Jeff Probst had no idea “Survivor 48 ”was a much older cast

Survivor used to have a mandate when it came to casting their seasons. And that mandate involved putting lots and lots of people in their twenties on the island. Sure, there might be one greybeard or “mom” figure on a tribe, but the casts were for the most part young guns and gals ready to do battle and perhaps engage in a showmance or two along the way. 14 out of the 20 contestants of 2018’s Ghost Island season were under the age of 30 (including one teenager in the form of 18-year-old Micheal Yerger).

Even in the new era that began in 2021, Survivor has continued to trend young.  For seasons 41 through 47, an average of nine players per season (rounded up from 8.7) out of 18 have been under the age of 30. That includes Survivor 45, which featured 11 out of 18 contestants being under the age of 30. All of which makes the cast of Survivor 48 so striking.

Out of the 18 competitors currently vying for the million dollars on the sandy shores of Fiji, only three are under the age of 30. And of those three, Justin Pioppi (29) and Star Toomey (28) both are on the high end of the decade, while the youngest member of the cast (Eva Erickson) is not even all that young at the age of 24.

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Clearly, host and showrunner Jeff Probst gave a directive for the show to age up for season 48, right? Wrong. In fact, when we asked Probst if he had any idea that the Survivor 48 cast was so much older, the answer was a resounding “No” — complete with a dropped jaw when informed of the statistics.

“You're blowing my mind,” says Probst. “This is the absolute truth: I don't pay much attention to any of that anymore. I know Jesse Tannenbaum does”

That would be Survivor’s casting director. As for Probst, the host just wants 18 people he finds interesting on the cast — regardless of age — so no longer gets into the weeds on things like that, and leaves it to Tannenbaum to sort through those variables. “He's always big picture saying, ‘We have a pretty good mix,” Probst explains. “I only care about one thing: Do I think you can win, and do I think you'd be a likable winner? You don't have to be both of those and you don't have to be either of those, but that’s the question I'm asking myself. If I don't think you can win, then the question becomes: Why are you on the show? What puzzle piece do you fit? I clearly could be wrong about who could win. And if I do think you can win, would I be happy to see you win? Are you a likable winner? Those are really the questions.”

Related: Survivor 48 premiere recap: Everything you didn't see on TV

For Probst, the keys to determining that answer lie in a simple conversation. “The big one for me is always: Do I want to talk to you at Tribal,” Probst says. "And people during casting, I can see them working so hard to try and make it feel like you're somebody I'd want to engage with. And I try to say to everyone: Please don't try to be someone you're not. That's not what I'm looking for. I'm not looking for glib or Drew Basile's intellect. I'm looking for you. I just want to know you. Would I like to talk to you?”

With those determinations being made, things like age have become less of a concern. “So when you give me that stat, I'm laughing,” says Probst… well, laughing. “Because I would fail if this were a Survivor trivia game. I don't even know where people are from half the time! And you might think that's lazy on my part, but I've realized what matters to me — this is just me, I'm one vote; we have a lots of people who have votes, but that's my one vote — is do I want to see you on the show? Do I want to talk to your Tribal? Do I think you can win, and if you win, would you be a likable winner?”

But how might an older cast change the trajectory of what we see on the screen? For example, does having more seasoned players who might already be in committed relationships mean less showmances? “Showmances are never on my radar,” the host says. “I think the biggest difference you get with age and maturity is I think you're a little more thoughtful and a little more complex in your thinking. It's not a criticism of a younger player, they're just younger in life.”

Related: Survivor 48 star Stephanie Berger is not rooting for Vula after that Tribal Council

Probst continues the comparison: “What you often get with the younger player that's fun is a fast reaction, more of a trigger. They're more likely to shoot from the hip. And so you want a balance of that because you want the young energy that says, ‘I came out here to make a name for myself on Survivor.’ And you also want the 50-year-old who says, ‘I'm going to count to 10 before I tell that youngster what I'm really thinking.’ And that's the merge that can kind of work.”

And anyone, regardless of age, can either go early and last long. “As you've seen over 47 seasons, any type of person can win Survivor,” Probst notes “Age, ethnicity, sexuality, physical abilities, IQ, all of it. We've had every type of winner. So it really ultimately doesn't matter that much, but I think you're really picking up on something which is a fun study of how does it change a season, and can you even quantify it? Could you find a way to run that study and get an answer?”

That sounds like a challenge.

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