‘Survivor 51’: Jeff Probst Hints at Return to Casting People Who Don’t Know the Game

Survivor shared a look back at its audition history after Season 51 Episode 6 aired on October 28 on CBS. Jeff Probst’s “Field Notes” for the episode show a collection of photos from Kristin Flickinger’s decades’ worth of auditions. As she shared before the season began, she’s been applying nearly every single year since Season 2. The player voted out in this episode, however, was someone who recently started watching the show. Probst shares his reaction to the “tough loss,” revealing that the player’s strong performance could inspire production to cast people who aren’t Survivor experts again. Warning: Survivor 51 spoilers ahead!

Kristin got to go on a Survivor Summit (a.k.a. a journey) in Episode 6. The experience has been a dream come true for her after years of close calls and rejections from production.

“I meet people all the time who tell me they’ve been applying for years but haven’t even gotten a call back yet. Kristin is a great example of why you can never give up,” Probst says in his Field Notes on Instagram. “Twenty-five years… two and a half decades… of applying… and it finally lined up. And now here she is in the thick of it, with a broken foot and a powerful advantage — and while we’re still early in the season, she is already a very clear fan favorite.”

CBS

Survivor: Africa winner Ethan Zohn told TV Insider that Kristin is his new winner pick for Season 51 in our in-depth interview about the season.

Every week in his episodic notes, Probst shares his reactions from the casting process about each eliminated player. After Devin Way, Jelly Loblack, and Ori Jean-Charles headed to tribal council as a tiny tribe of three, Devin and Jelly united to send Ori home. Jelly and Ori have been in a brewing showmance all season. Probst called this “another brutal tribal council.”

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“There was nothing easy about this tribal,” he said. “I could feel the minute they walked in. Jelly, Devin, and Ori would have done most anything if they could have kept their trio together. But what makes the Survivor format work are the stakes of the vote. That painful moment of having to write down the name of someone you have forged a real bond with is what makes Survivor worth playing.”

Many Survivor fans have been asking for a return to two tribes instead of three for years after the 40s seasons had three each time. Season 51 finally delivered, kicking off with just two tribes. The bigger groups in tribal councils, fans and former players say, make for a player-driven elimination instead of a format-driven one.

For example, Linnea Capobianco told TV Insider last week in her exit interview that a small group of players means anyone with a usable advantage wields much more control over the vote than they would in a bigger group. If there were more people involved, social game becomes more important.

Robert Voets/CBS

Now, Devin and Jelly are on a tribe of two. Hopefully, the merge comes next week, or else one of those two players is at risk of becoming a tribe of one like Stephanie LaGrossa-Kendrick in her first Survivor season.

Probst said that Ori was “really funny” and “charming” in his audition process, and his love for his mom was noteworthy to the host. Probst did wonder, however, if Ori’s newness to the show might be a disadvantage or advantage, but it was the three-tribe format, not his Survivor knowledge, that sent Ori home in the end.

Probst said that Ori’s performance was so strong, he will impact the show’s willingness to cast more people who aren’t Survivor experts in the future like they used to.

“Putting Ori on the show was a big decision for us because he was so new to the game,” Probst said. “We absolutely made the right decision and his success will open the door for others who don’t know the game that well.”

Survivor, Wednesdays, 8/7c, CBS