Survivor is well among the finest actuality reveals on the market, and it would not be the identical with out Jeff Probst. It is laborious to consider, however the host has been steering contestants by means of fire-making challenges and tribal councils for over 20 years now. Season 48 simply hit the 2025 TV schedule (and out there to stream with a Paramount+ subscription), however what’s wild is that the long-lasting Man Behind the Torch Snuffing wasn’t even the primary alternative for the gig—he was the final particular person employed! However he by no means doubted it for a second that the long-lasting present was meant for him.
Various followers could also be shocked to listen to Jeff Probst reveal that he wasn’t simply one other identify within the working for the internet hosting gig however the remaining identify added to the roster. Her shared that revelation throughout an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. In a video clip posted to their official Instagram, Probst recalled listening to concerning the idea for the truth TV present as effectively and the way that lit a hearth beneath him:
I used to be actually the final particular person employed. I heard Mark [Burnett] discuss Survivor on a radio interview, once I was driving on the 405. And he described the present. And from that second to at present, sitting right here with you, I’ve not stopped enthusiastic about Survivor. I knew once I heard it. I instructed all my associates, ‘That is my present. That is what I’ve been ready for.’
It’s wild to think about a world by which Survivor isn’t helmed by the Emmy-winning host, who has develop into synonymous with the truth competitors collection. He isn’t simply the host—he’s the present’s narrator, interviewer, mediator and, in some ways, its coronary heart and soul. However, in response to him, it wasn’t an on the spot match when he lastly met with franchise creator Mark Burnett:
It’s not only a recreation present. It’s not the relationship present. It’s this factor. It’s about us. Once I met with Mark, I gave him that pitch and he checked out me and stated, ‘Oh, effectively, very good to fulfill you.’ I used to be like, ‘What?’ Good to fulfill me!? And I assumed, oh, I suppose he doesn’t get me. After which months later I acquired a name saying, you already know, you’re within the working.
That’s proper—regardless of feeling an instantaneous connection to the present’s idea, Jeff Probst initially thought he had blown his possibilities with Mark Burnett. However destiny had different plans, and Survivor formally landed its host. For the reason that first season’s premiere in 2000, the truth TV veteran has been with the collection for all 48 seasons (with Season 49 and 50 now casting) seasons, incomes a number of Emmy Awards and serving to flip the present into one of many longest-running and most influential actuality competitions of all time.
Probst’s success comes from the truth that he’s not only a typical host. He’s concerned in shaping the present, pushing for cool twists just like the Shot within the Darkish mechanic in Season 41, which made for a wild tribal council. He additionally comes up with contemporary problem concepts and steps in when there are moral issues. He’s gone from simply main tribal councils to being a key participant behind the scenes and is now an government producer, too.
For longtime Survivor followers, it’s not possible to image the present with out Jeff Probst, in his iconic button up shirt and ball cap, on the helm. And contemplating his deep ardour for the collection, it doesn’t look like he’ll drop his torch anytime quickly. New episodes of the beloved actuality competitors present air Wednesdays and stream the following day on Paramount+.