The Survivor Season 42 Finale has arrived! On Wednesday, May 25, CBS will broadcast the annual three-hour extravaganza. Marian Okage, Jonathan Young, Romeo Escobar, Mike Turner, and Lindsay Dorashevich will compete for a $1 million prize in this episode.
Survivor host Jeff Probst tells TV Insider what to anticipate in the season’s finale and how he thinks about the season, which features one of the show’s funniest episodes in recent memory. The shortened format is one of the reasons it’s so intriguing.
Because of the COVID-19 outbreak, Survivor had to cut the season short in Seasons 41 and 42, resulting in 26-day games. While the shorter game is a significant departure from prior seasons, it ups the ante and refreshes the series for long-term fans. Survivors are no longer guaranteed food, and losing tribes are punished with large plot twist bonuses.
Here’s what Probst adores about Survivor Season 42’s “contemporary” contestants – and why the condensed Survivor format is here to stay.
We rarely see players getting excited about their eliminations. Hai, Drea, and Omar were all knocked out by some really great strategic moves, so it makes sense that they liked the survivor’s reaction. Do you remember another season when the players were so excited about the game and how it made you feel to see those happy moments?
Jeff Probst: I’m glad you asked this question because it highlights one of the most exciting things I’ve noticed about modern Survivor players. Survivor players today are able to attack the game and plot devastating blinds while showing respect for the players they voted for. In other words, it’s not personal. And because it is not a personal attack, it also tells the unselected players not to use the blind spot as a personal attack. Blame the game!
Don’t get me wrong, no one wants to be voted out, but I think we seem to have gotten to the point where players really understand that survivors have a lot to offer, which is pretty cool: a great life adventure with a chance to embrace physical and emotional and the chance to play an exciting socio-political game. You can experience it all and respect your competitors after the fact.
Romeo Escobar, Jonathon Young, Mike Turner, Lindsay Dolashewich and Maryanne Oketch and the Survivor Season 42 Finale
Robert Watts/CBS Entertainment
Drea and Maryanne used their idols after Rocksroy and Chanelle were eliminated, and Drea and Maryanne say previous seasons have shown a pattern of black players being eliminated one by one. The most interesting thing about this tribe is that due to the filming schedule, they have no idea what just happened in season 41, Shan, Leanna, Danny, and Deshaun. Are you thinking about Survivor season 41 at that moment?
This is another good question. Yes, I have thought about it. Drea and Maryanne deal with situations that are obviously different from the players in Survivor 41, but culturally the same. This is a very clear reflection of what we are dealing with in society right now. It’s powerful, it moves and it hurts. But it is necessary and I am grateful to every player who was there for both seasons. I couldn’t be more proud to be with a group of people who handled both situations with such grace.
Jeff Probst says the game has been shortened after the winner of Survivor season 42 was leaked on Twitter.
