When it was revealed that Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans would feature an all-star cast, the show's dedicated viewers began discussing who could return to the show. On top of that, there was almost as much discussion among Survivor fans about how Jeff Probst and the show's casting team would decide who would be coming back for the landmark season. Fortunately, Jeff often is refreshingly open during interviews, and he has revealed details about Survivor 50's casting process.
Over the last several months, Jeff has explained Parvati Shallow's Survivor 50 absence and how many former players were considered for the season. As fascinating as those details about the upcoming season were, fans have also been eager to know what made the show's team pick each of the players who are part of Survivor 50's cast. Now, Jeff has explained how one of the season's most talked-about players was chosen.
Mike White texted Jeff Probst to be cast on Survivor 50
In addition to being a former Survivor finalist, Mike White is also a Hollywood power broker who has worked on several notable TV shows and movies during his career. Most notably, Mike created The White Lotus and works on that hit show as a writer, director, and its showrunner. As a result, there has even been conjecture about whether Jeff Probst will appear on The White Lotus as several Survivor players have.
One thing that fans of Jeff Probst's reality show have been very certain of for weeks now is that Mike White will compete as part of Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans. When Jeff walked the red carpet at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, he talked to Entertainment Tonight's interviewer about how Mike was chosen for the landmark season. According to the reality show host, Mike was cast after he texted Jeff about wanting to be part of the all-star season.
Here's what Jeff said about the text:
"He asked. He texted me and said, ‘Just so you know, if you’re doing anything special for 50, I’m in.’ And so I immediately replied, ‘We are now doing something special for 50, centered around you being in, let’s go.’"
After making that remark to ET's interviewer, Jeff laughed. As a result, it certainly seems like he may have been joking when he described the text response he sent back to Mike. Jeff could have also been laughing because he actually sent Mike that text, but it was meant as a joke. What is clear is that Jeff seemed to become serious again when he described asking Mike why he would want to play Survivor again when he has such a busy and successful career.
"I asked Mike and he said, ‘Don’t read too much into it, I just like to live a big life. Yeah, I’m a creator, but I also just want to go experience this game. I really like it.'"
Survivor 50 premieres in 2026 on CBS and Paramount+. Stay tuned for more information.