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Survivor without Jeff Probst: Would you still watch?

By Daniel George

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - FEBRUARY 17: Producer Mark Burnett and Television host Jeff Probst attend the 'Survivor: 15 Years, 30 Seasons' celebration held at The Paley Center for Media on February 17, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - FEBRUARY 17: Producer Mark Burnett and Television host Jeff Probst attend the 'Survivor: 15 Years, 30 Seasons' celebration held at The Paley Center for Media on February 17, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Mark Davis/Getty Images) /
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As Jeff Probst gets up there in age, there may be a time when he’s not serving as the host of Survivor. Can the show go on without him?

One thing that struck me about the supposed plan in the case of an injury to Survivor host Jeff Probst is that the production crew are ready for a game show without the big man steering the ship. Obviously, they want Jeff to be around as long as possible, but everyone has to retire someday.

In that interview, he mentioned that Survivor could definitely go on without him due to the strength of the format. While some will disagree with him (I certainly would like to live in a world where he doesn’t age and can keep doing the show forever), when it comes down to it, there are fairly strong choices to replace Jeff Probst should push come to shove.

If you wanted to look at strictly former players, there are options for both men and women. Jonathan Penner certainly has the bravado and the ability to call out BS at Tribal Council, and he certainly would be able to interject and maintain control of the show’s conversation. That said, he is just a year younger than Jeff, and would likely suffer the same side effects of aging that Jeff would (if not more).

For a female player, Andrea Boehlke or Parvati Shallow would definitely be suitable candidates. Both of them have had host duties covering Survivor content, have worked podcasts and are young enough to double the length of the show’s run as it stands now. For Andrea, it might be too strong of a commitment for someone of her age, while Parvati has stepped back from coverage of the show as it is.

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If you wanted to look outside of the Survivor players catalog, Erin Cebula would be a great host. She’s done a supreme job covering the show for ET Canada for the past several years, is keen at digging deeper into players’ personas with her interviews and knows how to stay objective from the outside. Unfortunately, Survivor Ghost Island marked her last season covering the show’s preseasons for ET Canada, as she perhaps looks for another challenge in life.

Ultimately, Jeff Probst has been the best part of Survivor as a game, even when he defends Final Four twists or believe Cirie getting screwed over by advantagegedon was good gameplay and good television. I’d like for him to stay forever, but I would watch with another great host at the helm.

Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking 34 Sole Survivors By Season

What do you think, Survivor fans; would you watch the show without Jeff Probst? We’d like to hear your opinions on our Facebook and Twitter.

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