Longtime “Survivor” host and showrunner Jeff Probst has lifted the lid on a new twist in the reality series. While the show has traditionally offered a $1 million prize to winners, Probst explained that a new mechanic could double that.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Probst revealed that season 51 is bringing back the $1 million coin flip from season 50. This will allow one castaway to get the chance to flip a coin that doubles the final prize. It is essentially a twist that first debuted in “Beast Games” and was used in the special anniversary season earlier this year.
This time around, though, the coin flip won’t be a one-time use. Instead, if the chosen castaway doesn’t call the flip correctly, the prize money will then roll over into the next season. That’s a big difference to what happened in the 50th season, when the money simply disappeared.
All that means that future Sole Survivors could walk away with $2 million payday, a significant boost to their earnings.
‘Survivor 51’ Introduces a Million-Dollar Coin Flip
The revelation came in an interview where Probst was discussing the new Open Era of “Survivor.” During that discussion, he explained that the coin-flip featured during season 50 will be returning for the upcoming season.
However, he also went on to explain exactly what will be changing and how it will work this time around. “So we took an idea from 50, this idea of a million dollar coin flip,” Probst explained. “We said, ‘What if we put that in the show every season? And every season, one player gets to flip a coin, and if you call it correctly, we’ll add a million dollars to the pot for that season.'”
He added, “Then we put a twist on it. Same rules as 50 with one difference. If you call it incorrectly, you as a coin flipper are out, that million dollars rolls into the next season of Survivor. So in Survivor 51, at some point, a player’s going to flip a coin for a million dollars.”
Probst continued, “If they land it, the prize pool will be $2 million for 51. If they don’t land it, that million dollars will go into Survivor 52 and somebody will flip a $2 million coin making the prize money $3 million. And if that doesn’t land, it’ll go into 53. It will go until it pays off and then it’ll start again.
I think it’s the most innovative twist in prize money in the history of unscripted television, because that million dollars is a living, breathing thing. And the question is, where is it going to land and how many of them will there be when it does land?
The “Survivor” host went on to call the twist “the most innovative twist in prize money” that he’s ever seen in unscripted television. He went on to describe the additional $1 million as a “living, breathing thing.”
Jeff Probst Says ‘Survivor’ Is Exploiting Its History
Season 51 of “Survivor” is operating as a new era of the show. This follows on from the landmark 50th season, where viewers were able to influence the game. That’s led to Probst warning the new cast that they won’t be able to rely on recent seasons to predict how the show will pan out.
That’s because the producers have taken a new approach to how they use mechanics such as advantages, idols, and twists. “One of the things of the Open Era is you can take any idea you’ve ever done and put it back into the show,” Probst explained.
Old concepts can also be brought back with an entirely new wrinkle, which is exactly what’s happening with the coin flip.
