Survivor heads back into production in Fiji to shoot season 41

Missed all the outwitting, outplaying, and outlasting action and drama of Survivor?

The grandfather of all reality TV shows, which first premiered in 1997, has managed to overcome multiple hurdles in its historic run, but the COVID-19 pandemic halted their regular production schedule last year. The good news for Survivor fans is that season 41 is finally underway again.

Host and executive producer Jeff Probst took to social media to announce that the castaways and crew would be heading back to Fiji, one of the show’s favorite filming locations, to start shooting again after a year of being off the air.

“Fiji has invited us back to their beautiful country to shoot season 41. We have all of our Covid protocols in place so that everybody in Fiji will remain safe, all of our crew will be safe and of course our players will be safe,” Probst said in a video posted to social media.

At least nine seasons of the long-running series have been previously filmed in Fiji including Season 14 (Survivor: Fiji), Season 33 (Millennials vs. Gen X), and most recently Season 40 (Winners at War). 

“I can’t remember a time when I’ve been this pumped to shoot Survivor. The past year has reminded me and I hope it’s reminded you that you got to live your life like it’s one big great adventure and Survivor fulfils that so I am thrilled to say I will see you on the island for Survivor 41. Let’s do it,” he added.

I am thrilled to tell you all that @survivorcbs is going back into production and I will see you on the island for #Survivor 41! @CBS pic.twitter.com/RtQGVFoDDL

— Jeff Probst (@JeffProbst) March 22, 2021

The latest season of the reality competition series airing on CBS was postponed in March 2020, on the day that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. 

Survivor has been off the air since the finale of its 40th season, Winners at War, on May 13, 2020. The last season crowned Cagayan veteran castaway Tony Vlachos as the series’ second two-time winner. The 40th season brought back 20 of the show’s most legendary and cunning winners for an all-out battle royale in honor of the show’s 20th anniversary.

The Survivor team originally hoped to get back into production in May 2020 for a fall premiere but various challenges brought about by COVID-19 hindered international travel and caused delays in production schedules.

Last May, CBS Entertainment President Kelly Kahl told Deadline, “In terms of Survivor and The Amazing Race, we’ll get those into production as soon as we can safely get back into production. That’s going to be a little more complicated because we literally have to navigate some international waters.”

Survivor is executive produced by Probst, Mark Burnett and Matt VanWagenen. Filming for Season 42 is also scheduled to begin after a brief hiatus upon completion of Season 41, which will begin airing on CBS in September 2021.

(Images via @SurvivorCBS)