A lot has been said about the heat during the filming of “Survivor 49” on Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands. In August, longtime host Jeff Probst told Gold Derby that it was “one of the hottest seasons we’ve ever done. It’s like China hot. I’m sweating through my shirts, I’m having trouble remembering things.”
Considering some of the locations “Survivor” has filmed in, some wondered if all the talk about the heat wasn’t a bit of an exaggeration. Apparently, it wasn’t. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Probst explained what he asked editors not to do, so viewers would understand how much the heat was affecting everyone.
Scorching Heat Left Everyone on ‘Survivor’ Struggling
On the October 1 episode, many contestants struggled to put together coherent sentences at Tribal Council. While a lack of food and sleep may have contributed to the cause, it appears that the intense heat played a more significant role.
“I was struggling with names and thoughts,” he admitted. “And I’m eating and sleeping and, you know, fully supported out there.” To make it fully apparent how the extreme heat was affecting everyone, including himself, he asked the editors not to remove his slip-ups.
“I remember [executive producer] Matt Van Wagenen and I talking early on that, ‘Make sure the editors know to leave in every time I stumble with a name or every time I’m struggling to catch my breath.’”
“Because we want the evidence to be there that this is really difficult,” he added.
It makes sense. If Probst gets to eat what he wants, sleep somewhere comfortable, and have shelter. If he’s having trouble, imagine how the contestants are doing. Not to mention, requiring the tribes to earn their supplies in the New Era.
“When you take this kind of heat and then you put on top of it that if you lose, you will not have your tribe supplies — that makes it more difficult,” Probst said. “Which means you might lose again, which means you’re going to go back to Tribal Council and you’re going to vote somebody out. It just builds on top of everything.”
Kele Tribe’s Bad Luck Doesn’t Spell an Optimistic Future
The episode began with the Kele tribe struggling, which was keenly summed up in the scene showing Jeremiah trying to dig up worms to eat. So far, two players have been voted out on “Survivor 49,” and both have been from the Kele Tribe. The back-to-back eliminations have given the group an unfortunate nickname: the disaster tribe.
Robert Voets/CBSProspects involving Jeremiah, Jake, Sophi, or Alex winning the $1 million grand prize don’t look good. But hopefully the Kele Tribe can turn things around soon. The next episode of “Survivor 49” airs on October 8 at 8:00 pm ET/7:00 pm CT on CBS.
