Want Jeff Probst’s thoughts on a Survivor winner? Check his reveal face.
Jeff Probst typically doesn’t outright bash former Survivor winners, but a look through his season winner reveals paints a subtle picture.
It’s no surprise that intrepid host and executive producer of Survivor, Jeff Probst, has his favorites. Though he’ll probably never publicly bash anybody not named Russell Hantz, Jonny Fairplay & Brian Heidik (only one of which is a winner), it’s clear in the way he hypes up seasons or downplays others that he has feelings about who won that particular game.
One of the more recent noticeable upsets that Jeff Probst has encountered was certainly Michele Fitzgerald winning Survivor Kaoh Rong. He wouldn’t feel compelled to change the Final Tribal Council dynamics to facilitate a more nuanced conversation immediately after her season aired, nor would he so publically agree with the public backlash in interviews immediately following the finale.
It was a point on contention for a member of the Survivor subreddit, who posted Jeff Probst’s strained attempt to appear neutral in announcing Michele’s win. It spawned a look at all the past Survivor winners, showcasing our host’s range of emotions announcing the 35 winners across all 36 seasons of the CBS version of the show.
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It’s funny to see just how unbiased Probst was back in the early days when he didn’t have the weight of an executive producer role hanging on his shoulders. Richard Hatch was the game’s first notorious villain, and Colby Donaldson was supposed to be the heir apparent as the first Golden Boy player to win the game.
The most elated Probst gets is when those strong, physically-dominant and/or producer pet strategic players are those he gets to announce as winners. You can see the elation in either Yul or Ozzy winning Cook Island, or Cochran winning Caramoan, but the reserved feelings for those like Sophie Clarke or Denise Stapley.
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Though it shouldn’t be much of a concern on paper, the more Probst gets involved in the production of the show, the more biased it becomes to players of a certain archetype getting more chances to win. You saw it when Ben won Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers with the surprise Final Four twist, and now with the show out a casting director, it’ll be interesting to see where the direction of the show heads in the 39th and 40th seasons.