Jeff Probst celebrates ‘Survivor’ returning to Emmy lineup after 17 long years: ‘I honestly thought it was over’

Tuesday night at a CBS-sponsored “Survivor” event at NeueHouse Hollywood, Jeff Probst surprised superfans when he appeared following a special screening of the 12th episode of Season 45, titled “The Ex-Girlfriend at the Wedding.” He handed out orange “Survivor 45” Buffs to those in attendance and answered several of their burning questions. Being that Gold Derby covers the awards beat, I just had to ask the longtime host and producer what he thought of the show’s recent Best Competition Program Emmy nomination after 17 long years of snubs.

“I don’t know what happened with the Emmys, honestly,” Probst conceded. “I won Best Host four years in a row and was never nominated again. It was like the switch just turned off. At first, your feelings are hurt a little bit because you look at the other shows and of course you’re biased, it’s the show that you work on. But then after time goes on, you realize, well, there are a lot of shows. I mean, we’re just one of them.”

More from GoldDerby

• Drew Basile ('Survivor 45' exit interview): 'It's a deeply ambiguous experience that breaks you down'

• Keyshia Cole ('The Masked Singer' Candelabra) unmasked interview: 'I lost to a donut!'

• John Oates ('The Masked Singer' Anteater) unmasked interview: This is 'one of the best things I've ever done' in my career

SEEYam Yam, Carolyn and Carson (‘Survivor 44’) reunite to talk Tika, celebrate Emmys: ‘Vote for us!’ [Exclusive Video Interview]

He continued on, “Honestly, totally forgot about [the Emmys]. Never, ever thought we would even be invited to the Emmys again. I’m not kidding — never thought about it. And I would say to CBS often, don’t spend money on an Emmy campaign. Just give it to us, let us put it in the show, let’s make a cooler reward. We don’t need Emmy recognition. It’s great to get — I’m not discounting it. But I’m just saying, I honestly thought it was over.”

Probst had “no idea” how “Survivor” got nominated this year after nearly two decades out of being left out of the lineup. “It’s a vacuum,” he admitted. “But we’re gonna go to the Emmys and we’re gonna have something ready to say if we win. And if we don’t, we’re gonna go, oh, that doesn’t matter, we’re gonna do the thing everybody does.”

“Survivor” was nominated for the 2022-23 television season, in which Season 43 (winner Mike Gabler) and Season 44 (winner Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho) both aired. Its co-nominees this year in the Best Competition Program race are “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” “The Amazing Race,” “Top Chef” and “The Voice.” Find out who wins when the Emmy ceremony airs January 15, 2024 on Fox.

SEE exclusive predictions: Who will win ‘Survivor’?

Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs on CBS. You’ll compete to win eternal bragging rights and a spot on our “Survivor 45” leaderboard. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Best of GoldDerby

• 'Survivor 45' winner predictions: Dee Valladares dominates odds to win [UPDATED DECEMBER 13]

• Who's performing on 'The Masked Singer' tonight? December 13 lineup features Group C finalists... [PHOTOS]

• 'The Voice' winner predictions: Huntley overtakes Ruby Leigh in odds to win Season 24

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.