Andy DehnartCBS has officially renewed Survivor for its 23rd and 24th seasons, and Jeff Probst will return as its host and executive producer.
The renewal isn’t a surprise, because it does well even though the show is now getting beaten by American Idol. The announcement says it “continues to perform strongly opposite ‘American Idol,’ averaging 11.70 million viewers.”
Perhaps the biggest variable was Jeff Probst, who has been renewing his contract in one-year increments and has been somewhat coy about whether he’s coming back or not. Last year, the network announced the renewal of the show a few weeks before he signed on as host, prompting me to suggest Conan O’Brien as a host in case he didn’t renew.
I think it’s becoming an increasingly safe bet that Jeff Probst won’t leave Survivor until the show is cancelled, if and when that day arrives. His attempt to do something else failed, and he’s now listed on the same credit screen with executive producer Dave Burris, who is essentially its showrunner. So his influence and role has increased, never mind the fact that he’s the show’s public face.