Among the Survivor fan base, there are a lot of topics about the reality show that are hotly debated. Which seasons are the best, who the best players ever are, and how to rank every winner are all examples of that. However, once fans are past the point of figuring out which seasons to watch first, they tend to agree that seasons with returning players are exciting. After all, fans who know who the first player to be medically evacuated was love to see their favorites return.

Ever since Survivor premiered, Jeff Probst has returned for every season, which is part of the reason he is the most important reality TV host ever. Considering he is part of every season, it is amazing to know that Jeff once wanted to ban returning players from Survivor.

Survivor's Jeff Probst Once Hated The Idea Of Returning Players

Since Survivor: Winners at War aired in the year 2000, there have been seven more seasons to date. Notably, all seven of those seasons have solely featured new players, so it has almost been five years since the last time Survivor welcomed someone from the past back.

It is remarkable that Survivor has gone that long without involving any returning players. After all, there was a time when it seemed like every Survivor season would include at least some players from the past.

What many Survivor fans may not realize, however, is that it shouldn't surprise anyone that Jeff Probst would want to go without any returning players for a while. After all, there was a time when Jeff spoke about wanting to ban the idea of returning players entirely.

In 2013, Jeff took part in a Reddit Ask Me Anything session on the r/survivor subreddit.

During that session, Jeff revealed a lot about his opinions on Survivor at that time. Arguably, the most interesting thing that Jeff addressed was about how he felt about Survivor featuring returning players.

During the AMA, a fan asked Jeff about a comment he'd previously made about returning players on Survivor. That fan provided a quote of what Jeff said to Entertainment Weekly about the subject in a since-deleted article. Ordinarily, a fan posting a quote without pointing to a source that still exists shouldn't be taken seriously. However, in this case, Jeff confirmed that he'd made the statement in his reply to the question from the fan who quoted him.

During the aforementioned Reddit Ask Me Anything session, Jeff Probst gave a fascinating answer when he was asked if he'd ever considered leaving Survivor. "There were a couple of times where I felt a bit burnt out on the show and did consider leaving, but wisely CBS and Mark Burnett said 'take a couple weeks and think it over' and I did and realized 'This is probably the greatest job I'll ever have!' And fortunately didn't make the mistake of leaving."

In the quote that the fan posted, Jeff explained why he thought returning players should be banned.

"Much like the Outcasts, I would hope we never do All-Stars again, because Survivor is a game about strangers living together. Once they have had that experience and have spent time together socially, it's a completely different game. It's stunt casting."

After quoting Jeff's remark on returning players, the fan had a follow-up question. The fan asked Jeff to explain why he changed his mind and began embracing the idea of bringing players back.

In 2011, the year the aforementioned Reddit Ask Me Anything session took place, Survivor: Redemption Island and Survivor: South Pacific aired. Survivor: Redemption Island featured the returns of "Boston" Rob Mariano and Russell Hantz. Then, Survivor: South Pacific brought back Ozzy Lusth and Benjamin "Coach" Wade.

First off, Jeff began by putting his quote in the context of when he told Entertainment Weekly that returning players should be banned. Furthermore, Jeff explained that during his EW interview, it was not long after he was forced to take part in the first returning players season, Survivor: All-Stars.

"Great question. I made that comment back in 2004 I think. The first all-star season was an idea from Les Moonves (who runs the world and CBS) and I didn't really understand why we would bring back returning players when we were doing so well with new ones."

Jeff would then explain what changed his opinion about the idea of bringing back players from the past.

While responding to the fan's question, Jeff explained that he'd come to understand television better.

During the aforementioned Reddit Ask Me Anything session, Jeff Probst was asked how much he listens to fan feedback. In response, Jeff explained that he tries to remove his own emotions from the equation when it comes to topics like returning players. "I listen and try to remove my own emotion and just hear the reasoning. When it comes to returning players — it's merely an opinion and one that is countered by another person who LOVES when Rupert comes back."

To be specific, Jeff learned that fans want their shows to feature people they are invested emotionally in.

"But what Les knew and I have since learned is that TV shows need stars — and fans like stars — so every so often you bring back some of your "old stars" and it's fun!"

Finally, Jeff finished his response by revealing how much his views on returning players had changed. After previously advocating for there to be no more seasons with returning players, Jeff wrote to the fan about how much he'd grown to love bringing Survivor's past stars back.

"Now I really love bringing back players."

Jeff Probst Has Been Busy Promoting The Next Survivor Season That Will Feature Returning Players

Since Survivor premiered in the year 2000, the show has been around long enough that its 50th season will be premiering in the next few years. Since it is such a big deal that Survivor has reached that incredible milestone, the show's 50th season is poised to be special.

After several years of not bringing anyone from the past back, Jeff Probst revealed that Survivor 50 will be an All-Stars season.

Since that revelation, Jeff has been slowly but surely promoting the next Survivor season with returning players.

During all of his recent public appearances, Jeff has put the spotlight on Survivor 50 in one way or another. One example of that came when he spoke to Variety for an August 2024 profile and Jeff explained where the casting process was for Survivor 50.

“We’re trying to figure out who’s gonna play in Survivor 50. We know it’s gonna be returning players. We started out with a list of around 200, like, every person we would like to see, regardless of whether they want to do it or not. And then we got the list down to 125 and now I have it down to around 100.”

Considering that Jeff once called for there to never be another Survivor season with returning players, things have really changed. After all, Jeff will have spent years promoting Survivor 50 by the time it airs.