Earlier this year, Jeff Probst revealed the moment he knew Survivor was a hit, but it wasn't long after that the iconic host was worried that Survivor was going to come to an end after one of the show's early villains won.
According to a report from Variety, Jeff revealed that he thought the show was "doomed" following the first season of the hit series following Richard Hatch's win.
Here's what Jeff said about Richard winning season 1 and the fear that it would be the end of the show:
"Richard Hatch was a villain. He purposely did things like got naked because he knew it would make people uncomfortable, say things that would drive people crazy. We could not believe he won the game. We’re like, ‘Our show is doomed!’ The most unlikely, unlikeable person won. The show starts airing and people were like, ‘If Richard wins, I am never gonna watch his show again.’ And then Richard wins, and that’s all anybody’s talking about.”
Probst's comments came during a panel discussion at the American Cinematheque’s “This Is Not a Fiction” festival.
Honestly, it's understandable why Probst and the gang at CBS were probably worried when Hatch won the show. I'm not old enough to remember the cultural specifics and ramifications, but I did watch that first season live, and it was a shocking moment when Richard won. I'm not saying he didn't deserve to win or anything like that, but he was definitely playing chess while most of the cast was playing checkers and still trying to figure out that game.
There's also no denying that Richard's season 1 performance victory opened the game up to a new type of player and strategy. I don't think we see the game evolve as quickly as it did without some of Hatch's bold moves. From a strategy perspective, he's definitely on the shortlist of Survivor pioneers who shaped how other villains played the game.
But, there's also no argument that Survivor reveled in Hatch's made-for-TV antics. It took some time to catch up, but it's easy to trace the line of iconic villains from Hatch to Jonny Fairplay to Russell Hantz and on and on. Everyone knew what they were doing by bringing on these kinds of players, and it's pretty clear that we wouldn't see the downright diabolical moves like they were making in the new era. This game is much more fan-friendly than it used to be.
That's all reality TV, though. Survivor hit the ground running during the wild, wild West of reality TV, so it's almost funny that Probst thought that Hatch was what was going to tank the show. If anything, Hatch made Survivor more popular, and that's just the truth.
It's been a long time since those days, though. Survivor is very different now. The world is different. If you put Richard on Survivor 50, he's probably the first person voted out. Everything is evolving, and that's a good thing.
I don't think we're going to see Richard Hatch on Survivor 50, but we should be learning which former Survivor players will be returning soon. The latest rumors suggest a Survivor 47 star is part of the cast!
Stay tuned for more information about Survivor and Survivor 50!