The host explains how they set out to use all that extra time.
It took 45 seasons, butSurvivoris finally getting supersized.
JEFF PROBST: Yes.
Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
I actually had been pitching CBS for probably five years, “Let us try 90 minutes!”
But back in October, CBS came to us and said, “Okay, you got your wish.
We’ll do one season of 90-minute episodes and we’ll see how it goes.”
Jeff Probst on ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
So how did you approach that?
And [co-executive producer] Jimmy Quigley and his Team F.L.I.N.T.
But because we had 90-minute episodes, we now have the time.
The cast of ‘Survivor 45’.Robert Voets/CBS
And fans are going to love it.
And maybe you have to pair up with somebody to be a lookout.
But because we have the time, we can take you into the dirt with them.
And it’s really fun to watch.
I don’t think fans are even going to know the episodes are longer it.
It’s that kind of entertainment.
Walk me through that a little bit.
And so what we were wrestling with on location was the drain.
It was taking on everybody.
Other days, they sleep all day.
So you might’t just rely on there being more stuff.
You do have to produce for it with set pieces that are going to create moments.
And I think that’s just not something I would want to normally take a risk on.
I’d rather know in advance.
Well, we brought the auction back.
And the reason that falls into this is the 26-day season does have certain limitations.
And doing something like the auction is a lot of work for us.
It requires many departments to contribute.
And once I had something, I called my buddy Elan Lee of Exploding Kittens.
Now that’s going very back to the old school 1.0 auction.
That’s a great way to describe it.
It’s just going to give them a free afternoon of food.
And that’s not what this era ofSurvivoris about.
The new era ofSurvivoris about earning everything, and that includes the auction.
With more episode time, does that mean we can expect to see more reward challenges?
No, because that’s part of the dilemma.
So we, too, had limitations.
And so that’s why the hidden Immunity Idol is a good example.
We’re going to do idols.
So that’s really where our creativity came from, is we’re going to do a journey.
It wasn’t a slam dunk.
So everything had to check all those boxes.
So what can you say about that?
The main title is back in episode 2.
And will it be staying throughout the season?
The main title in and of itself was enough to bring back.
It’s very fun.
And that’s all I’ll say.
So what about season 46?
We wish we had shot 46 for 90 minutes."
So we have to reverse engineer in the other direction.
We had a lot of fun with that.
But ultimately, it’s the CBS schedule that will determine that, right?
That’s the issue.
I think that’s the bigger issue.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
