Survivor is arguably one of the best reality shows of all time, and the Emmy-winning series has been the blue print for countless projects that followed. Fans are gearing up for the forthcoming premiere of Season 50 on CBS (and streaming with a Paramount+ subscription), especially since they got to vote on the formatting. That includes bringing back the live reunion special, although host/producer Jeff Probst indicated it might not stick around. And a number of former contestants are speaking out against that decision.
The cast for Survivor 50 is stacked, and viewers are hyped to get a returning player season after years of New Era newbies. In addition to how much money Survivor players make, fans have been wondering if the changes made to Season 50 will be carried through. But according to Jeff, we shouldn't hold our breath about more live reunions in the future. Let's break it all down.
What Jeff Said About Future Reunions
Survivor 50 is titled In The Hands of the Fans, who were able to vote about various game details while watching Season 49. The community voted on tribe colors and if the cast should be given rice to eat, and also voted to bring back the live reunions in Los Angeles, which have been missing since the pandemic. While appearing at SCAD TVFest (Via Parade), Jeff Probst got real about the likelihood of more live reunions in future seasons, saying:
From a production standpoint, the live show takes us a month or longer [whereas] the after show that we shoot in Fiji takes an hour. So you sometimes have to put your producer hat on and say 'This show costs millions, this one costs nothing.' The content is arguably just as interesting.
Talk about a bummer. As a hardcore fan of Survivor myself, this is not the news I wanted to hear. I much prefer the drama of the live reunions, for a few reasons. To start, it's filmed after the cast saw how they were portrayed on screen, which adds drama... especially if their cast mates talked poorly about them in confessionals. They also had months to think about where they went wrong gameplay-wise. Additionally it allows for the full cast to appear; when the recaps are filmed after Final Tribal it's only the finalists and jury members.
How Survivor Players Have Responded
Fans have strong feelings about Probst's comments, and the consensus seems to be that they'd prefer a live reunion in LA. The discourse played out in a post from the Drop Your Buffs podcast's Instagram, where a number of former players weighed in with their disapproval over Jeff's stance. Some comments include:
- “Collective sigh” -Everyone who was on the show - Corinne Kaplan
- No - Teeny Chirichillo
- After show sucks actually even more when u don't even have the full cast - Lydia Meredith
- What? - Lauren Beck
It seems like a bunch of Survivor players agree with fan sentiment, and would also prefer the show go back to live reunion specials. This is a big chance to be on TV for the contestants, and have at least one more chance to defend their gameplay and/or address beefs with their fellow competitors. So the idea of it going away after Season 50 simply because of the cost is truly a bummer.
Most of the best Survivor seasons featured live reunions, and they often got juicy. Villains get booed by the audience, feuds played out, and the audience even got to be introduced to the players' families. And all of that has been sorely missing when filming the "reunion" immediately after Final Tribal. No amount of champagne and pizza is going to change that.
Regarding the budget comments, some fans pointed out that newer seasons of Survivor now air 90-minute episodes, opening up a new block of advertising money. Couldn't that help to offset the costs? We'll just have to wait and see.
Survivor 50 will premiere on February 25th as part of the 2026 TV schedule.
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