‘Survivor’ 45: Jeff Probst Reveals Changes Made for Supersized Episodes

Barb Oates September 26, 2023, 4:30 pm

Jeff Probst in 'Survivor ' — Robert Voets/CBS

It’ll be hard to top Survivor‘s hit previous season: Carolyn’s big personality made every episode of Survivor 44 fun, and perennially uplifting winner Yam Yam felt truly deserving.

Among the new players diving in for 26 days in Fiji: three attorneys (who will probably fib about their profession), a pop star with the stage name J. Maya and a gym owner who looks like he’ll steamroll through the physical challenges.

Here, host Jeff Probst tells us more about what’s to come in Survivor Season 45’s 90-minute episodes, kicking off Wednesday, September 27 at 8/7c on CBS.

It’s Survivor 45 – 45! What keeps you coming back?

Jeff Probst: I really do still love doing Survivor, and the reason hasn’t changed over 22 years. I love people. I love human behavior. I love how we justify our ethics. I love watching players try to navigate complicated social relationships while playing an equally complicated game of human poker.

What will we see more of with the new 90-minute format?

‘Survivor' Host Jeff Probst Reveals How Season 45 Will Be Different

We have been pitching CBS for a few years now to let us try a season of 90-minute episodes because we felt it was a sweet spot for us in terms of length. Ninety minutes allows us to show a lot more of the fun reality that goes on at tribe camps, the conversations I have with players before a challenge and longer player interviews. We are also adding layers with more journeys, more risk/reward games, more rewards.… The episodes can really breathe, and I think you’ll feel even more connected to the players and their stories.

Bruce Perreault, who got a concussion in last season’s premiere, is back. Why was it important to give him another shot?

We don’t really see him as a returning player as much as someone who is back to play for essentially the first time. He was injured 15 minutes into Day 1, and it was downhill from there. We knew we wanted Bruce back even as we were evacuating him. That’s how big an impact he made on us.

Survivor, Season 45 Premiere, Wednesday, September 27, 8/7c, CBS

This is an excerpt from TV Guide Magazine’s 2023 Returning Favorites issue. For more first looks at fall’s returning shows, pick up the issue, on newsstands now.