The Host with the Most: Jeff Probst of ‘Survivor’

There are many factors in Survivor that make it one of the best television shows – not just reality shows – on the air. One of the biggest is its host, Jeff Probst. And now Probst is getting the highest honor we can bestow upon him – induction into the Reality TV Hall of Fame.

When Survivor first aired, I was annoyed with Probst. I thought that he should have just been narrating, but instead he was asking probing questions at Tribal Council – pushing Rich Hatch and the others about whether there was an alliance. I thought that was none of his concern and he shouldn’t have been even bringing up the point. Later, however, I realized that what we see of Tribal Council is definitely not all there is. As Probst told me in an interview just as All-Stars was beginning, he doesn’t really know much more than the basics about what’s going on at camp. He said that he prefers not to know so he can just ask his questions and see where they lead, “like an investigation or group therapy.” He added, “It’s amazing what you can discover by asking very broad, general questions.” His job, therefore, is to root out what is going on and see how he can get people to talk about it, avoid it, or otherwise react to it. He creates more drama.

But Probst’s role goes beyond that. He gets to know the contestants, their weak spots, their strong points. Anybody can say, “The tribe has spoken,” but Probst asks the tough questions and says what needs to be said. And he does it without seeming to be mean, which is a talent in itself.

He has had so many great moments that it would be hard to narrow them down to just a few. Remember when he told Robb on Thailand that they weren’t kicking the other tribe’s asses? Enticing Heidi and Jenna to get naked for chocolate and peanut butter? Dropping the bomb on Shii Ann and the others that there actually had not been a merge? Sending Osten home and laying down his torch?

If there was any doubt about Jeff Probst’s abilities as a host, they were completely eliminated when he took over hosting the reunion show. He asked the questions that fans wanted to know about. And he was there, so he knew exactly what the main topics were. Indeed, it has been suggested that even if Probst himself weren’t being inducted into the Hall of Fame, the idea to replace the inane babblers with him for the reunion show could itself have qualified as a Hall of Fame Moment!

And Probst has never been afraid to let his feelings show when necessary. He was obviously annoyed at the behavior of Jonny Fairplay during his drunken Tribal Council. He was direct in questioning Jerri at the special America’s Tribal Council episode, going right to the heart of the matter regarding her having walked out of the reunion, her saying she was mad at him, and apparently her also saying the only reason she was there was due to contractual obligations. He was not going to sit back and just let her make her case without also giving the other side. And it wasn’t just Jerri, either. When Jon, in the audience, made a snide comment, Probst shot back that he was obviously still upset about being left off of All-Stars, a comment that left Jon almost speechless.

When Probst interacts with the players during the game, he acknowledges the difficult challenges that they face, but he doesn’t give them an easy out. For example, when the contestants of the second series, in Australia, ran out of food, Probst handled the situation well in making a trade. Of course, the trade was certainly approved by the producers, but it was the way that Probst handled it that made it so dramatic – especially when he chastised them for not taking better care of their food to begin with.

Similarly, he recognizes the mental stress they are going through. He handled Sue Hawk’s outburst in All-Stars incredibly well, by giving her the dignity she deserved but without allowing that to color everything else that was going on.

In addition to his interactions with the contestants, another area where Jeff Probst excels is in the way he conducts the rituals that Mark Burnett has said are so important to his shows. He creates the gravity of the situations like Tribal Council and voting, and even items like the immunity idol. The repeated tallying of votes, torch-snuffing, and the like could come off as silly in lesser hands, but he makes it seem important.

When we look at other reality TV hosts, they simply do not compare. Many people love Phil on The Amazing Race, but he is really mostly a narrator. Ryan Seacrest on American Idol can fake any emotion – but it’s difficult to take him seriously. And the various dating shows each have their own hosts, often leading the viewer to wonder what the point is (indeed, a couple of the shows eliminated the hosts altogether in later seasons). There can be no doubt – Jeff Probst is the best at what he does.

Could Survivor continue to survive without Jeff Probst? Yes, it could. But it just wouldn’t be the same. Probst is the host with the most, and he fully deserves this Reality TV Hall of Fame induction.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of the Reality TV Hall of Fame, and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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