CBS Jeff Probst on the set of 'Survivor'
“Survivor 41” is the dawn of a new era. The new season, which premiered in September, introduced new twists, new advantages, and extremely scarce resources. In a video posted to Instagram in July 2021, Probst compared “Survivor 41” to a monster in a horror movie. In a recent interview, Probst revealed he is already brainstorming twists for future seasons that will shake up the entire game.
Jeff Probst Teases New Twist That Could Bring Back Eliminated Players
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2021, Jeff Probst teased an exciting new twist that may appear in future seasons. The twist gives the first five players voted off a chance to re-enter the game.
The new twist is similar to the Edge of Extinction twist, which appeared in season 38 and season 40. The Edge of Extinction twist allowed eliminated castaways a chance to rejoin the game by competing in a re-entry challenge. After being eliminated, castaways could either leave the island or take a boat to the Edge of Extinction, a barren island with minimal resources. The eliminated castaways had to live off limited resources and search for hidden advantages to help them in the re-entry challenges.
In the Entertainment Weekly interview, Probst explained how this new twist would work.
“At the start of the game, all the players would be told that the first five players voted out will have one chance to get back in the game,” he told the outlet. “When that day arrived, we’d march them back in, just like the beloved Edge of Extinction twist. We then explain that they will compete together as a tribe in one epic challenge against six random players still remaining in the game. If they win, one of them will ultimately earn their way back into the game.”
Probst told the outlet that this hypothetical challenge would require six players, so the eliminated castaways would choose one player still in the game to help them out in the competition. But wait, there’s more. If the eliminated players lose the competition, then the castaway still in the game would be eliminated.
“Not saying we would do this twist, but that’s one dangerous idea we might workshop if we decided we wanted to bring returning players back into the game,” Probst told Entertainment Weekly.
‘Survivor’ Fans React to Dramatic New Twist
In episode six of “Survivor 41,” which aired on October 27, Probst introduced a new twist that gave one castaway a massive amount of power.
In the episode, Probst informed the remaining castaways that they would compete to earn their way into the merge. The players split into two teams by drawing rocks. The yellow team included Heather, Xander, Liana, Tiffany, and Shan. The blue team included Deshawn, Danny, Ricard, Sydney, and Evvie. Naseer and Erika did not get to compete in the challenge because they drew grey rocks.
The blue team won the challenge and secured safety. In a sudden twist, the blue team got to choose either Naseer or Erika to join their team and guarantee them safety. They chose Naseer. As a result, Erika was sent to an isolated island. Probst visited Erika on the island and introduced a new twist that could shake up the entire game. Probst tells Erika she has the option to reverse the results of yesterday’s challenge. She can force the winning team to compete in an individual immunity challenge and guarantee safety for herself and the losing team. The episode left off on a cliffhanger.
Probst talked to Entertainment Weekly about the new dramatic twist.
“From a broad perspective, all of the ideas for this season came during a crazy two-week period where we just totally reimagined the game,” he told the outlet. “As this big idea took shape, we realized that the merge had always been a freebie in the sense that if you lasted long enough, you made the merge, and that meant you received a huge feast. So we dug in and decided to reframe the merge so instead of ‘making the merge’ you merely reach the ‘merge phase’ of the game.”
“Survivor” fans voiced their opinions on Twitter. The response to the new twist was mixed. Some fans loved the twist. One Twitter user wrote, “this merge honestly has been really interesting so far. I’m excited for the next episode because it’s about to get wild!”
Another user wrote, “Yes great twists. Can’t wait for this week. Hope she gets an idle or steal a vote to protect her from the group plan.”
Some “Survivor” fans were not on board with the new twist. One Twitter user wrote, “This is the worst season of Survivor ever. Just go back to the basics!” Another Twitter user commented, “Worst season ever. Finding idols and winning immunity now means nothing. Basically being good means you’re punished. Eliminate all advantages and start again.”
Fans of the popular reality television show have been critical of all the changes to the game, but Probst isn’t backing down.
“For future players, I can’t scream this loudly enough…the game is a monster,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “You cannot waste time being frustrated because you don’t like a twist. It’s wasted and misplaced energy,” he said.
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on CBS.