How Jeff Probst Is Casting Survivor Returnees for Season 50

Believe it or not, Jeff Probst is already tinkering away at ideas for Survivor 50. It’s still years away, but for the landmark season, the Emmy-winning host has some grandiose plans. He wants to bring the best of the best for an all-stars season. Casting is underway, and of course, Jeff refuses to be normal about it.

Jeff Probst wants the best of the best for Season 50

Jeff spoke to Variety about the long-running competition show and his plans for the future. Season 47 premieres in a few weeks, but until then, Jeff explained that Season 50 is occupying a ton of his time. In fact, Survivor is always on his mind.

“Here’s how it works. I’m in post-production on 47, in pre-production on 49; I’m starting casting on 49, and then we have 50 coming up this year, so that’s a bigger thing,” Jeff explained.

For Survivor 50, Jeff wants it to be a major celebration of the show. He knows it needs to feature the most iconic castaways of all time, but there’s a lot to think through. Jeff explained the very manual process he’s following to help get the cast figured out. According to Jeff, it always starts with a glass of tequila.

“I printed out their faces on 4×6 magnetic sheets with their names, the season they first played, and how old they will be if they play in [Season] 50,” Jeff explained.

He continued, “I’m going to put them on the whiteboard and take in the very first steps toward what I think will go down as the most enjoyable problem we’ve ever had to solve: How are you going to get this down to a handful of people to play Survivor 50 that will satisfy the fans and will honor 50 seasons?”

His compendium of players started at around 200. Slowly but surely, he’s narrowing it down. Currently, he’s working with a list of about 100 and has a goal in mind with what he wants for Season 50.

“We just did a big season with 40. ‘Winners at War’ was a battle. And we had a very clear theme: We’re going to give you every weapon we have and you all battle it out. Somebody’s going to end up bloody but victorious,” Jeff explained. “So Survivor 50 is not going to be that.”

He continued, “Fifty’s gotta be a celebration. Let’s do a great season of ‘Survivor’ but put an emphasis on the word ‘fun.’

We’ve still got a while before Season 50 comes to fruition. Until then, get ready for Season 47. It premieres on CBS with a two-hour premiere on Wednesday, September 18th at 8/7c.

TELL US – WHICH RETURNING CASTAWAYS DO YOU WANT TO SEE ON SURVIVOR 50? ARE YOU SURPRISED THAT JEFF IS PLAYING SUCH A BIG ROLE IN THE CASTING PROCESS?

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