Jeff Probst Talks the 'Survivor 44' Premiere and Announces the First "New Era" Returnee

The host and executive producer also gets into the unprecedented medevac and removal, as well as the new twists.

When asked last fall about the chance of a returnee player season, Survivor host and executive producer Jeff Probst told Parade.com, "I know there are so many former players who want to play again, and I truly ache for them because I know they feel it's out of their control. All I can say is that we have no idea where the future will lead us. We are doing the same thing we say to the players…staying open and adapting every day."

Well, whenever that day comes that castaways return, we know at least one person who will be coming back. Probst made the announcement on "On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast," a new Survivor companion podcast led by the Emmy winner. As part of the opening episode's many segments, he talked with Bruce Perrault, who only lasted 12 hours in the game after getting a head wound during the opening challenge. Despite being okay to finish out the challenge, Bruce's condition worsened that night, leading him to be pulled from the game.

Probst conducted an interview with Bruce in the middle of the podcast, where the insurance agent spoke about what he experienced (and specifically remembered) on the day of, how he looks back on the experience, and how he is already waiting for a second chance. And as the podcast segued back to its regular panel of him, Survivor producer Brittany Crapper, and award-winning podcast producer Jay Wolff, Probst used his invigoration from talking about Bruce and the way he went out to make a big announcement.

"In the spirit of what Survivor is all about,"  he said, "getting up off the couch, leaving your ordinary world behind, your family, your friends, left to fend for yourself in the jungle, and say yes to adventure. I don't think Bruce got his fair share of Survivor. So here's the announcement. We are officially inviting Bruce to play Survivor again. It just felt like the right call. We don't have a season yet. There's lots to coordinate. He's got to leave his job again. But it's an open invitation. So hopefully, we'll get Bruce back out on that island."

Related: Everything to Know About Survivor 44

Earlier in the podcast, Probst spoke about his experience stopping the challenge in those opening minutes, as medical tended to Bruce. "At that point, everything changes," he says, "because medical is now in charge. I think there's a misunderstanding sometimes that I'm involved in whether a player stays or goes. I have no say; medical is in charge. The only thing they agree to is that if the person is not in imminent danger, life or death, then they can stay. But they'll monitor them, which is what happened with Bruce.

Indeed, after some examinations, the medical team deemed Bruce fit to continue. And he seemed right as rain until night fell. Suddenly his head was pounding, and he could barely keep his eyes open. And after yet another visit by the medical team and Probst, they had to make the tough decision to pull him for further examination. It was the most extreme of the surprisingly numerous medical incidents that happened in the two-hour premiere, including Matthew Grinstead-Mayle dislocating his shoulder after tumbling from a rock, as well as Brandon Cottom nearly passing out from heat exhaustion during the Immunity Challenge.

"Anytime you get a phone call at 10 p.m, it's usually not good," Probst recalls, "And so we all knew. We had been anticipating it. We get out there, and it's clear that this journey is ending for this person who's sacrificed so much to get out there. I mean, I met Bruce before the pandemic. He's been in our casting process for a long time. He left his wife; he left his kids; he left his job. It's heartbreaking."

The first segment of "On Fire" also covered a couple of the twists and changes introduced in the premiere. First and foremost: The birdcage. The set piece was waiting for the castaways to arrive when they to camp, with an alluring bag kept under lock and key. Brandon and the Ratu tribe found the key and were the first to discover what was inside the birdcage: Not only an idol, but a medallion that could also be a credible fake idol in a pinch.

"It hits at the very heart of any twist or advantages in the game," Probst explains about the idea, which was the creation of producer Jimmy Quigley. "And that's to force players to adapt, and then we get to see what they do. That's the human behavior. And then the central question becomes public versus private. That's the big change we're now saying to everybody. You all know there's a cage out there. The question is, what's in it and how you're going to deal with it?"

"I wanted the audience to feel everything that the players felt when they first saw it," says Crapper, who was also a supervising producer for the premiere. "So imagine you're in this game, and you're walking up and seeing that cage, and you're like, "Oh, my goodness, what is this thing? What's going to happen?" You're excited, but you're nervous. There's intrigue and mystery and all that. So I just wanted the audience to watch it and feel all those same things."

Related: Meet the Full Cast of Survivor 44

Survivor 44 even twisted up conventions that were introduced only a few seasons ago. As is typical in a "new era" premiere, one person from each tribe went to a "summit" where they were faced with a chance to get an advantage. Previously, players could choose to risk their vote for the possibility of acquiring something. This time, however, that choice was removed. The players were forced into a random draw between the advantage and losing their vote, with the decision coming from whether they would continue to draw and risk possibly losing their vote yet again.

"Even five years ago, we wouldn't risk the vote ever," Probst ruminates. "Because the vote is your one sacred thing. And then, one day, you wake up and go, 'Wait a minute. It's sacred. That's why you have to risk it.' So it's another evolution. One of the fundamental building blocks of the new era was this is going to be a riskier game and more dangerous game. And now you're seeing that the minute you said yes to the journey, you didn't realize your vote was in peril.

The rest of the podcast got into more generalized talk about the process of making Survivor. This week's topic was around the pregame, from planning and designing a season down to the timeline of arriving in Fiji to shoot. Next week's topic focuses on idols and advantages, which is pertinent given both the number of new advantages that showed up in the summit and the chaotic series of events that unfolded at the premiere's Tribal Council, which sent Maddy Pomilla home with only one vote.

Survivor 44 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Episodes of "On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast" immediately drop following the episode, and are available in your podcatcher of choice.

Next, check out our Survivor 44 preseason interview with Jeff Probst.