Survivor host Jeff Probst has revealed what future seasons of the show are going to look like, including winner reveals on finale nights and if Seasons 41 and 42's format will stick.
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For the second season in a row, Jeff will announce the winner of Survivor in a pre-taped segment that filmed on-location in Fiji with the Season 42 finalists and jury. The upcoming finale Wednesday night on CBS will also feature a Survivor After Show that was shot on-location immediately after the winner reveal.
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While Season 41 and Season 42 strayed in format from the reality competition's prior seasons -- which aired winner reveals and reunions live from CBS studio in Los Angeles -- Jeff revealed he will continue reading the final jury votes on-location as part of the Final Tribal Council in future seasons.
"I think fans will enjoy the Survivor 42 After Show! I wholeheartedly recommend watching it, I think you'll see why we find it so appealing," Jeff told Entertainment Weekly.
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Jeff apparently believes fans will enjoy watching the jury discuss events of the just-concluded game for years to come.
Producers have therefore decided to adopt the model of on-location Survivor After Show going forward.
"Yes. We feel really good about the excitement and energy that comes with doing the vote reveal in the jungle, immediately followed by an After Show when the players are still in game mode," Jeff said.
"It's so vastly different from the live reunion show because it's happening in real time. The players have not had six months to watch the episodes and be influenced by the criticism or praise they have received on social media."
Jeff called the action that takes place immediately following a winner reveal on-location "pure," although a live reunion show with a cheering studio audience also has its benefits and entertainment value.
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"The live reunion show offers something different, where players are all dressed up and it's as much about 'what do they look like now' (which can be very fun!) as it is about the actual game," Jeff explained to EW.
"For now, the vote reveal in the jungle and the After Show is part of the new era and new format of our game. But like everything on Survivor, it's always in a state of flow."
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In addition to maintaining the same finale format, Jeff teased that many of the twists in Survivor's last two seasons will return.
In a "big hint" to future players, Jeff disclosed, "When we say this is a new era of the game, we mean it. We are establishing new markers."
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"So things like small tribes, earn the merge, no food, risk/reward dilemmas, Shot In The Dark, are here to stay," the host confirmed.
Other specific twists, however, "will come and go" depending on the season, according to Jeff.
Fans will be interested to see if the Amulet, for example, will return in which three players, who all find a piece of the advantage, would have to play it together in order to receive an extra vote.
If only two players are left in the game with the Amulet, it becomes a steal-a-vote. And if one player remains, his or her Amulet piece becomes an Immunity Idol.
"We changed the game because we wanted to give players a new series of problems to solve. The easiest way to frame it is to compare it to our very first season," Jeff explained.
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"Those players didn't know they would have a chance to play for a food reward, so when they got hungry, they ate rat. Then in Season 2, we had a new group of players who knew there would be a food reward, so they didn't eat rat. They adapted to the game. That's what we're doing with this new era."
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Survivor producers anticipate the next round of players will have "insight" into the new version of Survivor, which will refresh and complicate the game in new dynamic ways.
"They're already thinking about when and how to best use a Shot In The Dark, or what they might do if they are presented with a risk/reward scenario?" Jeff said.
"Or how do you keep an advantage a secret with a game design that is so public? We don't want everything to be a surprise. Instead, we're building a new foundation of game elements and leaving it to the players to figure out how best to play.
The finale of Survivor 42 is set to air as a three-hour event Wednesday night at 8PM ET/PT on CBS.
Survivor's finale will conclude with either Maryanne Oketch, Jonathan Young, Mike Turner, Romeo Escobar, or Lindsay Dolashewich being crowned the "Sole Survivor" and champion of $1 million.
"It's rare when you have a Final 5 that is this entertaining in a season in which you can still make a very strong case for almost any of them to win!" Jeff gushed.
"We have five completely different styles of game play coming from five completely different types of players. There isn't any overlap in how they approach the game. Each has taken their own path. And there is still so much game left to play."
Jeff said he "loved every second" with the Survivor 42 group, adding, "I would play another season again with them right now. Every one of them. No matter how it plays out, we are going to have a great winner this season."
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CBS announced last week Survivor's 43rd season will air on Wednesday nights in Fall 2022.