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CASTAWAYS MUST ROPE A WIN IN THE INDIVIDUAL IMMUNITY CHALLENGE TO FIGHT FOR SAFETY AND REWARD, ON “SURVIVOR,” WEDNESDAY, DEC. 6
“This Game Rips Your Heart Out” – Castaways celebrate a victory after tribal council. Then, castaways must rope a win in the individual immunity challenge to fight for safety and reward, on SURVIVOR, Wednesday, Dec. 6
Survivor is a mentally and physically demanding game, but it’s hard on your emotions, too. Feelings of betrayal, anxiety, and longing are daily occurrences on the island. But there’s also joy, which overcame Emily when she won the Reward Challenge. Jeff, Rick, and Jay discuss the difficult choice she must make of who to bring with her on reward for an overnight at the Sanctuary and loved ones' letters.
As the players dwindle, certain castaways are proving to be masterminds behind Survivor 45’s most shocking moves — will their manipulation win them jury points or put a target on their backs? Jeff wraps the episode by shedding light on how the show helps the castaways prepare their bodies and minds for what’s ahead in the game and for life after they leave the island.
The men of Survivor 45 stepped into the proverbial danger zone on this week’s episode of the reality TV series, and they didn’t even know it.
While Survivor has previously separated players by gender on seasons like The Amazon, Vanuatu, and One World, there was an cast-instituted division this week when, in a magic trick worthy of merlin himself, Emily Flippen won a reward challenge and selected the three other female players in the game to join her so they could eat food (turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, apple pie, and perhaps even a slider), sip wine, and cry over letters from home on a big ladies night out at the Sanctuary… which granted, is not exactly Hollywood, but close enough.
That left the four men of the tribe by themselves back at the beach for their own brodown throwdown, which kicked off with noted island jester Bruce Perreault ripping a massive fart by the campfire. All the men seemed determined to enjoy their time together, rather than worry about if their goose was going to be cooked by an all-female alliance. Nor were they going to waste their energy attacking one another like a cougar, viper, and wolfman duking it out on a beach until someone got hit by a stinger. But then things got really weird.
Jeff Probst on 'Survivor 45'. CBS
All of a sudden, montage images of chipper men flexing, and chopping, and fist bumping, and bro hugging before sundown danced across the TV screen. Even the cool, calm, and collected iceman of the tribe, Austin Li Coon, got in on the fun. Making things even weirder, this entire testosterone explosion played out to the music of Kenny Loggins’ “Playing with the Boys.” Of course, 1980s action movie aficionados will recognize that song as the soundtrack the world’s most famous homoerotic volleyball scene ever committed to film — that film being Tom Cruise’s Top Gun. But what the hell was it doing on Survivor?
In the latest episode of his On Fire podcast, host and showrunner Jeff Probst explained how this truly maverick decision came to be. Probst gives all the credit to editor Bill Bowden and producer Ryan Balthazor — first for creating a juxtaposition between the two groups, and also showing the second half of that juxtaposition through the eyes of its least manly-man member.
“They saw an opportunity for a great compare and contrast,” Probst says on the podcast. “You have this really beautiful civilized girls night, they’re drinking sangria and the Sanctuary is gorgeous. And then you've got boys night where they literally are talking about farting. I mean, it's a quintessential boys night. But the key to this on the boys night was the first clever idea that Bill and Ryan had, which is: Let's put it through Drew's point of view. Now you're in the social experiment part of the show. Drew's not used to being a bro, so he's trying to figure out how to do that.”
Drew Basile. CBS
Of course, what makes the scene is the music, and it was originally a decision that could have gone two different ways. “They were debating heavy metal or cheesy 80s music,” Probst reveals. “I think originally they cut it to heavy metal and they showed it to (executive producer) Matt Van Wagenen… and Matt said, ‘You know what? I think it's a little more cheesy 80s.’”
And then, true inspiration struck. “Bill said, ‘What if we just go for it and we try to get the music from Top Gun — that song ‘Playing with the Boys’? What do you think?’ So Matt calls me and he said, 'Listen, Bill has this crazy idea.’ And I do remember saying: ‘That's all I need to know. If Bill has a crazy idea, I'm in.’ And he goes, ‘But just let me tell you: What if we cut it to Top Gun?”
The move was such a radical departure for the show, it turned out Probst didn’t know if he was in or not? “I'll be honest, I was torn because I didn't know if kids would get it. And Matt and Bill and Ryan said, ‘It won't matter. It's funny either way.’ And they were right.”
It’s yet another example of an idea found in the editing room that was never originally intended back when filmed on the island. “We didn't shoot this for Top Gun,” Probst explains. “We just shot it and then Bill saw an opportunity. So it's another reason working on this show is so fun because I get these fun surprises as well…. I get to learn from watching Bill and Ryan cut something, and then Matt gets his input by saying it should be cheesy 80s. And then somewhere we find the money to pay for the music from Top Gun and it all worked out.” (Top Gun being in the same corporate family as a Paramount film surely helped the proceedings.)
Like the Survivor players themselves who constantly have to think in terms of risk versus reward in the game, the producers decided this risk was worth taking and ultimately felt the need… the need for speed! “It's a big swing," says Probst. “And it's the kind of swing that if it works, you're a genius and if it doesn't, you're an idiot. Fortunately, our team is full of the former and not the latter. “
For much more inside intel from Probst on the latest episode, check out On Fire: The Official Survivor Podcast. And yes, I just worked the call signs of all 13 original Top Gun characters into the body of this article.
Time marches on. And so does Survivor. Now airing its 45th season, the CBS staple that kicked off the reality TV craze back in the summer of 2000 seems impervious to shifting viewing trends, cord-cutting, or the crush of imitators that have flooded airwaves and streaming services in the 20 years since. And there throughout it all has been Jeff Probst.
But for how much longer? The 62-year-old host flirted at times back in the first 20 seasons of the show with leaving to pursue other interests, but as his responsibilities (being elevated to showrunner) and bank account (Probst was massively underpaid in those early seasons) increased over the years, the face of the franchise became completely locked in on his duties.
Jeff Probst and Emily Flippen on 'Survivor 45'. CBS
Still, with all those years under his belt, and with the landmark season 50 inching ever closer, EW asked Probst during Survivor 43 in 2022 how long he wanted to continue on the show.
"It's impossible to describe what Survivor represents to me,” Probst said then. “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."
While that answer certainly conveyed enthusiasm for future torch-snuffing, it also was a bit vague in terms of a definitive answer. However, on the most recent episode of his On Fire podcast, the Survivor host and showrunner once again discussed his future on the franchise. Responding to a listener question as to whether season 50 will be his last, Probst indicated that he would like to continue with the show indefinitely… under one condition.
“I still love Survivor very much,” Probst says on the podcast. “I think that's pretty clear. Survivor 50 is definitely our next big target in terms of a milestone, but you’ve got to remember: We've got to get there. So you have to do 45 and 46, then you have to do 47 and 48, then you have to do 49, then you get to 50. So it is one at a time.”
While that sounds like another artful dodge by a person who knows a little something about very direct questions and answers courtesy of his work at a million Tribal Councils, he then did indeed provide a clearer indication as to his plans. “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,” says Probst.
However, there is one other big consideration for the showrunner that will ultimately decide how long he stays with Survivor. “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.”
So it seems as long as key producers — which includes folks like Matt Van Wagenen, Jesse and Zac Jensen, Kahaia Pearson, David Dryden, Riley Munday, Jimmy Quigley, and John Kirhoffer — remain part of the team after season 50, so will Probst, in what could only be described as… the ultimate alliance.
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