We’re less than three weeks away from the premiere of Survivor 45, which, for the first time ever, will feature an entire season’s worth of 90-minute episodes, allowing fans a better chance to get to know the new crop of castaways.
Speaking with former four-time Survivor player Tyson Apostol on The Ringer’s The Pod Has Spoken podcast, executive producer Matt Van Wagenen provided some hints on what viewers can expect from the expanded episodes, promising an old-school feel with elements that will please Survivor superfans.
“I feel like you’ll see some stuff that will probably remind you of older seasons. There’s some elements that I think the superfans are really going to love,” he explained. “But I also think there is a real opportunity for the character moments.”
He continued, “We’re about four or five episodes in on our process, and this 90 minutes has felt great. We haven’t had any problem filling that because there’s just so many fun character moments that allow us to get to know the people a little bit better. For me, at first, I thought it might be a bit of a challenge but if anything it’s been a pleasure putting 90-minute episodes together.”
CBS officially confirmed Survivor would be expanding to 90 minutes back in May, alongside the new season of The Amazing Race, which is also receiving the 90-minute treatment.
Host and executive producer Jeff Probst had previously opened up about wanting longer episodes, telling Entertainment Weekly, “I actually think 90 minutes is a great length for a Survivor episode. It means basically 63 minutes of total running time, and that’s similar to what you would find on a streaming service.”
Survivor 45 will see 18 castaways vying for the $1 million prize and the title of Sole Survivor. The season kicks off on Wednesday, September 27, at 8 pm ET on CBS.
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