‘This show will go on without me’

You would think when you have a face of the franchise who has been with a show for 50 seasons, that locking him up for as long as possible, so as to not risk a potentially derailing change, would be of paramount importance. So what exactly does the CBS contract for Survivor host and showrunner Jeff Probst look like?

“I don’t even really have a contract,” Probst told Entertainment Weekly in Fiji during filming on Survivor 50 (which premieres Feb. 2 on CBS.) Wait, that doesn’t sound right. “I don’t negotiate contracts,” Probst insists. “I don’t have a long-term deal. I don’t have any deal. We just do it.”

While we assume this to mean that the best reality television host on the planet simply goes on a year-to-year agreement rather than a longer spanning deal, it also explains why people like me keep asking him how long he is going to continue with the show if he himself is not locking up a long term-commitment on the program. But make no mistake, the man remains deeply committed to Survivor.

Jeff Probst and the cast of ‘Survivor 50’.

CBS

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“I’m telling you right now, there’s no thought in my mind at all about leaving,” Probst insists. “I love where the show is. I love our crew. I love the type of people that are applying. It’s up in every category of ethnic diversity. Every category is up, and everybody’s saying it’s because ‘I see myself reflected and represented on the show, so now I want to be on the show.’  That makes me excited, along with watching young people come up and say, ‘I want to play this f—ing game!’ That’s really exciting.”

And while many fans and former players may still bemoan the downsizing from 39 to 26 days, the Hostmaster General says the move to a more manageable shoot has reenergized the crew. “The 26-day schedule got rid of a third of the shoot, and for everybody out here, that has been really positive, because the show is draining. But now it’s doable. It’s still draining, but it’s doable.”

The cast of ‘Survivor 50’.

CBS

And while Probst says he wants to keep doing it, what about the day when he is ready to step away? Would he like the show to continue on without him?

“That’s a good question,” says the host, pondering his answer. “Okay, here’s my honest truth. I absolutely, 100 percent know this show will go on without me, because it’s the format. The key would be who’s going to be producing and who’s going to be hosting and what point of view are they going to bring to it.”

Probst firmly believes any potential successor needs to have his or her own distinct vision that helps shape what makes it to the screen.

“You can’t just hire some talking head for Survivor,” says Probst. “That would be a bad mistake. But if you hire somebody who has a point of view about humans and behavior and why we do the things we do, then they might bring a whole new point of view to it. They may look at it and go, ‘Here’s what I’m interested in.’”

Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor 50’.

CBS

And that difference interests the current host. “If you ask people about me, I’m interested in the hero’s journey, the Joseph Campbell adventure of life that I believe all of us have stirring in our belly. And that Survivor is that call. Somebody else may come on and say, ‘We should center it more around challenges. And I’ll tell you why.’ And maybe you have got a different game.”

If and when Probst ever does turn in his colorful collection of Survivor baseball caps as host, would he still want to be involved as the showrunner or some other creative collaborator on the show? Or would he step aside so the new host could come in and have control over that vision?

The cast of ‘Survivor 50’.

Scott Duncan/CBS

“I think that would be a big discussion,” Probst answers. “I would be open to a situation like that. But there also might be a time where you say, ‘With respect, Probst, you’ve been here a long time and we’d like to try something new.’ And then I’d say, ‘Great!’ I would gracefully bow out. And I would also say, ‘I’m here if you need me.’ This show has given me everything. I would never abandon Survivor. I would always be a part of it in any way if somebody wanted me.’”

But that is a potential discussion for another day. “I hope that’s not a call I get anytime soon,” he says. “I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to be replaced.”

Rest assured, it appears there will be no self-torch snuffing in the immediate future.