Jeff Probst wants fans to help design future Survivor challenges

On Fire: The Official Survivor Podcast featured a discussion about the latest challenge shown in Survivor 49 and the larger ideas behind how challenges were created.

Jeff Probst, Jay Wolff, and Jeremy Collins talked through the design of the episode’s challenge, how it connected to past versions, and what they learned from trying a new setup.

Probst also shared a wider plan about involving fans in future challenge design. He explained that he wanted an app where fans could combine elements from past tasks and suggest new formats.

The discussion linked to the expanded fan participation used for Season 50, when viewers selected parts of the game, such as tribe colors, the final Immunity Challenge, and the use of Final Four Firemaking.

The episode also revisited earlier moments when fans or outside contributors had created challenges for the show. These examples helped explain how fan input had appeared before and how it might work again. The podcast episode showed how production tested ideas, reviewed outcomes, and decided what to keep or change.

Reinventing a classic challenge in Survivor 49

Probst, Wolff, and Collins reviewed the challenge often called “A Bit Tipsy.” The original format used a moving platform where players stacked blocks to spell “IMMUNITY.” In the updated version, the blocks were placed on a disc that spun when players moved.

Probst said, “Even though we have classic challenges, if you can find a way to reinvent them that works, that’s great.”

He also noted that some ideas did not improve the task, saying, “We have failed a couple of times in that we have messed with a great challenge.”

The hosts discussed how this version changed player tactics. The original method required slow and steady movement.

The new version required players to keep the stack balanced while the disc rotated. Probst said he preferred the original, explaining, “I think I like the original better.”

The group talked about how some challenges made players slow down in ways production could not control.

They explained that testing was the only way to learn what worked. They agreed that trial and error was part of the process and that each season included ideas that succeeded and ideas that did not.

Fan input in Survivor’s past and future challenges

Probst talked about fan involvement and said he wanted an app that allowed viewers to build challenge ideas from existing parts. He explained, “I’d like to get more fan involvement about creating the design of the game.”

The hosts pointed to Season 50, when fan choices shaped several game elements. They discussed how this type of participation could have expanded. Probst also said, “Anybody can do it; there’s no secret to it,” noting that production wanted more voices in the creative process.

The podcast also reviewed earlier times when outside contributors had created challenges. In Survivor: Pearl Islands, a challenge called “What Do You Make Of This?” came from a 14-year-old viewer, Kylie Cusik.

Players had formed words from given letters within a time limit. The result required a rerun when a misspelling changed the outcome.

Another example came from Austin Russell, who designed an obstacle course at age 13 through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. His challenge used groups tethered together while moving through sections based on the four elements.

Russell later joined the “Dream Team” and helped run a version of his design in Season 43.

These examples showed how fan or outside input had appeared before and how it could have taken new forms in future seasons.
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