If you don't live under a rock, you probably noticed that Survivor came back into the lives of millions across America last night. If you're like me, you grew up watching the show with your parents and kind of fell off as you got older and blamed it on the game straying away from its roots by adding a new, unique twist to what felt like every season. The reason I decided to tune back in for the 40th season was because it was all returning champions and a flashback to my childhood. Getting to see people like Boston Rob, Yul , Sandra, Parvati, Tyson, and Denise back at it was enough for me to get back in. And after watching last nights show, I haven't stopped questioning why I ever stopped and am contemplating applying for the next season. Why not, right?
But a few minutes into the show, I remembered that the craziest part of the entire show isn't being dropped in the wild for 39 days to fend for yourself, but the fact that Jeff Probst has hosted this show for 20 years!
I'd be popping bottles if I got to host Survivor for one season, let alone forty
But to put this into perspective, there have been 40 seasons of this show, and 583 total episodes. Each season takes place over 39 days in countries like Fiji, Samoa, Nicaragua, Thailand, the Philippines, Gabon and I could keep going on and on. But in the last 20 years, Jeff Probst has spent at the very minimum 1,560 days abroad hosting what is one of the most beloved television series of all-time. Throw in the dates where he has to scout locations as the Executive Producer of this show and it's probably pretty damn close to 1,700 days. Some may argue that it's tough being away from home that often, but you know for a fact that you'd trade places with him on the drop of a dime.
In 2017, Probst let the world know that he'd prefer if the show stays in Fiji permanently, citing the economy, population, political unrest and weather patterns as to why.
Maybe that's why he bought a mansion in Fiji
There are some people who transcend the role of host and are one of, if not the first thing you think of when the show's brought up- Probst, Alex Trebek, Ryan Seacrest, Chris Harrison and Donald Trump. If that list doesn't represent the American Dream, than I'll give you the honor of making that list.
There are jobs where you make better money to do less, sure, but when you're tasked with actually doing something you're left with no room for error. For example, people immediately reference backup quarterbacks when the discussion of best job in the world comes up. Fans clamor for you if you're in the right situation, and all you have to do is show ONE flash of promise and you'll be in the league for as long as you want (I go into depth on that here).But you get one shot, one opportunity to seize everything you've ever wanted and if you fuck it up even the slightest bit, your ass is thrown out the door.
Probst though? He's become a cultural icon in America while keeping his personal life extremely private AND is worth a cool $40 million bucks. Not too shabby. Add in the fact that he hardly ages, you'd think more people would be talking about the life he's living.
2000 vs. 2020, ladies and gentlemen! Must've found the Fountain of Youth playing around in the outdoors as much as he does. The only feasible explanation if you ask me.
The Tribe has spoken. It's time for you to go
-The Inn Keeper
P.S.- If you watch the show, how fucking stupid are they for not voting off Boston Rob? His performance last night should give him a bye to the merge AT LEAST. The way he manipulated Ben was like watching a hot girl at the bar, you knew he was going to get what he wanted eventually, it was just a matter of how much work he had to put into it. In this case, Ben was sucking more ween than Smithers on a bad day at the Power Plant. This season's going to be dynamite
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