More from Variety<\/p>\n
But don\u2019t fret, \u201cSurvivor\u201d loyalists: Probst isn\u2019t losing the plot.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce we committed to turning the game design over to the fans, the next question became: \u2018How far can we go with this idea!?\u2019\u201d the host and showrunner tells Variety. \u201cWe knew some of \u2018Survivor\u2019s\u2019 biggest fans happen to be celebrities, so we thought sprinkling a few of them in with their own unique twists felt like a fun way to make the game even more unpredictable! It definitely caught the players off guard in some really exciting ways, and added another layer to this celebratory season.\u201d<\/p>\n
This is the largest cast to ever play<\/a>, and the castaways will, as always, be the real stars of the season \u2014 even when there are game-changing twists with celebrities attached. Variety was on set in Fiji for two of the collaborations, and can confirm that \u201cSurvivor\u201d still feels like \u201cSurvivor,\u201d even when A-list names are attached.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s a legitimate concern when you start adding layers like celebrities, that they can overshadow the game and take it off course. Our job was to make sure that we stayed true to what we\u2019re doing on \u2018Survivor,\u2019 which is exploring this continuous social experiment. And now we\u2019re adding another layer,\u201d Probst says. \u201cAnd when you bring in a celebrity like Zac Brown or MrBeast or Jimmy Fallon, you now add idolatry, and you add different perceptions and reputations. Suddenly, people can get off track a little bit, or they lean in, and they want something to do with Jimmy Fallon. A lot of the players said, \u2018I\u2019ve always dreamed of being in a MrBeast video.\u2019 So the twist is designed to see if you can stay on course with the thought process you should \u2014 or how is it going to shift your thought process, and will it do you in?\u201d<\/p>\n He also adds that he didn\u2019t go out to celebrities and ask who wanted to be involved \u2014 it was through his own friendships and relationships that each collaboration came about. And it was the celebrity\u2019s idea.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Jimmy Fallon, it was on his show<\/a>. Jimmy texts me ideas all the time about \u2018Survivor,\u2019 and we put some of them in the show, and we\u2019ve always talked about this idea,\u201d Probst says. That idea, for now, won\u2019t be shared \u2014\u00a0but it is an exciting one, which is hinted at during the trailer, and didn\u2019t go at all how Probst thought it would. \u201cI think people will see, when they see these play out, I think they\u2019ll understand these are legit \u2018Survivor\u2019 fans who wanted to be a part of 50.\u201d<\/p>\n The biggest collab of the season, however, will be the one with MrBeast<\/a>; Probst appears on Season 2 of \u201cBeast Games\u201d and Donaldson shows up for something on Season 50 of \u201cSurvivor.\u201d The cameos were filmed days apart from each other in June in Fiji.<\/p>\n The crossover conversation began when Lori DelliColli, VP of communications at CBS, was eating breakfast, and her kids showed her a MrBeast video. One of his team members, Karl Jacobs, was wearing a \u201cSurvivor\u201d buff<\/a> and talking about the show. She flagged to the marketing team, who invited Jacobs, along with \u201cBeast Games\u201d co-creator Sean Klitzner, to participate in the influencer experience filmed ahead of Season 49.<\/p>\n No one knew at the time just how big of fans they were of the franchise. Executive producer Matt Van Wagenen recalls Klitzner applying and getting close to being cast on an earlier season. In 2020, Jacobs DM\u2019d Van Wagenen on Twitter (as it was then), raving about the show. Van Wagenen mailed him a crew T-shirt and when Jacobs posted it on social media, the producer started hearing from friends and family. He had no idea how big Jacobs\u2019 following was. Once they re-met in Fiji, \u201cit felt like this was a conversation we never finished,\u201d Van Wagenen says.<\/p>\n During the influencer experience, Klitzner pitched Probst on some sort of collaboration \u2014\u00a0and \u201cthe camaraderie was instant; my respect for them was instant,\u201d says Probst. \u201cAnd then it was Lori\u2019s idea to say, \u2018That felt like some synergy there.\u2019 We\u2019ve never said, \u2018Let\u2019s collaborate with another show.\u2019 Ever. We are our own tiny little world trying to just stay out of the way, and do our show.\u201d<\/p>\n A main part of the crossover, though, was logistics; the calendar for \u201cSurvivor\u201d Season 50 and \u201cBeast Games\u201d Season 2 were already set. But the Prime Video reality competition series was willing to bend: They all wanted to make it work.