Survivor producers discuss likelihood of several season theme suggestions

Photo: Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Photo: Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

If you want an idea of what kind of seasons themes are in Survivor’s near future, look no further than a game played by ET Canada with the show’s producers.

Over the offseason, we humbly put forth some suggestions on where Survivor should go with some unique season themes and some past season themes reworked with a fresher take. One of those suggestions was a “Back to Basics,” with players disregarding the twists, idols, tribe swaps and crazy themes that have thrown wrenches into traditional gameplay.

We know that based on the viewpoint of production since seemingly moving to Fiji permanently (hopefully not, right?), it would be very unlikely to see a basic Survivor season ever again. However, after an interview from ET Canada featuring host and executive producer Jeff Probst and fellow executive producer Matt Van Wagenen separately from each other, little did we know how lowly they think of the idea.

Basically, both execs pulled out either three or five random Survivor theme suggestions from a bag and rank the likeliness that they would be used on the show in the near future. Unfortunately, Jeff was only prompted with three, with the suggestions of a second Second Chance season, a second Heroes vs. Villains season and one with first boots.

Jeff Probst has hinted at a fan vote of giving players a second chance recently, so it was no surprise he ranked that highest based on how hard the players played. Heroes vs. Villains is one of the show’s best seasons, so it felt natural to slot that in behind. Interestingly, despite the logistics of getting first boots, he said we’re getting close to it being an entertaining possibility. This interview was filmed after Island of the Idols, so he could have been hinting about last night’s boot.

Matt Van Wagenen gave the exact same order for his first three picks, but also had “Left vs. Right” and “Back to Basics” left to rank. Somehow, despite the divisive political climate in the United States, he’d still rather have a political battleground play out in Survivor than to go through an entire season without idols, swaps or Redemption Island-like twists.

That should basically put it in your mind that a basics season will never happen, but it sure does seem like we could have another Second Chances-like season and fan vote happen sooner rather than later.