Jeff Probst decides to step away from ‘Survivor’ — and Why it would have been the worst decision of his life
The host once contemplated cutting ties, but is happy he stuck around.
As Survivor gets ready to celebrate its biggest anniversary yet, it’s almost impossible to imagine the show without the face of the franchise: Jeff Probst. And heading into season 50, there’s no reason to believe the 64-year-old host and showrunner is close to hanging up his trademark Survivor baseball caps.
But there were times where Probst continuing with the franchise that made him a star was hardly assured. In fact, almost 40 seasons ago, he appeared poised to leave.
Going into filming on Survivor: Panama (season 12) in 2005, Probst’s contract with the show was up after the season, and the host was frustrated with the massive pay discrepancy between scripted stars on the network and what CBS was paying the master of ceremonies for one of its highest-rated programs.
He also had other interests beyond just snuffing torches. Probst had already written and directed a taut thriller called Finder’s Fee starring James Earl Jones, Matthew Lillard, and a young up-and-comer named Ryan Reynolds. Being tied down by a reality TV show — a genre that was still looked down upon by most in the industry at that time — was not necessarily seen as super appealing in the year 2005.
Fortunately, CBS finally backed up the money truck and Probst renewed his contract for four more seasons, and then again after Survivor: Micronesia.
The other time Probst appeared on the verge of leaving was when he signed on to host his own daily syndicated talk show — titled, yes, The Jeff Probst Show — in 2012. Had the program been successful, it’s difficult to imagine Probst — who had previously been a sporadic fill-in on Live! with Regis and Kelly — continuing on the island, but the daytime talker was canceled after a single season.
With Survivor still going strong 26 years after it debuted, does Probst ever look back and think about all he would have missed had he left the program? We asked the host and showrunner exactly that in Fiji during filming on Survivor 50 (which premieres Feb. 25), and he is unambiguous while examining what could have been had he left the show.
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“It would have been the worst decision of my life,” Probst told Entertainment Weekly at a production base camp reception area. “Who knows how serious I really was about leaving. I think there were a period of years on Survivor where the travel was pretty extensive, and the time away was a long time away, and the stress to keep the show high in the ratings — all that pressure does have a cumulative effect on you.”
He also says the grind of producing season after season had gotten to him, but that a mandated break turned all of that around.
“There were definitely periods where I was feeling just exhausted,” Probst admits. “But I haven’t felt that way in so long. The rebirth during COVID is one of the best things that’s ever happened to the show and has ever happened to me.”
Probst says once everyone was forced to take a step back, he and the entire crew were that much more enthused to get back to work after missing a full year of filming.
“It was the first time we had a moment to step back and just think without the pressure of doing another season right away,” Probst recalls. “And in that time, I think all of us remembered how much we love this show. We just needed a moment.”
Probst compares it to a mother or father needing their own personal time out. “It’s like when you’re a parent with kids, and they’re everywhere and you’re like, ‘Of course I love them, but I wish all of you would just leave for 10 minutes.’ So I think that’s kind of what it was like.”
In a way, it’s now hard for the host to comprehend that he once considered leaving Survivor. “When you bring up those periods, I am kind of embarrassed by them,” Probst says. “Because I don’t honestly know that I was completely serious, but I know that I was so tired that I was contemplating it. But let’s be clear, that would’ve been the single worst decision I could have ever made.”
Thankfully, he didn’t.
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