Survivor: Blood vs. Water's format twist has been confirmed by CBS.
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The network has confirmed online rumors that this fall's 27th Survivor edition will feature returning Survivor castaways competing against family members and loved ones.
CBS disclosed Survivor: Blood vs. Water's twist during a Wednesday morning press conference in which network executives announced and discussed its 2013-2014 primetime schedule.
Survivor: Blood vs. Water, which will begin filming in the Philippines shortly, will feature "the return of great characters and their relatives," CBS president Nina Tassler told reporters, E! News reported.
Survivor's fall edition will remain in the show's current time period and air Wednesdays at 8PM ET/PT.
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CBS had announced Survivor: Blood vs. Water during Sunday night's live reunion show for Survivor: Caramoan -- Fans vs. Favorites but declined to reveal the season's format.
"That was it, that's all you get!" Survivor host Jeff Probst said after viewers were shown a brief teaser video in which blood was dropped into water and followed by a Survivor: Blood vs. Water logo.
"But I can tell you this, we're very pumped about it. We think it's going to bring another little twist to an already great game and we will share it with you in September."
Newly-crowned Survivor: Caramoan -- Fans vs. Favorites winner and diehard Survivor fan John Cochran had shared his thoughts about the format twist -- which has already generated strong reactions, both positive and negative, from viewers online -- in an exclusive interview with Reality TV World on Monday
"I think it has the potential to be either unbelievably dysfunctional and like a train wreck or to be something pretty incredible. And either one, I mean, a train wreck is pretty great too, so either way it could be great. I'm sure, assuming it is a family thing, you have to imagine they're just dying for the opportunity to vote off their loved one," he told Reality TV World.
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"I mean, can you imagine? That's like television history stuff, like a father going to his daughter and telling her that they're going to vote her off. I'm salivating at the thought of it. On the returning player thing, am I completely bummed that they're bringing them back all the time? I don't know. Obviously I was a beneficiary of one of those over-use of returning players, so I'm not going to be one to bash it."
"But I do think that the family thing could be good. What's going to matter -- what's going to be big is whether they can cast family members that independently want to play the game. Like if I played the game with my 64-year-old mother, and I was voted off before she was, she would have no desire to continue playing. She'd want to quit immediately. They're going to have to make sure they're going to get a bunch of people that, even if their loved one is gone, they're going to want to keep playing."
About The Author: Steven Rogers