Survivor host Jeff Probst announces that season 41 of the iconic reality show will resume production in Fiji
Jeff Probst was in a great mood on Monday when he announced that his long-running reality series Survivor would soon be back in production for its 41st season.
The 59-year-old host and executive producer posted a short video announcing the return to production for his 490K Twitter followers.
The show was originally postponed back in March of 2020 due to the start of the coronavirus pandemic, and rising cases scuttled plans to resume over the summer.
It’s back on! Jeff Probst, 59, announced that his series Survivor would resume filming in Fiji shortly after being delayed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic
‘Hey Survivor fans, I have some exciting news to share! Survivor is going back into production,’ Probst enthused at the start of his clip.
‘Fiji has invited us back to their beautiful country to shoot season 41. We have all of our Covid protocols in place so that everybody in Fiji will remain safe, all of our crew will be safe, and of course, our players will be safe,’ he continued.
‘I’ve gotta tell you, I can’t remember a time I’ve been this pumped to shoot Suvivor, and I’ll tell you why. The past year has reminded me, and I hope it’s reminded you, that you gotta live your life like it’s one big, great adventure, and Survivor fulfills that. So I am thrilled to say that I will see you on the island for Survivor 41.’
Probst repped his series and covered his shaggy pandemic hairdo with a Survivor baseball cap.
Safety first: ‘Fiji has invited us back to their beautiful country to shoot season 41. We have all of our Covid protocols in place so that everybody in Fiji will remain safe, all of our crew will be safe, and of course, our players will be safe,’ he explained
Staying busy: Survivor originally planned to shoot seasons 41 and 42 back-to-back, but it’s unclear if season 42 is still on deck for the Fiji shoot; the contestants from season 39 pictured
In mid-March of 2020, CBS announced that Survivor would be going on hiatus due to the pandemic, while Probst addressed the delay in a letter to the cast and crew.
‘Due to the growing short-term uncertainty surrounding the global spread of COVID-19 and the corresponding desire for the continued well-being of our amazing crew, we have decided to push back our start date for Survivor season 41,’ he wrote, according to Entertainment Weekly.
‘Though Fiji has no reported cases and is beautifully remote, our crew numbers over 400 and are flying in from over 20 different countries, creating a need for more time to fully analyze and create our new production safety plan,’ he continued.
Probst mentioned in his letter that the goal was still to shoot seasons 41 and 42 back-to-back, but it’s unclear if season 42 will still begin filming.
Cautious: While other shows have been able to return to the air thanks to Covid-19 safety protocols, and more are currently filming, officials in Fiji seemed to be the major sticking point preventing Survivor from beginning filming; still from Survivor season 40
Variety reported in July 2020 that Survivor season 41 would no longer be filmed that year, and it was expected to resume this March, so production seems to be going according to the new schedule.
While other shows have been able to return to the air thanks to Covid-19 safety protocols, and more are currently filming, officials in Fiji seemed to be the major sticking point preventing Survivor from beginning filming.
The competition was replaced last year by The Amazing Race, which had already been filmed, and S.W.A.T., which was moved up from its midseason spot.
Fill ins: he competition was replaced last year by The Amazing Race, which had already been filmed, and S.W.A.T., which was moved up from its midseason spot