Survivor to pre-tape reunion show due to sensitivity and security concerns
Survivor always ends its season with a live reunion show. However, this season the reunion will be a little less live than normal. While Survivor’s three-hour finale and reunion shows usually take place live from CBS Television City in Los Angeles from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. PT to concur with the East Coast airing of the program, the Dec. 18 Survivor: Island of the Idols season-ender will actually go “live-to-tape” from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. PT, four hours earlier than normal, and then air back on TV later in the evening.
A source close to the situation tells EW that the change was made due to the sensitive nature of the material this season — which involved complaints of inappropriate touching from contestant Kellee Kim toward Dan Spilo, along with other players then exaggerating their own reactions to Dan’s touching as a strategic maneuver in the game — as well as security concerns for the contestants and to make sure the players feel as comfortable and safe as possible while discussing what happened out on the island.
As in past seasons, the show will take place in front of an audience and still plans to start with a “live” introduction, have periodic look-ins during the finale, and then a reunion/cast discussion after a winner is crowned. While the program will not be airing live with its the usual 10-second delay, the expectation is that it will still appear in its entirety without any edits, much like the way all the network late-night talks shows go live-to-tape a few hours before air.
The Survivor: Island of the Idols finale and reunion will air Dec. 18 from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on CBS.
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