Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans comes to an end on Wednesday, May 20, with the first live finale and reunion in seven years, but it might not be exactly what fans had in mind.
Jeff Probst opened up about what fans can expect in the Survivor 50 finale in a new interview with Variety. He revealed there will be less focus on the "reunion show" that fans were used to and expecting.
Instead, there will be more emphasis on making the Survivor 50 finale a live "event."
Here's what Probst revealed to Variety:
"We want to celebrate as we go. When you sit down and just rehash, it’s never satisfying. This year, the way we’re doing it, I’m pretty excited about it. We reimagined how we were going to do it, and it feels very fresh, big and equally fun. When we sat down initially, the first thing I suggested was, what if we don’t do a reunion show and instead, we take that time and sprinkle it in throughout the final episode? I think it’s gonna be more fun and exciting to take pauses along the way. It feels like a reinvention that feels right for where we are now, and it’s more inclusive of everybody. Our finales are so packed that we don’t really have enough time. The idea this time is: Let’s take the entire three hours, do it as one event. And then when it ends, it feels complete."
I don't know how to feel about this, but it sounds like Probst is saying that this will not be bringing all the contestants out on stage at the same time, sitting them down, and asking questions about the season. It's going to have more interviews sprinkled into the episode to give the Survivor 50 winner their big moment at the end.
First, I don't know if that's exactly what fans were asking for when they voted for the finale and live reunion as part of the "In the Hands of the Fans" live vote. That's my biggest concern when it comes to this reaction. I don't think Survivor nation is going to be particularly happy about this.
I will say that Probst made some fair points. In the interview, he also revealed that he felt like the players were just playing "defense" during the live reunion instead of reacting how they would have on the island. Probst has mentioned this many times in defending the non-live reunion on his podcast, so it makes a lot of sense to mention it again when asked if the live reunion is here to stay.
Personally, I don't feel like I have a dog in this fight. I think I prefer the old reunion celebrations, but that's more because I have this nostalgia for being a kid, staying up late, watching my favs, and all that. Now, I'm like, let's just get this over with. As a parent of young kids, I'm tired after 90 minutes of Survivor. A three-hour finale feels daunting!
I'm also curious if the drama behind the scenes had any impact on this season and reasoning to turn this reunion into more of an event. You put some of these players together, and you never know what they are going to say. No one likes After the Final Rose on The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, so I like that Survivor largely has avoided that drama recently.
Watch the Survivor 50 finale on CBS and Paramount+ on Wednesday, May 20, starting at 8 p.m. ET and running until 11 p.m. ET.
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