kids say that each episode is unpredictable, and Survivor deftly works in new wrinkles of the game while keeping the framework essentially the same. “It’s a simple concept, but it feels original every time,” my son said. 

A season takes us a week on streaming. The kids note every minute difference season to season, and episode to episode--a truncated intro, Jeff Probst tweaking his usual rote proclamations, whether it’s “If anybody has the hidden immunity idol…” or “I’ll go tally the votes!”

Thanks to my daughter, who follows Probst on Instagram, I learned last week that a new season is finally in the works. “Survivor’s going back into production,” Probst said. “Fiji has invited us back to their beautiful country to shoot season 41. We have all of our COVID protocols in place so that everyone in Fiji will remain safe, all of our crew will be safe and of course our players will be safe.”

At times, it’s too much Survivor in our household. Doesn’t anyone want to try WandaVision? 

Then again, the kids are willing to watch TV with their mother and father, and we all have something to talk about besides the pandemic and school. 

This won’t last forever, so I might as well enjoy it while it does. 

Survivor has resumed production of season 41, after the CBS competition series was put on hold amidst COVID. Jeff Probst, host and executive producer, shared the news on Instagram. 

“Hey Survivor fans--I have some exciting news to share,” said Probst. “Survivor’s going back into production. Fiji has invited us back to their beautiful country to shoot season 41. We have all of our COVID protocols in place so that everyone in Fiji will remain safe, all of our crew will be safe and of course our players will be safe.”

In July, CBS announced that Survivor was off the fall schedule with production held up. The Amazing Race slid into the Wednesday 8 p.m. slot. Survivor producers “are continuing to work with officials in Fiji on the appropriate time to start production on its next edition, with health and safety matters the top priority for everyone involved,” said CBS at the time. 

“I can’t remember a time I’ve been this pumped to shoot Survivor, and I’ll tell you why,” said Probst on Instagram. “The past year has reminded me, and I hope it’s reminded you, you gotta live your life like it’s one big great adventure and Survivor fulfills that.”

CBS did not share a premiere date for the new season. 

Probst concluded, “I am thrilled to say I will see you on the island for Survivor 41!”

CBS has revised its Wednesday lineup for the upcoming season, with The Amazing Race shifting from 9 p.m. to 8 p.m. in place of Survivor, whose production is held up due to the pandemic. Survivor producers “are continuing to work with officials in Fiji on the appropriate time to start production on its next edition, with health and safety matters the top priority for everyone involved,” said CBS. 

SEAL Team and SWAT follow The Amazing Race on Wednesdays. SWAT was initially planned for the mid-season. 

Phil Keoghan hosts The Amazing Race. 

New CBS shows debuting this coming season are Chuck Lorre comedy B Positive and Queen Latifah drama The Equalizer. Silence of the Lambs-inspired Clarice is set up for mid-season.

The next season of Survivor will be No. 41.

The Survivor season finale paced CBS to the Wednesday win. CBS posted a 1.6 in viewers 18-49, per the Nielsen overnights, and a 9 share. That beat Fox’s 1.3/7. 

This season of Survivor had all past winners, with the last person standing taking home $2 million. It took up all of prime, with host Jeff Probst announcing the winner from his home due to the pandemic. It was up a tenth of a point from last week.

Fox had The Masked Singer at 1.8 in its first hour and 0.9 in its second, same as it did last week.

ABC got a 0.6/3 and NBC a 0.5/3. ABC had season finales for its comedies. The Goldbergs got a flat 0.8 and Schooled went up 17% to 0.7. American Housewife shot up 20% to 0.6 and Single Parents tallied a flat 0.5. Shark Tank too was flat at 0.5.

On NBC it was reruns of the Chicago shows.

Univision did a 0.5/3 and Telemundo a 0.3/2. On Univision it was Te Doy La Vida at a level 0.5 and Amor Eterno fell 17% to 0.5. Como Tu No Hay 2 got a flat 0.5.

Telemundo had Cennet up 33% to 0.4 and 100 Dias Para Enamorarnos at a flat 0.3. La Reina del Sur 2 did a level 0.3.

The CW got a 0.1/1 with repeats. 

Fox had the top score in Wednesday ratings, with The Masked Singer leading the net to a 1.4 in viewers 18-49, per the Nielsen overnights, and a 7 share. That topped CBS’s 1.1/6.

The Masked Singer did a 1.8 and then a 0.9 across two hours, down 16%.

On CBS, Survivor got a 1.5 and a 1.4 from 8 to 10 p.m., virtually flat with last week. Next week is the season finale. SEAL Team dropped 25% to 0.6.

NBC tallied a 0.6/3 and ABC a 0.5/3. NBC had Chicago repeats.

ABC had The Goldbergs at 0.8 and Single Parents at 0.5, both flat. American Housewife slid 17% to 0.5 and another Single Parents posted a 0.4. Shark Tank, airing its first original in months, scored a 0.5.

Univision rated a 0.5/3 and Telemundo a 0.3/2. Univision had Te Doy La Vida at 0.5 and Amor Eterno at 0.6. Como Tu No Hay 2 got a 0.5. All three were flat.

On Telemundo, it was 0.3s for Cennet, 100 Dias Para Enamorarnos and the La Reina del Sur special. Cennet and 100 Dias lost a tenth and La Reina stayed level.

The CW got a 0.1/1. The Riverdale finale got a level 0.2 and a Bulletproof rerun followed. 

MGM Worldwide Television has promoted Mark Burnett to chairman, and the long-time television executive has agreed to extend his employment deal with the company to 2022.

Burnett, who made his name first as a producer of reality hits like Survivor and The Apprentice, has been president of MGM Worldwide TV since 2015, when his production company One Three Media was acquired the movie and television studio.

“Mark is a one-of-a-kind creative individual with an incredible eye for talent and content and a long track record of success,” said Kevin Ulrich, CEO of Anchorage Capital Group and chairman of MGM’s board of directors in a statement. “We are confident that under Mark’s leadership, MGM Television’s best days are ahead.”

Burnett has added a huge number of scripted and reality series to the MGM slate over the years. Earlier this week premium channel Epix – owned by MGM – added his boxing reality series The Contender to its lineup. 

“In the past four years at MGM we have renewed all our television franchises and have added a lot of new hits,” Burnett said in a statement. “This is the most fun I have had in my career and I know we will continue to build on these successes. I believe so strongly in the future of MGM and the team that surrounds me and it was important for me to extend my involvement well into the future.”

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