In addition to serving as the chief executive officer for CBS, Les Moonves is also responsible for final approval and disapproval of Survivor contestants.
The entertainment industry was rocked late last week amid sexual misconduct allegations made by The New Yorker reporter Ronan Farrow’s investigation into Les Moonves. The paper alleges that the CEO of CBS Corporation (the network that broadcasts Survivor) has engaged in “harassment and intimidation” of six women while detailing “abuse” by dozens more.
"“Thirty current and former employees of CBS told me that such behavior extended from Moonves to important parts of the corporation, including CBS News and ’60 Minutes,’ one of the network’s most esteemed programs,” the piece explains. “During Moonves’s tenure, men at CBS News who were accused of sexual misconduct were promoted, even as the company paid settlements to women with complaints.”"
The piece is long, but it is an important read into the alleged top-down culture of impropriety at CBS. While Survivor started out as a Mark Burnett creation for the US version and had been under his control until shifting executive producer and showrunner privileges to Jeff Probst, Les Moonves still has an important role in the production of these shows.
As indicated in Survivor Game Changers press interviews, production didn’t seem too keen on bringing Ozzy; it was CBS (with Les Moonves calling the shots up top) that wanted to bring him back onto the show. The CEO still has to approve all players that are to be cast on seasons of Survivor, and his say is ultimately final.
Should these allegations lead to his dismissal, what does this mean for Survivor? The show, almost two decades later, is still a ratings leader or thereabouts every single Wednesday night it airs, so a new CEO will not likely make the change to cut one of their strongest shows from their television schedule.
However, with season 37 and 38 wrapping filming and awaiting their airdates in September 2018 and late-February 2019, we’re coming up on seasons 39 and 40 of the show. Either of these should be a momentous milestone season for the show, and will likely see either a large group of returnees or even possibly a “winners vs. legends” season.
The most important factor in these allegations against Les Moonves coming to light is that justice may prevail after decades of supposed abuse and harassment. If it means uncertainty over the process of approving Survivor applicants or the show’s place on the CBS schedule, that comes second to more important matters.