Survivor host Jeff Probst has admitted the casting process for Season 50 was "heartbreaking" and more difficult than fans may believe.

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After CBS announced the Survivor 50 cast of 24 returning "iconic" players in May 2025, fans criticized the selection, while some former Survivor castaways lashed out, saying they deserved to participate but were rudely excluded.

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Jeff said he's aware that many former castaways are disappointed they won't be a part of the milestone season, but according to Survivor's longtime host, producers did the best they could.

Jeff told People that the casting department started with a list of 200 memorable players before narrowing it down to only 24 castaways.

"We did it one player at a time," Jeff explained while on location in Fiji for Survivor 50, which premieres Wednesday, February 25, 2026 with a special three-hour episode.

"I was just looking through my Season 50 notebook at the first stack of players, and it's crazy how many people we started with -- and we had a case for all of them."

Jeff acknowledged that CBS had to quickly cut the initial 200 names in half.

"And you just start putting people in the other pile going, 'Oh my God, this is heartbreaking.' Because I care," the host and showrunner recalled.

Although casting had to make some difficult decisions, Jeff said he feels "really good" about what Survivor ended up with.

The 24 veteran castaways are a representation of Survivor's long-standing history, as they've been plucked from Season 1 -- which had premiered in May 2000 -- all the way through Season 49, which just wrapped airing on CBS in December 2025.

The Survivor 50 cast includes two castaways who are returning for the fifth time -- Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth. And Survivor 49's dynamic duo, Savannah Louie and Rizo Velovic, will also be back.

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But many fans have been complaining about how a whopping 11 of the 24 castaways are from the past five seasons of Survivor, and five of those returning players are from Seasons 48 and 49.

Survivor's middle era also appears to have been neglected given there are no Season 50 castaways who originally competed on Seasons 19 through 31.

Amid the backlash, Jeff explained how young Survivor viewers "don't know" many of the old-school players like Stephenie LaGrossa and Colby Donaldson.

Instead, those fans are more familiar with players such as Season 46's Charlie Davis or Season 45's Dee Valladares.

"So that's our job too, is to always big picture it," Jeff noted.

"I'm really happy with this group, but if there was anything I could change, it would be just softening the blow for the people who didn't get on."

Survivor alum Jerri Manthey -- who played the game three times after making a splash on the second-season set in the Australian Outback -- was one of the people who didn't make the cut and publicly expressed her anger.

"I'm devastated... The outpouring of support and encouragement from everybody online has just been so helpful in helping me start the process of healing, but I'm not going to lie: I am p-ssed, I'm disappointed [and] I'm sad," Jerri said in an Instagram video in Spring 2025.

Jerri admitted the casting snub was "utter disrespect" because she had spent 25 years of her life involved in the Survivor community.

Jerri said it should've been "a no-brainer" to cast her on a season that will celebrate Survivor.

"I know what I've been through, and people who are old enough to have watched Season 2 when it was happening live, real time, understand what I've sacrificed and what I've given up in my life for that show," she vented.

Jerri got emotional during her rant and said she felt "unappreciated" because her stints on the show were "special and unique."

Jerri also blamed Survivor for robbing her of a potential "full-circle" edit and for making her feel "irrelevant" as a woman in her fifties.

"Personally, I am done watching it. I am not going to watch any of it anymore. I refuse to support a franchise that doesn't support and get behind its pivotal people," Jerri ranted.

"They get behind the men -- that they do! But when it comes to the women who are powerful and strong on Survivor, none of us have gotten properly supported and lifted up! And that is the real travesty here. It's obviously set up for a man to win."

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Ironically, however, Survivor 49 ended with three women arguing their case to the jury at the Final Tribal Council.

Jerri went on to complain about how Abi-Maria Gomes and Karla Cruz Godoy should've been invited back as well.

Fans were also disappointed to see Rob "Boston Rob" Mariano won't be competing for the $1 million again, but Rob confessed on Instagram that he actually didn't want to film another Survivor season.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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