In unsurprising news, CBS has officially removed Survivor from its fall schedule as production on the forty-first season remains at a stand-still.
As first reported by Variety, CBS has pulled the stalwart reality series from its fall 2020-2021 line-up due to the coronavirus pandemic. A source told the publication that “CBS and officials in Fiji are still evaluating the best time to start production due to the heightened health and safety concerns involved.”
Inside Survivor sources revealed earlier this month that filming on season 41 won’t begin until AT LEAST September, and even that plan is still up in the air. The season was originally scheduled to film back in March but was postponed indefinitely in early April, with all crew sent back home until further notice.
The Amazing Race will now air in Survivor’s 8 pm Wednesday night time slot this fall. The long-running travel show has had its thirty-second season in the can for almost two years, and it was initially set to air following the Survivor: Winners At War finale.
It was during the Winners At War finale where host and executive producer Jeff Probst stated that Survivor was committed to airing as usual in the fall. This was echoed when CBS unveiled its fall schedule back in May, a lineup that seemed hopeful of getting its main-stay programming back into production.
“We are very proud of this schedule and these shows and we’re excited to get them on the air as soon as safely possible,” CBS Entertainment President Kelly Khal told The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re confident — at the very least, hopeful — that production will resume in the summer and we’re hopeful most of these shows will be on this fall.”
In June, Fiji’s Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama released a statement announcing details of “Phase 2” of Fiji’s COVID-Safe Economic Recovery, which laid out protocols that will be put into place for upcoming film productions.
“Cast and crew won’t even be allowed to board their plane without proof of a negative COVID-19 test and will be screened for symptoms both before boarding and upon landing,” explained Bainimarama. “They’ll then be entered into government-designated quarantine—whether that’s a preapproved hotel or a remote isolated island—for the mandatory 14-day period.”
We want our fans to know that the health and safety of our cast and crew are of the utmost importance and look forward to returning when the time is right. We can’t wait to hear Jeff say, “Survivors Ready?” Read more: https://t.co/Z1lnYjtN1P. pic.twitter.com/NGqCKgcow8
— SURVIVOR (@survivorcbs) July 14, 2020
However, despite these provisions, no firm plan has been confirmed to resume filming. “Shooting in a foreign country is exponentially more complicated, and we are still exploring [safety measures],” Probst told THR’s Kirsten Chuba earlier this month. “I’m on the phone every couple of days, either with the government of Fiji or with our executive teams that are in charge of logistics and planning.”
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