For nearly 25 years, Survivor has been a mainstay staple of CBS’s lineup. The reality show with teams of people competing in remote locations to be the last one to survive for a $1 million prize, is about to start Season 47. This season is being hyped to be just as exciting as any other, and there is even the promise of a showmance this time around.
Jeff Probst has been the host of Survivor for the entire run. This is amazing for a host of any kind of game show, let alone a reality one. The first season caught everyone’s attention, but as the season’s moved on, viewers started to learn some of the behind-the-scenes secrets of Survivor. This included what Jeff does when the cameras aren’t rolling, such as where he lives, how they film the show to make it look great for television, and how the games are played.
Updated September 2024: This article has been updated to reflect the most recent information regarding what Jeff Probst does when the “Survivor” cameras are not rolling.
Jeff Probst Doesn’t Rough It
Jeff Probst is not subject to the same conditions as the Survivor contestants are
While the survivors are making their own shelter, huddling in the rain and trying to avoid bugs, Jeff is living in a large, temporary tent city. Everyone from producers to cameramen live there. This is why Jeff looks so refreshed each day and why he doesn’t lose weight like the contestants do. Jeff isn’t living on rice and whatever else is available in the jungles and remote locations.
According to Today.com, Jeff and crew work out of trailers or cargo containers that double as offices, while other structures are prefabricated on site. There is catering for those in the crew, including Jeff, making sure that at least the people putting on the show won’t fall over on the fire from not eating enough. Even giving contestants food is discussed.
Jeff has said now, after doing it for so long, it’s a gut call. And when he goes to get food, he hopes no one during a challenge fails while he isn’t there.
“All we really want to do is make sure we establish the challenge and let it run long enough that we can see that everybody is good to go. That’s always a tricky situation when I have to leave to go get the food; I’m always hoping that someone doesn’t fall off while I’m gone.”
Jeff Probst Does A Lot More Producing Than Viewers Know Of
Jeff Probst works long hours behind the scenes to make everything look flawless on camera
It should be noted that Jeff is more than just the host of Survivor, he is a producer as well. His job is to make the best television possible. So that means, the cameras are off at times so that Jeff can explain the rules of a game to contestants or he can get more information about how each shot is being filmed.
When survivors compete in challenges, plenty of behind the scenes work goes into them. There are dress rehearsals with finding the best angles to shoot the scenes and Jeff giving the best explanations for the games. Contestants don’t just walk up, get a quick introduction to the games and head off to try and win a challenge. It’s explained to them so they have the best shot at winning, which makes for better television.
“Jeff has this ability to nail the content that the show producers need to tell the story in the edit bays,” said Jesse Jensen, a prop master turned executive producer.
“He’s so in tune with the game and what is happening on a daily basis. When you watch, it seems so natural but it takes a lot of work to stay on top of everything.”
That even includes the crew halting filming to give Jeff some hints or ideas of what to ask survivors about that they saw on film that maybe he missed. This helps makes for good television and tells a great story at the same time.
Jeff Probst Makes The Tribal Council More Dramatic
Jeff Probst takes the votes and puts them in an order that is most dramatic for TV viewers
What viewers see on Tribal Council and the tough road to victory some of the contestants had, isn’t exactly how Tribal Council works. According to Today, who spilled the beans on many backstage workings, the video of contests walking miles to council isn’t true. They start the walk, and then are driven to the location, only to be filmed again arriving. Jeff does get some reaction from the contestants about how the week went, but it’s all about voting. Each contestant goes to the location to cast their vote, with some of the oldest contestants making it fairly far on the game show.
Afterward, Jeff says his semi-famous line “I’ll go tally the votes”. What viewers don’t see is that he and the production crew, who have seen each contestant write the name of the person they want out, are actually going through the votes and organizing them in a way that creates the most dramatic television possible.
There was a time when the survivors tried to play a joke on Jeff during one of the first Tribal Councils, where instead of writing a survivor’s name down, they wrote down Jeff’s name. The production company caught them doing it, however, stopped them and had them re-vote. According to Season 1 contestant, Jenna Lewis, Jeff was definitely not having it.
“We were a jovial, fun-loving tribe and thought it would be funny if we wrote Jeff’s name. We got through about three votes before production stopped and someone talked to Jeff.”
Jeff gave them a talking to about taking it seriously, and they went and voted for real.