It’s almost hard to believe it, but Survivor has been on the air for over two decades. CBS’ reality competition series helped change the TV industry forever, and it’s still going strong with two new seasons per year. Season 45 is about to begin, and the community has been reminiscing about the years gone by. Case in point: Survivor used to ban Canadians, but here’s why Jeff Probst says the rule change has been a good addition.
For many years the flagship Survivor series only permitted Americans to compete for the title of Sole Survivor. But that was abandoned, and the game has already been shaken up; the first Canadian came a few years ago with Erika Casupanan. Host and producer Jeff Probst spoke to ET about this rule changing, saying:
I think Canadians have been doing well on Survivor for one reason — they had to wait so long to play. It’s kind of like a second-chance season. They’ve just been waiting for years and years and years, and so they come out of the gate and they play. It’s the one thing that we constantly tell players: you have to play to win. Canadians come to have fun and play to win.
There you have it. It sounds like Canadian Survivor contestants are generally more eager to be there, since casting has only recently opened up for our neighbors to the north. And according to Jeff’s observations, they play harder as a result. And who doesn’t want to see aggressive castaways on the show?
Survivor banned Canadian contestants for the show’s first whopping 38 seasons on the air. The first Canadian castaway was Season 39’s Tom Laidlaw, who finished in 16th place. Since then a number of other cast members have come from up north, including one winner.
Later in that same conversation with ET, Jeff Probst offered his thoughts about why having Canadian castaways is ultimately a boon to the long-running show. On top of playing hard, they also seem to have fun on the island. In his words:
The other thing about Canadians, they’re very likable. You do root for them and it just seems to be an approach to life: they’re fun and they take the game seriously, but they’re also able to have fun inside of that.
Casting has changed quite a bit over the last few years of the beloved series. Survivor casts are far more inclusive and diverse, which has been a welcomed change for longtime fans. Last season got nominated for an Emmy, with fans giving Carolyn credit for bringing such a unique energy to the show. And with Survivor 45’s episodes being 90 minutes, it gives more opportunity for the cast to shine.
Survivor airs new episodes Wednesdays on CBS. Be sure to check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.