Since Survivor premiered, there hasn't been anyone who has been as closely associated with the hit reality show as Jeff Probst. Not only the show's host, Probst has also become one of the series' bosses in his role as its executive producer.
While getting to host and largely be in charge of the production of a beloved reality show may seem like a dream come true, that job comes with a lot of pressure that some observers may not consider. For example, as the face of Survivor, Jeff has to cope with fans who may not agree with the decisions to pull some players from the game. With that in mind, it is fascinating that Probst recently explained the process behind deciding to medically evacuate a Survivor player.
Jeff Probst explained why Survivor players get medically evacuated
During the third episode of Survivor 49, Jake Latimer was bitten by a sea krait, which resulted in a frightening scene. Since sea kraits have highly poisonous venom that can even cause the death of people it is injected into, Latimer was quickly raced to a Fijian hospital where he received treatment from Survivor's medical team. Ultimately, it was concluded that the snake didn't inject venom into Latimer, and he was safe. Despite that, Latimer was still pulled from the game.
After those scenes aired on CBS, an episode of "On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast" featured extensive discussion about how those events played out. During that podcast episode, Probst explained something that fans have always wanted to know about, the mentality behind which players are medically evacuated from Survivor. While discussing that topic, Probst began by explaining that it is Survivor's medical team who is solely in charge of deciding to pull players from the game to protect their health.
"Well, anytime you're pulling a player for a medical reason, that decision is only made by the medical team."
In a fascinating aside, Probst then revealed that, on top of making those important decisions to evacuate players, Survivor's medical team is asked to keep in mind that a TV show is being filmed.
"Anytime we have a new doctor, we sit down and say, ‘Look, it's super unlikely, but sometimes something happens, and we have to deal with a player, and here's how we deal with it, and here's what you have to keep in mind from a camera standpoint, and let me ask you questions.’ All of these things they have to think about, and then I'll say, ‘On the very rare occasions, we might have to pull somebody from the game…"
"You just have to hope that the person in charge has enough restraint to be inside a terrifying moment, but still deliver the story in a way that a layperson like me can understand, can let you know what's at stake. This could be very dangerous. He could also be completely fine. That's why we're evaluating him. You have to do all of that, and you have to understand that we're telling a story. It's a TV show. You just can't blurt out, ‘Jake, you're never gonna be back in the game. I just wanna let you know.’”
During the podcast episode, Probst went on to speak more about Latimer's evacuation in particular.
To be specific, Probst explained that Latimer wasn't allowed to re-enter the game after it was concluded that he wasn't in danger for two more reasons.
First of all, the medical team concluded that Latimer had gone through such a traumatic experience that it would be irresponsible to put him back out in the game.
Secondly, it was concluded that Latimer getting IV fluids would have given him an unfair advantage if he was allowed to rejoin the game.
Watch new episodes of Survivor 49 on Wednesday nights on CBS and Paramount+! Then, you can listen to Jeff Probst's podcast immediately after the episode.