Survivor: Jeff Probst wants to bring back auctions, 90-minute episodes

Jeff Probst has returned to Survivor Twitter once more after Edge of Extinction episode 10, replying to individuals about some of the show’s big updates.

After listening to a Rob Has A Podcast interview with The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan, it dawned on me how lucky we are as Survivor fans to have a host like Jeff Probst who is also an executive producer and showrunner. Not to be too harsh on the guy, but Jeff Probst understands his own product and the consequences of the show’s actions a lot more since he’s also in charge on a lot of the show’s functions.

Being an executive producer and showrunner also allows Probst to implement ideas almost immediately both on an in-game and production perspective. Look no further than to a Twitter fan’s suggestion that they include tallies for idols and advantages early on in Survivor: Edge of Extinction and him coming back a few weeks later to add it to the show forever.

That’s why fans are more proactive on Twitter whenever Jeff shows up once more, as he’s showing to be more likely to respond to fan interactions. He even gives up hints as to what’s coming next, as he revealed last night that Survivor is “working on a new idea” on how to bring back the auction into the game.

Currently, Probst is on location in Fiji filming Survivor season 39, and by all indication based on the probable late-March start date that they are probably just at the early merge phase right now. That means we could see the auction return as early as next season, if not in season 40.

Another thing Jeff has been talking about lately is whether or not fans will watch longer episodes of Survivor, or whether that might impede too many families who watch the show with their kids. Though he’s non-committal in a recent tweet, he has indicated that fans need to show interest for CBS to give them the green light they’re capable of receiving for 90-minute episodes.

Finally, something that I liked seeing as a kid but understand they have problems with runtime is the Rites of Passage montage reflecting on all the players they’ve voted out before the final immunity challenge. If the intros are being cast aside, there’s no way Probst is going to allow an 8-minute montage break up the action, and he made that much clear last night, as well.