Jeff Probst talks possible Survivor international 'showdown' season

Over the summer, CBS aired an edition of The Challenge featuring familiar faces from other CBS reality shows Survivor, Big Brother, Love Island, and The Amazing Race. Titled The Challenge: USA, the season not only had network reality stars facing off against each other, but also acted as a feeder competition in that the winners of the USA edition would then compete against international versions of the show on something called The Challenge: Global Championship. Those winners turned out to be Survivor alums Danny McCray and Sarah Lacina, the latter of which was also the champion of Survivor: Game Changers.

With The Challenge going global and pitting players from an American edition against international ones, one can't help wonder if CBS/Paramount would ever stage a similar battle for its most high-profile reality competition series — Survivor.

Not only is Survivor still going strong in its 43rd season, but it has spawned several successful international editions along the way. The most popular edition has been Australian Survivor, which aired two seasons in the early 2000s before rebooting in 2016 with host Jonathan LaPaglia. The series has gained recognition for magnetic casting (including Luke Toki, Shonee Fairfax, and David Genet, just to name a few) and brutally physical challenges. It's 10th season, titled Heroes V Villains, is scheduled to air in 2023.

Nigel Wright; Lisa Skinner; TVNZ 2 Shonee Fairfax ('Australian Survivor'); Episode 13 Werner Joubert ('Survivor South Africa'); Lisa Holmes (Survivor NZ)

But another international entry has also been coming on strong of late. Survivor South Africa has been on a tear ever since it returned in 2018 with its sixth season, Survivor South Africa: Philippines, featuring fan favorites like Palesa Tau, Toni Tebbutt, and Werner Joubert. The most recent installment, this summer's Return of the Outcasts (which brought back popular players such as Chappies, Marian de Vos, and Dino Paulo), was another creative high point, even with the show risking (and somehow avoiding) overkill by airing four times a week.

While South Africa and Australia have the most celebrated of the current international editions, there have also been plenty of other noteworthy installments over the years, including New Zealand's Survivor NZ, which aired two seasons in 2017 and 2018. The point is, with so many other Survivor players out there outside of North America, why not stage a U.S. vs. The World season? And that's exactly what we asked host Jeff Probst.

"First off, I watched the premiere of The Challenge and really liked it," says Probst when we asked whether Survivor could follow suit with an international battle royal. "They do a great job producing that show, and it was fun to see so many familiar faces! And I could definitely take a note or two when it comes to how produce a host entrance. T.J. comes on like a rock star! Now that's how you do it!"

Robert Voets/CBS Jeff Probst on 'Survivor 43'

Alright, Jeff — enough stalling! "Okay back to your question," says the host and executive producer. "We have definitely considered some kind of international Survivor showdown, but we've never figured out a way to do it that we thought would be fun for our audience and still loyal to the format."

The fact that Probst and producers have even considered staging such a season should be music to the ears of fans who either enjoy the foreign editions or wish they had access to such installments. (A few seasons of Australian Survivor and Survivor South Africa were briefly available on Paramount+ before apparently having their proverbial torches snuffed by the streaming service.)

And while Probst says they have not quite figured out how to make the clash for global domination work, there are clear advantages to casting a season half-filled with international players. For one thing, you already have a deep pool of personalities that have proven to pop on screen and yet have not already been overexposed on these shores. It would also complete the foreign exchange program started when U.S. franchise stars Russell Hantz and Sandra Diaz-Twine went and competed over on Australian Survivor.

"Survivor is so much about the nuance of relationships, and with the language barriers that come with an international format, we're not yet convinced we know how to do it," Probst tells EW. But with so many quality contestants from English-language editions ready and waiting, here's hoping he finds a way.

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