Survivor host Jeff Probst can't compliment next season's cast enough, and with a fantastic bunch of returning castaways, comes more enthusiasm from show producers to make next season one for the history books.

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When casting Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance, fans got to select 20 veteran castaways -- 10 men and 10 women out of 32 candidates who never won the game but had memorable-enough storylines from seasons past -- whom they'd like to see receive another shot at winning a million dollars.

Probst told Entertainment Weekly on the first day of filming that the cast was so grateful for their second chance, it was a pleasure to work with them on set and they were quite inspiring.

"We started this Second Chance process almost seven months ago, and here we are shooting it. There is an excitement around day one that is hard to explain unless you're here. It's the culmination of seven months of creative that you're laying out and essentially turning over to a bunch of other people to go play. So you want it to be good, you want it to work," Probst told EW.

"We have this great opening plan where we're going to do something we did the first season, and you're going to see chaos and scrambling out of the gate. It's very exciting. And it's not lost on me that this is the greatest gift I could have ever been given, to be still doing this 15 years later."

Probst explained how wonderful the new season's cast is by comparing the group to returning players of the past who often competed in All-Stars editions.

"Typically it's different in that returning players are more of a pain in the ass. And it always disappoints me that they try to push us around when we're saying, 'Look, we know you know the deal. We get it. And you're our stars. That's why we invited you back. But don't push so hard. Let's just do this with the same respect.' And they typically don't," Probst explained.

"It doesn't mean we don't invite them back. We love them. It comes with the turf. What's interesting is, and what I will remind every other returning player is, this group has been so kind and courteous. We sent them on this huge journey though old, historic parts of Cambodia, and they were smiling every part of it because some of them have been waiting 15 years."

Probst continued, "And so they don't take it for granted, and they appreciate it, and they remember, 'Wow, this is a big deal. There are 350 people out here creating this adventure for me!' And I will remind future players: For what it's worth, even though you might have only played two years ago, Kelly Wiglesorth, Terry Deitz, and Jeff Varner were super kind and a joy to work with."

As a result, Probst noted the energy while taping the new season is "really electric."

"[It's] because we want them to do well. We're rooting for all 20. We know what it means to you. You hear guys like [Andrew Savage] or [Jeremy Collins] say, 'I need this!' They don't just say, 'I want to do it.' They need it. The difference between want and need is the difference between everything," Probst told EW.

"And [so] I feel the audience is going to root for them in a way that they haven't before. And, obviously, the investment from the fans -- you voted them in so you've got a rooting interest in who does well in this game. And I really like that."

Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance will premiere Wednesday, September 23 with a special 90-minute broadcast at 8PM ET/PT and be directly followed by the finale of Big Brother's seventeenth season from 9:30-11PM ET/PT.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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