Jeff Probst Begins the Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X Hype

Emmy award winning host Jeff Probst is already jumping aboard the hype train for the upcoming Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, promising yet another “Survivor first.”

It’s hard to imagine what “first” a show heading into its 33rd season could deliver, but that is what Jeff Probst is promising when Survivor returns this September. Speaking to Dalton Ross, while on location in Fiji for the filming of next year’s all-returnee Season 34, Probst told the EW.com journalist:

“We have something happen in the second day of the first episode that has never happened before. And the Gen Xers react to it with a little bit of concern and fear. And the Millennials are like they’re at a rock concert going ‘Bring it! We’ll take it!’”

In Survivor: Kaôh Rōng, we saw two “Survivor firsts,” the first with the combination Super Idol, and the second, when eventual winner, Michele Fitzgerald, earned the power to vote someone off the jury. It is unclear whether this new never before event is part of a twist, or if it’s something that was out of production’s hands.

Earlier this year severe storms hit Fiji, with torrential rain and flooding spreading across the country at the beginning of April – the same time filming began for Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X. In an earlier interview with Ross, Probst revealed that “…the elements do come into play, and in a way they never have before.” This “Survivor first” could be related to the weather conditions.

The interview also revealed that there would be a new twist to the hidden immunity idols; in both Season 33 and 34. In the past two seasons, we have seen new ways in which the idols are found, and implemented. In Survivor: Cambodia, idols were hidden in precarious places, such as in challenges and beneath the camp shelter. In Survivor: Kaôh Rōng, not only could you combine idols, but the idols themselves were locked in a box, and a key had to be retrieved from up a tree to open it.

“It’s super cool what we’re doing with the idols. I think the audience is going to get a chuckle out of it, and they’re going to go, ‘Wow, that’s another great idea. How did they do that?’” Probst told Ross. As for Season 34, the Survivor host couldn’t yet say what the twist is, but stated: “…we will continue to use the idols as a way to make people work harder to get advantages in the game.”

Probst also praised Millennials vs. Gen X, telling Ross, “I really think you’re going to like a lot of these players.” It could be a concern given that Probst’s track record of favorite seasons is patchy, to say the least. He previously claimed that the Survivor: Worlds Apart cast was the best they’d ever had, despite the season and its players receiving a mixed response upon airing. But with that said, Probst is adamant in his belief that “…people are going to dig this season.”

The early hype for a season that is still three months away is rather startling, especially given that Survivor: Kaôh Rōng was barely even promoted even in the days leading up to the premiere. Only time will tell whether the hype is justified.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X will air September 2016 on CBS.

 


Written by

Martin Holmes

Martin is a freelance writer from England. He’s represented by Berlin Associates for comedy writing and writes about TV and entertainment, currently for TV Insider and Vulture, previously Digital Spy, ET Canada, and Yahoo. A finalist for the Shortlist Sitcom Search in 2012 for “Siblings,” Martin received his BA in English with Creative Writing from The University of Hull. Martin is the owner and editor-in-chief of Insider Survivor.


8 responses to “Jeff Probst Begins the Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X Hype”

  1. For the first time on day 2 a guy named Zeke aligns with a guy named William. Never happened before.

  2. Going by TDT’s calendar, Day 2 was April 5. That’s right around when Cyclone Zena was hitting Fiji with winds over 100 mph. Sounds like a possibility.

  3. Im a weather nerd and a tropical cyclone hit Fiji on April 5, or Day 2. Not Winston, but cyclone zena.

  4. I skimmed the post by Jeff and immediately thought we had a transgender castaway. BB17 did it, so I didn’t think Survivor would be far behind. But upon rereading it, I thought the hurricane. One thing I’m a bit cautious about though is Jeff’s usage of the word “we.” He said “we have,” and while it most likely means something happens to the castaways, it could be a twist.

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