Collectively, as a country, we just went through the longest Survivor drought we've had since 2001, but the good news is that it's almost over.
Sure, 2020 was weird for a lot of reasons, but the lack of one of our favorite, most reliably present reality shows was definitely one of them. Thanks to the pandemic, Survivor was not able to begin filming season 41 on time last year. It was one of the first major productions to announce a shutdown back on March 11, 2020, and CBS released a statement with plans to restart production on May 19, 2020. That obviously did not happen.
That meant that after the epic Winners At War concluded in May, we suddenly became Survivor-less. It was the first time in almost 20 years that we didn't have a new season premiering in the fall, followed by the first time in 20 years that we didn't have a new season premiering in the spring. But lucky for all of us, Survivor is on its way back.
Jeff Probst just announced in a new video that production on season 41 is finally underway.
"Fiji has invited us back to their beautiful country to shoot season 41," the host reveals. "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, who had to build a whole set in his garage to shoot the season 40 finale, could not look more thrilled to be back.
"I gotta tell ya, I can't remember a time when I've been this pumped to shoot Survivor, and I'll tell you why," he says. "The past year has reminded me—and I hope it's reminded you—that you gotta live your life like it's one big, great adventure, and Survivor fulfills that. So I am thrilled to say I will see you on the island for Survivor 41.
No cast list or premiere date has been announced yet, but at least we've officially got a new season on the horizon.
Survivor airs on CBS.