Survivor host Jeff Probst is apparently so happy with how America voted for the cast of Survivor Cambodia: Second Chance, that he believes there is absolutely a chance producers will do it again in the future.

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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 with memorable storylines from seasons past -- whom they'd like to see return for another shot at winning a million dollars.

Producers therefore put the power solely into the hands of home viewers, which was exciting yet nerve-racking at the same time for show executives.

"I'll tell you the truth. We started with the list at probably 100, and then we got it down to 50. That was really tough. Then we got it down to 40. Then we got it down to 32. And then there was a point where I called Lynne, our casting director, and said, 'Is this a terrible idea? Are we crazy to turn this over to the fans and let them vote?'" Probst told Entertainment Weekly during his first day of filming Survivor's 31st edition.

And she said, 'Yeah, I don't know.' And it goes back to something... When you're scared and nervous that you don't know what's going to happen, it's usually a sign that it's worth trying."

Probst admitted he was "so pleasantly surprised" by the voting results, as players date all the way back to Season 1.

"The diversity of the cast, the enthusiasm of the 20 who made it, and the 32 who showed up at the live show... just kind of once again renewed my spirit of 'just keep trying to make it interesting and it will work.' People want this to happen," the host noted.

Probst said the voting turnout proved to him that Survivor's audience is "as loyal" as he had suspected "for the last 15 years."

"Tens of millions of votes cast for their favorite players. Right on! We would definitely do it again and I would definitely turn it over. And I'll tell you, a lot of friends of mine who are producers of television emailed me after the announcement and said 'Are you out of your mind? You're turning the entire cast?'" Probst continued.

"Their emails would say things like, 'I could see you doing one player. Or maybe one tribe. But 20 people?' And look at the cast we got: diversity in ethnicity, diversity in sexuality, in age, regional, everything... We would we do it again, I think you have to have the right situation. This worked because the investment was so high, and the stakes were so real."

For example, Probst explained that Andrew Savage [from Season 7] and Terry Deitz [from Season 12] had been waiting a decade to play again and their anticipation was contagious.

"You felt that. And when you saw me say no to [Teresa "T-Bird" Cooper] from the third season, you felt this anguish of 'Ugh, oh my God!' I can still see her face! So, yes, CBS called me the next day and said, 'Oh my God, that was great! When can we do it again?' To which I said, 'Well, it would have to be the right situation.' Because we're never going to go back and do something if it doesn't work," Probst told EW.

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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