Survivor 47 episode 14 (finale): Jeff Probst on format change
Heading into next week’s Survivor 47 finale, there is one thing that is clearly different — let’s just say it comes down to format.
Remember that for the near-entirety of the series’ run, we have seen seasons of the reality TV staple end with these big, dramatic three-hour events. Yet, this time around things were shifted over to two weeks of two-hour episodes, a way for the network to get a little more burn out of a series that is commercially successful for them.
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Just in case you needed more confirmation that this was a network and not a production choice (which does feel like a given), why not hear it from host and executive producer Jeff Probst himself? In the latest edition of his On Fire podcast (per Entertainment Weekly), he spells out why this move made sense:
“It really started with CBS asking us months before we shot [the season] if it would be possible for season 47 to do 14 episodes instead of 13 … They had some things they wanted to try in their schedule, and part of that working out would depend on whether or not we could do 14 episodes. So [executive producer Matt Van Wagenen] and I sat down and broke the finale down into parts and examined if and how we could pull it off.”
We honestly do think that this was a good move, mostly because the three-hour finale events were often a lot to digest and some game-moves tended to fall by the wayside. Here, the Tribal Councils have more time to breathe, but we also admit that it is easier when you have interesting gameplay — which is precisely what we are getting so far this season.
What do you most want to see moving into the Survivor 47 finale?
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