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'Survivor' host and producer, Jeff Probst. (Photo Courtesy of CBS.) |
For the first time ever, a 'Survivor' series may be viewed differently in Canada than it is in the United States.
Instead of hyping 'Survivor: Cook Islands' in a CBS conference call today, a sometimes heated Jeff Probst was forced to continually defend the producers' idea to divide the tribes by their ethnicity. From all that was discussed, it seems the series will in a roundabout way highlight the level of success and maybe the consequences of the U.S. "melting pot" approach as opposed to Canada's "cultural mosaic" in the minds of Canadian viewers.
"I think when most people hear the idea the first reaction is to flinch a little bit. It is a sensitive topic and we understand that but I think if people give it a chance they are going to be surprised at the results," said Probst.
Battered by critics for playing the race card to inspire drama on the series, Probst had some of his own advice to dish out.
"There are some who are very familiar with 'Survivor' and still don't think this is a good idea. That is a valid opinion. I think there are also a lot of people who have never seen 'Survivor', have no idea what they are condemning but they are using our show as a platform for their own agenda", he said. "I hope that all the people who had their megaphones out condemning the show before they have even seen a minute of it will be just as vocal when it is over. If you still don't like it after you have seen it, shout it out. If it surprised you or your expectations were reversed, I hope you will be just as vocal."
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As Probst explained it, the twist came about when the producers got together to brainstorm for the next season and decided to take something they were continually criticized for and flip it around. Since its inception, some have ripped into the 'Survivor' producers for not casting enough minorities each season. Since mostly Caucasians apply to be on the CBS reality show series, the producers had to go to church groups and cultural centres to find their 'Cook Islands' contestants. In the end though, almost all of them are from California this time around.
"We are certainly not heading out to portray the basic stereotypes everybody knows. That would be a waste of time and energy. It would have a negative impact and do damage. We are not trying to do that but we are not going to avoid anything that does happen out there," he said.
In the middle of their search, the producers found many willing participants who had never watched 'Survivor' and therefore were not savvy to all the ins and outs of the game.
"When we were in the casting room, we started looking at these people and going...Wow! We are having fresh points of view again. We don't have people coming in saying...I am gonna be just like Colby," Probst recalled.
For the producers, those fresh faces harkened back to the first season when the game and the experience was new to everyone. Feeling the series was getting back to its roots in that regard, the producers decided to start 'Survivor: Cook Islands' exactly like they did the first season in Borneo. The Survivors are brought to the location on a cargo ship, divided into tribes and then told they have 30 seconds to gather supplies and get off the boat onto rafts.
"For all us, it really did reenergize us. I'm telling you, if you watch this season, I think you will feel that. I think you will sense a freshness," he said.
According to Probst, another reason why the racial twist came to mind is that through the cast interviews many of the prospective candidates expressed a pride in their culture. Probst admitted that growing up in Wichita, Kansas, that kind of pride that wasn't something he was exposed to.
"I grew up in Wichita and did not have diversity. I had white and black. The black community was west of Thirteenth Street and the white community was east of Thirteenth Street. When I moved back there to go to college, my girlfriend got me an apartment on 21st Street that was not my area," he recounted. "It was a completely different world when I lived there because I had not been exposed to it. I didn't know anybody who was Jewish. I didn't know anybody who was Hispanic. I didn't know anyone Asian American. So, I had a very limited upbringing. It is only when I started doing 'Survivor' and going to all parts of the world that I started meeting different people."
Probst addressed the fact that several sponsors like General Motors and Home Depot have pulled out of sponsoring the series. Probst revealed that as they were planning the challenges, CBS told the producers that they didn't have to incorporate any sponsorships. When it comes to GM, Probst joked that they may have bailed because of the 'Survivor' "car curse".
"I don't really know the reason GM pulled out but I am telling you on my family's name they were out months ago and it could not have anything to do with race because we didn't even know we were doing that yet at the time," he said.
When he wasn't defending the racial twist, Probst did throw out a few choice nuggets of information about the new series. There will probably be some weeks where multiple castaways are booted as the series is starting out with 20 contestants and he confirmed that the schedule has not been lengthened. Probst suggested that there might be a week where one person is kicked from all four tribes. Also, producer Mark Burnett wanted the players to be forced to work together during the challenges so many of them were created with that key point in mind. For the romantics, there are multiple love affairs. Probst characterizes one of them as being the "strangest love affair ever on Survivor".
When it is all said and done, Probst believes people will root on the players they like or admire on a personal level and race will not factor into the equation. If nothing else, Probst credits the 'Cook Islands' experience with changing him as a person.
"The best experience I have had on 'Survivor' in terms of opening my eyes was this season," he said.
'Survivor Cook Islands' debuts Thursday, September 14th on CBS.
