Grab your torches! After multiple delays due to the coronavirus pandemic, Survivor season 41 is officially underway after being pushed a full year. Host Jeff Probst shared the news in a video posted via his social media accounts on Monday, March 22.
“Survivor’s going back into production! Fiji has invited us back to their beautiful country to shoot season 41,” the longtime host, 59, said in the video. “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. I’ve got to tell you, I can’t remember a time when I’ve been this pumped to shoot Survivor, and I’ll tell you why: The past year has reminded me, and I hope it’s reminded you, that you’ve got to live your life like it’s one big great adventure, and Survivor fulfills that. So, I am thrilled to say I will see you on the island for Survivor 41. Let’s do it!”
The reality series, which debuted in 2000, has always featured two seasons per year. While the competition show used to film in different areas, the last eight seasons have been filmed in Fiji. Although the show could have moved to a different location to film safely, much like Love Island did for its summer 2020 season, producers chose to delay filming.
Season 41 was set to begin shooting in Fiji on March 24, 2020, but CBS had to delay it for multiple reasons. Although the cast could quarantine ahead of filming, the behind-the-scenes production team comes from different cities around the world, making travel nearly impossible.
This is the longest the show has been off the air since its start. The season 40 finale aired in May 2020, crowning Cagayan‘s Tony Vlachos as the champion of Winners at War, the first all-stars season.
After the show’s historic 40th season, Probst opened up about being at the helm of the series for so long — and how his famous catchphrase began.
“I will never forget [creator] Mark [Burnett] saying with absolute clarity and conviction, ‘OK, here’s what you say. You tell them, ‘Well, obviously, your tribe don’t want you round no more,’” Probst told The Ringer in May 2020. “He said, ‘I don’t know what to tell you, Jeff. The tribe has spoken.’ And there it was. Four beautiful words.”
He also noted that Burnett, 60, asked him to wear an earpiece at first. “I pushed back,” the executive producer said. “I wanted the opportunity to put myself inside the story and see where it would lead. To his enormous credit, he said yes.”