<\/p>\n \u201cI said, \u2018Jeff, if you really want to do this, \u2018I\u2019ll push my entire shoot. I\u2019ll fit your dates no matter what,\u2019\u201d says Klitzner. \u201cWe had a kick-off meeting where they pitched us what we should do for our show. They said, \u2018We don\u2019t want to overstep.\u2019 We said, \u2018We want you to overstep in every sense of the word.\u2019 They said they could shoot it with their crew and could build challenges. They came in, designed everything from soup to nuts. And of course, then our team came in, and we put \u2018Beast\u2019 into it\u2026 There was not one moment that Jeff went, \u2018I don\u2019t know if we can do this.’\u201d<\/p>\n Though \u201cBeast Games\u201d and \u201cSurvivor\u201d are both reality competition shows, they have very little in common.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have a chaotic approach. They have cameras everywhere; they break the fourth wall all the time. They talk to players whenever they want. It\u2019s a completely different form of storytelling, and it works,\u201d Probst says. And Donaldson is a very different type of host from Probst. \u201cHe\u2019s not focused on a longer-term story. He seems more focused on an in-the-moment reaction, and they bounce from one reaction to another, to another. It\u2019s similar to his online environment, which is this constant hit of another moment, another event, one after another. \u201cOn \u2018Survivor,\u2019 we\u2019re looking at the long game. We want to introduce you to somebody, let you know who they are, where they\u2019re from, what their vulnerabilities are, and then we add things to the game to exacerbate that uncertainty and force adaptability.\u201d<\/p>\n And Donaldson\u2019s style was \u201cexhilarating\u201d for Probst to see, allowing him a look into such a different production than he\u2019s used to. \u201cWho knows what influence I will take from that?\u201d Probst says. \u201cI\u2019m sure in some ways, I will take things from my time with Jimmy and go, \u2018I could use some elements of that in \u2018Survivor.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n In a way, it was \u201clike I was in a video game and just trying to keep up,\u201d Probst says of being part of the \u201cBeast Games\u201d episode. \u201cHe just goes wherever he wants. He, like me, is the producer of his show. He can decide to do whatever he wants, and he does. He doesn\u2019t hesitate to say, \u2018I think I\u2019ll just bribe you with money right now.\u2019 It was fascinating to be inside their world and watch them.\u201d<\/p>\n Of course, having Probst by his side was a huge learning experience for Donaldson \u2014 both as a host and as a producer. After the first part of the collab is filmed, Donaldson says: \u201cI\u2019m a little more monotone. Jeff projects his voice, and has a swag with certain things \u2014 like Island swag! I would love to have more presence with my voice like he does.\u201d<\/p>\n From a producer\u2019s standpoint, Donaldson realized while in Fiji that maybe \u201cBeast Games\u201d has \u201cover-indexed on changing things. He\u2019s essentially done similar vibes for 25 years, and it\u2019s still cool. People like familiarity, and I usually try to mix things up, but that makes the production way harder,\u201d says Donaldson. \u201cIt\u2019ss helped me realize that not everything has to be fresh, because sometimes fans just like things, and if they like it, do it over and over again.\u201d<\/p>\n But after figuring out how \u201cSurvivor\u201d would be incorporated into \u201cBeast Games,\u201d it came time for Probst to figure out how to mix MrBeast into his show.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key point for me was, our show is not changing. Jimmy will come in, and we\u2019ll bring the aspects of \u2018Beast Games\u2019 that we want to explore on our show,\u201d says Probst. \u201cIf you look at the two shows, \u2018Beast Games\u2019 asks one question: What will people do for money? \u2018Survivor\u2019 asks a different question: Who are you when you\u2019re stripped of everything?\u201d<\/p>\n What Donaldson\u2019s role is in \u201cSurvivor\u201d 50 needs to stay secret for now, other than what\u2019s shown in the trailer: He shows up with his briefcase. Let\u2019s just say, what\u2019s inside has major potential to change the game.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you take people who are being stripped of everything,\u201d Probst says, \u201cand then you bring in maybe the most well-known person for unpredictable moments, it took the uncertainty to another level.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSurvivor\u201d premieres on CBS Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. ET.<\/p>\n Best of Variety<\/p>\n Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter<\/a>. 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