Survivor became a sensation upon its release back in 2000, and remains one of the best reality shows on the air. New seasons regularly air on CBS (and streaming with a Paramount+ subscription), and fans are gearing up for the upcoming 50th season. Emmy-winning host Jeff Probst recently was asked if the show could keep going if he left, and he and fan favorite Cirie Field have very different opinions.
The cast of Survivor 50 is stacked, and feature OG returning players as well as New Era contestants. During an interview with People about the highly anticipated season, Probst was asked if the show could continue if he finally retires from his role as host and producer. He responded with:
Absolutely. That’s not false. It’s the format. If you brought in a new host and a new producer, you’d get a completely different game.
While he admits that Survivor would change without him, he doesn't see why the social experiment/competition series couldn't keep going after his departure. After all, there are international iterations of the show that are successful that he's not part of. But not everyone agrees with Probst's assessment.
Cirie Fields is a fan favorite player, and has competed on some of the best Survivor seasons of all time. She'll one again be back for Season 50, and when asked if she thinks the show could continue without Jeff, she responded with:
There is no Survivor without Jeff. That will be the end of Survivor — when Jeff decides to hang it up. Not just because he's so nice to me. From a fan standpoint, Jeff knows what we're looking for…Jeff is the ultimate Survivor fan, in my opinion. And that's what makes him so good at what he does.
You can't deny that he Jeff knows what he's talking about, and continues to be passionate about Survivor more than two decades later. As such, Cirie doesn't think that the US Version could make it without him. We'll just have to see if/when he actually decides to leave the show. Fingers crossed it's not anytime soon.
Survivor 45 winner Dee Valladares echoed Cirie's thoughts on the matter, offering:
You can tell he loves this so much. He would give his life for Survivor. He would give his life up. There is no Survivor without Jeff, and I'll always be his biggest fan.
Aside from how much Survivor players make, the biggest mystery is how long the series will continue running on CBS. Right now it's unclear, and it doesn't seem like Jeff Probst is planning on leaving anytime soon. But if it does, he thinks the show could have legs without him.
Survivor 50 will premiere on February 25th as part of the 2026 TV schedule. There's lots of players I'm rooting for, but I'm also hoping Jeff doesn't go anywhere anytime soon.
