Ever since its premiere in 2000, Jeff Probst has been the host of Survivor, flying out to a remote location every single summer to film the show for 46 seasons straight, with seasons 47 and 48 set to film in 2024.
Since its debut 23 years ago, the beloved competition series has evolved, implementing new advantages, challenges, and other twists and turns each and every season, but one thing has always stayed the same — Jeff Probst himself!
Now, at 62 years of age, Probst is still an active member of the Survivor community, still serving as the host, as well as the showrunner of the series. Lucky for fans of the hit competition show, he does not plan to stop anytime soon either…
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2022, he gushed about just how much Survivor means to him, as well as what the future has in store regarding his role on the series.
“It’s impossible to describe what Survivor represents to me. Impossible. It goes beyond creative expression or professional recognition. It’s much deeper. It’s right in line with the ideas I try to impress on our players. It’s about pushing myself further than I think I can go, about trying to stay in the moment and adapt to my surroundings, about being a good ‘tribe member,’ about being open to new ideas and new people. The same opportunities Survivor offers the players, it offers me. I love Survivor and I still need Survivor.”
Admitting that he needs the show just as much as the show needs him, does this sentiment still hold true a year later?
Probst recently addressed his future on Survivor during an episode of the On Fire podcast, the official podcast of the beloved competition series (where he also serves as the host). On the November 30 episode of the podcast, his attitude towards his future on Survivor slightly shifted, admitting he will only continue to host the show under one condition…
“I have no intention of wanting to stop so long as the show continues to be fun and the people applying continue to be interesting… The biggest thing for me is keeping our team together. That’s sort of the whole enchilada, because I get way more credit than I deserve. This show is made by a giant group, and we’re all in it together, and I would not want to do the show with another team. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to start over with new people. So I’m in it as long as everybody else on the team is in it.”
There you have it. As long as key members of the Survivor team — including Matt Van Wagenen, Jesse and Zac Jensen, Kahaia Pearson, David Dryden, Riley Munday, Jimmy Quigley, John Kirhoffer, and more — remain part of the team after season 50, it looks like Probst will not be going anywhere…
To see the longtime host and showrunner in action over the years, Survivor superfans can stream all 45 seasons of the beloved competition series on Paramount Plus now.