Jeff Probst says last ‘Survivor 50’ cast cuts were ‘brutal’

Survivor host Jeff Probst announced the cast of Survivor 50 on the Wednesday edition of CBS Mornings by dramatically pulling the names of the returning players that made the cut out of an urn. A record 24 contestants will be heading back to the island in the hopes of winning the million dollars when the season airs in 2026, including one player from the franchise’s first season as well as two competitors from Survivor 49, which has not even aired yet.

But what about the players who did not make the cut? Fan favorite hopefuls like Carolyn Wiger, Jerri Manthey, Abi-Maria Gomes, and others have taken to social media over the past few weeks once they were informed they would not be part of the landmark season, with fans also chiming in on which contestants they wished had been selected for Survivor 50. (Justice for Sean Rector!)

Probst addressed the casting process and how they got from 750 players down to 24 when he beamed into CBS Mornings after the pre-taped reveal to chat with hosts Gayle King, Nate Burleson and Vladimir Duthiers.

“Here’s what we realized early on,” Probst told the hosts when asked about getting down to 24 players. “Casting Survivor 50 was kind of like casting the ultimate all-time movie. And you think about all the actors who are alive today that you could put in that movie, but there is only so many roles, and we wanted 50 to be a little taste of everything. ’Cause, Gayle, we’ve done Heroes vs. Villains, and Game Changers, and Fans vs. Favorites, and winners. We wanted to taste every flavor, every type personality, all the eras.”

Probst said their first list had 200 names of returnees. “And so we went from 200 on a list to 100, to 80, to 50. And then those last 26, they were brutal cuts,” he told the hosts. “And they still are. There are so many people we could have put out there, but there are only so many people you can put on the show.”

When asked by King why Survivor: David vs. Goliath runner-up and The White Lotus creator Mike White made the list, Probst said there was never a question, unless it came from the player’s side. “I mean, do you have to ask? Mike, after he finished playing, he said ‘I want to play again.’ And that was before White Lotus. And then White Lotus hit and I thought, ‘Well, he’ll never play again.’ But he kept texting and saying, ‘Look, I’m serious. If you ever do anything where you have returning players, I want to play again.’ So, we’re happy to have Mike back.”

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When it was pointed out by Duthiers that White — who has put several of his David vs. Goliath castmates onto The White Lotus — could use the lure of future cameos as a game move — Probst sounded like he almost expected it. “Don’t think Mike White, who is clever enough to write and direct White Lotus, has not thought about that.”