After 13 seasons of Survivor, you'd think host Jeff Probst would be getting bored.
So it's surprising to hear his excitement as he speaks about Survivor: Fiji -- a season he feels will change the game like never before.
It starts as the 19 contestants (one dropped out at the last minute after having a panic attack) receive blueprints for a luxury shelter, which includes a sofa, sewing machine, sink and refrigerator stocked with food.
The game then takes a dramatic turn when the group is divided in two and forced to compete against each -- winning team taking all.
"The whole idea was one tribe gets everything and one tribe gets nothing," says Probst.
"Literally, you cut from the winning tribe, where one of the tribe members says, 'How bad is it that we have more food here than some of the people at home watching us have in their refrigerator?' to the other tribe who are on their hands and knees, literally licking leaves to get drops of water.
"It's the hardest I've seen a group hit probably since Africa -- they don't have anything and they aren't seasoned survivalists. They don't know what to do."
While the original concept of Survivor was to put average Americans into the wilderness to see if they could deal with issues such as hunger, weather and each other, Probst says it was time for a change.
And, while he admits the new format gives one tribe an unfair advantage, he says it makes for great watching.
"Survivor is about social interaction and this fulfilled that mantra. We now have a new dynamic and, after 14 seasons, we fortunately found something that works in that we created adversaries so fast," he says.
"It's very hard to catch up to a tribe that has this big of a lead and I think it's really fascinating."
Another change this season is the inclusion of two secret immunity idols, which are hidden on each tribe's beach, not Exile Island.
Probst says this creates a dilemma for the player who receives the first clue.
" 'Now that I know this, do I share this information with anybody? Do I secretly try to be the person sent back to Exile again, so I can keep this secret and get more clues to try and find the whereabouts? And now, when I am back at camp, how do you look for an idol when living with six, seven, eight or nine people?' So it complicated that."
The producers of Survivor also opted to change how the idol is played.
"(Now) you must play the idol after the tribe has voted, but before I read the votes.
"So when you go to tribal council, you take all the information you have from the beach, from living with these people ... then, after they have voted, you've got to make a gut call," says Probst.
"You have to decide, 'Do I need to play the idol right now?' And the idol, I can tell you, gets played more than once this season."
The one commonality is Survivor's colourful cast of players, including a Sylvester Stallone look-alike named James (Rocky) Reid.
"He walks like him, he talks like him -- he can not help himself. He's colourful and funny and challenging and sometimes irritating and you will know him instantly," says Probst, adding another interesting player is Dre (Dreamz) Herd.
"He was a homeless kid, who, in a nutshell, lived in garbage dumpsters. This is a kid literally off the streets who has survived and made something of his life."
Survivor: Fiji premieres tonight on Global and CBS at 9 p.m.
