Survivor is set to enter its “open era” with the upcoming 51st season, and according to Jeff Probst, that means everything is on the table, including the return of themes.
Speaking to Variety last month, the longtime Survivor host and showrunner was asked about the possibility of bringing back themed seasons. “Yes, I think, in the future,” Probst said, noting how for the new era they chose to stick with numbering the seasons.
“But moving forward, I don’t feel that we need to be locked into not doing a theme in the same way that I don’t think we have to do themes from now on,” he explained. “If, during casting, we discover a “David vs. Goliath” theme, it’s very likely we’ll do it, then the next could just be the number.”
The Emmy-winning host said the “inconsistency” is what the show is “embracing” in its open era. “Let’s just do what’s best for the show and not worry about the overall symmetry. So all things are on the table moving forward,” he added.
Survivor’s history with themed seasons goes all the way back to the early years of the show, but this trend intensified in the 30s, with each season named after a theme. This included themes such as Worlds Apart, Millennials vs. Gen-X, Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, Ghost Island, David vs. Goliath, and Edge of Extinction.
The open era format was introduced during the Survivor 51 preview, which aired at the end of the Survivor 50 live finale on May 20. As Probst explained, “every advantage, every idol, every twist” the show has ever done is “in play” from this point forward.
“Anything we’ve ever done, pretty much, is in our bag,” Probst shared with Variety. “Some people may think, ‘They’ll never bring this idea back’ — I don’t know. Don’t be so sure about that, because the fact that somebody thinks we might not bring something back is all the more reason to bring it back immediately. I look at everything as IP. This is all part of the show. And you never know.”
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