Jeff Probst Revealed the ‘Emotionally Disturbing’ Element ‘Survivor’ Ditched 

Survivor has changed in many ways over the 50 seasons Jeff Probst has hosted. Some are changes that both fans and players have found frustrating. Others were made directly out of concern for the players’ well-being. Probst shared one decision they made because players found it emotionally difficult.

Jeff Probst said ‘Survivor’ players didn’t like a part of the game

At the end of a Survivor season, the finalists used to look at themselves in the mirror to see how much they’d changed physically during their time competing. Many of them dropped a significant amount of weight and were filthy. The show no longer features this segment. Probst said this is because of feedback he heard from players.

“Here’s a criticism I listened to!” he told Variety. “A few players told me that it was really emotionally disturbing to see what they looked like while they were still in the game, and I took that to heart.”

Players who felt victorious in making it to the end did not like seeing their appearance.

“They were saying, ‘It’s hard for me now, because now I have self-awareness,’” he said. “Literally, the idea of a mirror, of reflection, is not good, because now it’s a visual of looking tired — you’ve lost weight, your face is dirty — versus the mirror you may have inside of being a warrior who’s been through a gallant battle.”

Probst said it took just one complaint for him to do away with the mirrors.

“The first person who ever said it, I was like, ‘Done. I would not want that either,” he said. “I’d never thought about it. I’ve never been in this position. Thank you very much.’”

Jeff Probst thinks they’ll do away with another feature of ‘Survivor’

Survivor 50 brought back a live finale in Los Angeles. In recent seasons, the finale has occurred in Fiji immediately after the final vote. Probst believed that the latter is a better system.

“The thing that players don’t like to hear is that when they’re in the jungle, right after the show ends, that’s the most honest they are,” he said. “They may not really know that or feel that, but they’re honest, and they’ve not been persecuted by social media.”

He thinks people get too much time to work up a defense after seeing people criticize them on social media.

“When you do a live finale, all you get is defense,” he explained. “The live finale becomes people defending, and for me, from a storytelling standpoint, I never find it as interesting.”

While he understands why people like the live finale, he thinks they will not do it again in the future.

“So I get the pomp and circumstances, it’s super fun, but I think we’re going to change the format for the finale — make it more of a three-hour event, rather than a two-and-a-half-hour finale and a 30-minute reunion show.”

Still, he admitted it was “exciting” to leave Fiji with the votes.

He said they only have plans for the next two seasons at this point

Survivor 50 brought back returning players to compete for a $2 million prize. Probst said that this is a possibility in the future. 

“There’s nothing on the horizon, but they’re very fun to do — for us as well,” he said. “And now we have enough players, we might be able to pull off something that includes returning players sooner than the period of time we had since the last one. But I don’t know.”

Right now, though, Probst said he only knows what the show is doing for the next two seasons. 

“We know what we’re doing for 51 and 52,” he said. “That’s it.”