As CBS gets closer and closer to airing Season 41 of Survivor after it was delayed a year due to COVID-19, the series is celebrating its 21st anniversary. Longtime host Jeff Probst, who has spent a healthy chunk of his life with the reality series, is paying tribute to Survivor, while also promoting the long-awaited 41st season.
In a video the Survivor host posted to Twitter, Jeff Probst sent his greetings from Fiji, where the upcoming season is shooting. Probst had stepped away as they were starting a challenge and didn’t want to give anything away, and he couldn’t stop thanking the loyal Survivor fans for their dedication. With the show nearing the beginning of its third decade on air, Probst only has the fans to thank for that. Take a look!
The series was originally due to premiere its 41st season last fall, but because of the show filming in Fiji and the pandemic, CBS had to push it. Now that it’s officially premiering in the fall, fans have a lot to celebrate. Season 41 of Survivor finally began filming last February following Fiji closing its borders to non-citizens last year in an effort to preserve public safety.
And while it’s currently unknown what the theme could be for this year with the filming being in Fiji, Season 40 had a “Winners at War” theme, which saw previous winners coming to compete. And recently, it’s been rumored that the upcoming season of Survivor would be named Survivor 41, meaning there would be no theme or concept as the focus. After 40 seasons and being on the air for over two decades now, it wouldn’t be surprising that the series would want a change.
Survivor first debuted on CBS on May 31, 2000 and was consistently one of the Top 20 most watched shows through its first 23 seasons. Although it hasn’t broken the Top 20 since, viewership has remained steady over the years. The series has surprisingly only had two timeslots throughout the 40 seasons, beginning with Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET before moving to Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET for seasons 2 through 12, then moving back to Wednesdays at 8 p.m. since.
Season 41 won’t be the first season of Survivor to be set in Fiji, as the 14th season, appropriately titled Survivor: Fiji, was filmed in the Fiji Islands. But it raises the question as to what this season will bring to the table as the series goes back to the islands. Since filming on Season 41 of Survivor is still going on without a hitch, fans can likely still expect the series to finally return this fall, reclaiming its Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET spot on CBS, followed by Tough As Nails and then CSI: Vegas.
