Unlike other reality competition series, Jeff Probst – the longtime host of “Survivor” – has no say in which players get eliminated each week.
While Probst remains an impartial judge when it comes to Immunity and Reward challenges throughout any given season, once the players arrive at Tribal Council, their fates are in their own hands, meaning that the host is just as surprised by a shocking blindside elimination as the fans watching at home.
This fact became evidently clear after Probst reacted to the most recent episode of “Survivor 49” on Wednesday, November 5, admitting that he “hated” seeing castaway Nate Moore become the eighth player voted off the island.
Why Was Nate Moore Eliminated From ‘Survivor 49’ This Week?
Despite enduring the pre-Merge portion of the game in relatively good standing despite two potentially disatrous tribe swipes, Nate Moore was ultimately blindsided out of the competition after the remaining contestants entered the Merge during Wednesday night’s episode.
CBSNate Moore
Nate became the target of the most recent Tribal Council ceremony after his old allies, Jawan Pitts and Sage Ahrens-Nichols, joined forces with Steven Ramm to eliminate members of the seemingly dominant Uli alliance, which similarly included players like Rizo Velovic and Savannah Louie.
Entering the competition as a former executive producer for Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) projects like “Black Panther” and “Captain America,” Nate devoted a lot of energy this season to concealing his career, fearful that it would place a target on his back if his fellow castaways were aware of his success outside of the game.
Unfortunately, his efforts ended in vain as Jeff Probst snuffed Nate’s torch, leaving the former producer to watch the remainder of the season from the sidelines as a member of the jury.
Jeff Probst Reveals He ‘Hated’ Losing Nate so Early in the Game
“I hated losing Nate,” said Probst on his “On Fire” podcast after the episode aired. “From casting, I thought he could win it all. He’s perceptive, understands social dynamics, and connects easily with people.”
Referring back to his casting notes, Probst recalled his thoughts after meeting Moore for the first time: “I wrote, ‘Home run. So good at understanding social group dynamics. He’s very, very switched on to people and drive, and motivation. He comes across as very perceptive and very good at connecting with people, so that might put a little target on him, but he’s very friendly and laid back.’”
As the casting process continued, Probst recalled wanting to see Nate at Tribal Council after chatting with the MCU executive over Zoom, alongside other CBS heads.
“That’s about as good as it gets for me,” Probst revealed. “If I write down, ‘I want to talk to you at Tribal,’ that means I want you on the show.”
Probst continued, “One of my notes was, ‘Always offers a very clear point of view.’ And then, in person, when we met him, I loved him. I wrote, ‘No doubt, great to talk to.’ And being in Hollywood might give him a bit of a head start in that he’s been in the room, he’s been in situations where he’s had to pull something off and make everybody happy, and not even have people know he pulled anything off…So I even wrote, ‘Could win with the right group,’ which I don’t say about everybody.”
Nate Will Continue to Appear on ‘Survivor 49’ as a Jury Member
At present, Nate Moore has yet to comment on his recent blindside elimination from “Survivor 49,” though fans can look forward to seeing the former MCU producer throughout the remainder of the season as he observes each and every Tribal Council ceremony in the lead up to the finale.
Once the season’s final three castaways are determined, Nate, alongside the rest of the jury, will cast their votes for who they think deserves to win the title of “Sole Survivor” and the show’s $1 million grand prize.
Find out which castaway joins the jury next when “Survivor 49” returns to CBS on Wednesday, November 12 at 8:00pm ET.
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