Ever since the Survivor 50 cast list dropped last May, fans have had lots to say about it, including who they would have included if they'd been in charge.
After revealing who our upcoming players would have liked to see on the island, Entertainment Weekly is now giving fans a look into the room where it happened through an exclusive new interview with host, showrunner, and executive producer Jeff Probst.
While in Fiji for pre-game press, reporter Dalton Ross caught up with Jeff along with some other show producers on who their must-haves were for Survivor 50 as well as how they decided who was legendary enough to get an instant "yes."
There were some castaways they couldn't live without—and we now know who
While most of the Survivor casting process involves collaboration as Jeff, executive producer Matt Van Wagenen, casting director Jesse Tannenbaum, his team, and representatives from CBS come together to decide on which players get selected for any season, they have one caveat. If there's any pushback on a casting decision someone in the room feels absolutely must happen, they can choose to "fall on the sword" for that potential player—sparingly, of course—to show an insistence on them joining the season.
It was no different for Survivor 50. Choosing from over 700 players across Survivor's history, there were a few who got automatic spots in the final 24—if they said yes, of course.
One of the players who had the most people willing to "fall on a sword" for him was Ozzy Lusth. According to Jeff, quite a few members of the casting team agreed that, "you can't really do 50 without Ozzy."
With four seasons already under his belt, he's garnered a reputation as a challenge beast—collecting seven total individual immunity wins, one individual reward win, and five redemption island wins—as well as a general camp-life pro, always providing for his tribe.
But everyone knew they needed someone from season 1 and there was one person in particular they were hoping would say yes. Jeff admits that Borneo's Jenna Lewis-Dougherty was even more highly regarded than the "fall-on-the-sword" rule and was actually the very first call they made: "We had Jenna in our sights for a long time, and that was probably the happiest I was, when she said yes."
The other player who made Jeff the happiest was Survivor: David vs. Goliath runner-up, Mike White who he referred to as "the bookend" of his casting die hards. And if Mike's the bookend to Jenna's first call, it's possible he was the final call to round out the cast list, or just the final call of the "must-haves," but this wasn't confirmed.
Now fans can't help but wonder what prevented some legends from being "fall-on-the-sword" players.
Leading up to the official reveal of the Survivor 50 cast, fans had been all over social media with their dream casts—truly, for years at that point—of players for the next return season. Then after the announcement, there were a handful of names not included that were met with deep confusion. And now that we know about the "fall on the sword" rule, fans want to know why some other legends weren't fought for.
One player in particular, Jerri Manthey, has been a fan favorite since nearly the beginning. Having a mirrored story arc with Survivor 50 castaway Colby Donaldson made it all the more surprising when she was not also chosen as a member of the anniversary season's cast. Even more so now that three players, including Colby, publicly agreed they would have loved to see Jerri on the beach with them.
And while the season is going to be epic no matter what, it's always interesting as a fan to get a little more information about what goes on behind the scenes, especially on a show with a fan base as dedicated as Survivor.
While in a fan's eyes there's always going to be someone missing from a returning player season—you can't please everyone—Jeff knows how to put on a great show and we can't wait to see what we're in for when Survivor 50 airs Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+!