Survivor’s revealing crew profiles are great diversions from Probst’s Survivor 50 ideas

In a few months, Survivor’s incredibly talented crew will go back to work, producing seasons 49 and 50. Yes, incredibly, Survivor 50 will be filming in about next six months, though of course it won’t air for another year, in spring 2026.

Planning for that season is well underway, which means we’re getting bits of news from showrunner Jeff Probst, like the fact that, in between his two or three weekly tennis games, sometimes with Pete Wentz, he has tequila and looks at the faces and ages of 100 Survivor players on magnets he made, and moves them around three whiteboards. That’s what he told Variety in August.

I’m trying my best to ignore these kinds things, because otherwise I’ll spend too much time between episodes rocking back and forth on the floor and breathing into a paper bag.

Auctioneer McNeedsadictionary, aka Jeff Probst, oversees the Survivor 47, episode 8 auction that was not an auction at all (Photo by Robert Voets/CBS)

But then there was Jeff Probst telling EW recently that “we are going to do our very best to make it a great season that will satisfy [fans]” (yay!) but also said he only wants “joyful players who are in a good mood and want to play”—i.e. not “disgruntled players looking to settle a score. We’re looking for players who want a second chance, who have something to prove to themselves.”

Oh great, a season full of personal growth instead of, you know, playing fucking Survivor. Excuse me while I fetch my paper bag and a handful of Xanax.

I kept reading, and discovered Probst also said that, for Survivor 50, “celebration is the first word, and that equals joy. I’m looking for those moments that are going to be really fun and really funny.”

The show is more than six months away from actually being filmed. You can’t pre-plan the “moments” and ensure they’re “really fun” and “really funny.” You’re not engineering a ride at Disneyland and programming the audio-Animatronics. Though maybe that is how Probst views the casting and producing process?

But this story is not about my disagreement with Hosty McMosty’s decisions and direction and disasters; those are well-documented.

This is a story about the hundreds of other people who, yes, have to do his bidding, but also do exceptional work.

Survivor camera operator John Tattersall films a challenge, as captured for a social media video

During every episode of Survivor, I find myself noticing and appreciating something about the craft of the artisans, technicians, and crew members.

All you have to do is watch another show like Deal or No Deal Island to realize how much we benefit from the work of the talented people behind the scenes who ratchet up Survivor’s quality.

For example, here’s Survivor’s carver, Vanna Cheal, with a logo that he hand carved:

Survivor carver Vanna Cheal, a member of the Art department, with a Survivor 47 logo he carved in just five days

Survivor’s crew—roughly 400 people!—does technical work is top-notch, from the cinematic photography to small details like the paint on challenge apparatuses.

This fall, on Survivor’s Tiktok and Instagram accounts, CBS has been posting short behind-the-scenes videos that each highlight one crew member and their job, and they are so great!

The videos offer glimpses of what we don’t see, whether that’s the scaffolding in the water supporting platforms from which camera operators film, or just how dark it is at night at camp.

Survivor camera operators film a water challenge from scaffolding assembled by the dive team

The ones I’ve seen so far have focused mostly on the camera department:

• Director of Photography Scott Duncan, who’s been with the show since season one, and films the slow-motion title sequences and

• Reality camera operator Paulo Velozo, who films “reality,” which is the Survivor production’s term for what happens at the tribe camps and beaches
• Challenge camera operator John Tattersall, who started on Survivor: The Australian Outback
• Grip Morag Anderson, who’s been with the show since she was 18 during season 39 and works with her dad, who’s the show’s Key Grip. As a grip, she helps with moving cameras, whether they’re on a jib or a track

A scene from a behind-the-scenes video profiling a Survivor grip

They’ve also profiled a producer:

• Night segment producer PK Herdsman, a producer who is at camps overnight, following strategic relationship

And people who work on various aspects of the challenges:

• Carver Vanna Cheal, who creates things like wooden versions of the logo (in five days!) and idols 

• Art tailor Rohit Prasad, who crafts and sews everything from flags to bags
• Diver Jayde Leota, whose job includes helping the Art department set up challenges in the water, including leveling and securing things that the players climb over in the ocean

In her profile, segment producer PK says, “My favorite part of working on Survivor is, honestly, just seeing teamwork function on such a high level.” Survivor episodes show us the product of that teamwork, but I’m grateful to get to know individual members of the team and their work, and I look forward to seeing more.