In an era where many parts of culture seems packaged and carefully manicured, Wednesday provided a reminder of the magic of live television — because every now and then, you get an amazing mistake.
Jeff Probst has hosted the CBS reality show “Survivor” for decades, including its live finales — and Wednesday night’s was perhaps the biggest yet, as it concluded the series’ milestone 50th season. So imagine the shock of viewers — both the live studio audience and those watching at home — when he unwittingly spoiled the results of a competition that hadn’t aired yet. This resulted in gasps from the audience — and a very confused Probst.
If you didn’t watch it live, or have never heard of Jeff Probst, allow us to bring you on a journey to Television Blunderland.
What is “Survivor?”
“Survivor,” which premiered in 2000, is a pioneering reality show in which a group of strangers get sent to a remote location (since 2016, it’s been shot exclusively in Fiji). They are separated into teams and compete against each other for rewards and immunity from elimination, all while battling the elements to, uh, survive. As contestants are voted off each week by their fellow survivors, they then compete individually to — once again — survive, and advance. Enemies become friends and vice versa, and one winner gets a big pile of money.
So what happened in the finale, exactly?
The finale was a combination of segments that taped in Fiji last year and a live element. The final four remaining contestants were Aubry Bracco, Rizo Velovic, Joe Hunter and Jonathan Young. Bracco, by winning a challenge during the taped Fiji portion, had earned herself a spot in the final three and selected Hunter to join her. This meant Young and Velovic had to compete in a fire-making competition, also in the taped Fiji portion, to make the final three.
The awkwardness started when Probst brought Velovic out on camera during a cut back to the live show.
“Rizo, you’ve become the final member of our jury. Take a spot over here. This is it,” Probst said, pointing Velovic toward chairs where other eliminated contestants were sitting. “These are the people — their games fell a little short but this is the group that is going to figure out.”
The gasp from the audience was palpable, baffling Probst.
“What just happened?” Probst said.
The eliminated contestants let Probst know that the fire-making segment hadn’t aired yet — and that the audience hadn’t seen Velovic lose the competition.
“I’m not even sure what’s happened, but up next we’re going to have one final surprise for the players,” Probst threw to a commercial break.
Is that funny?
Yes, that’s very funny.
How did Probst react once he realized what he had done?
During the break, Probst could be seen asking the audience what the issue was, according to video posted on social media.
“What did happen? Did we show the wrong — so I came out too soon?” Probst said, before turning around. But Probst, in his 27th year of hosting the show, remained a true professional. After the break ended, he told the cameras:
“I love doing live television. So in case you’re confused, this is what happened. We were going to show you fire making and then have the loser of fire making — Rizo — come out and talk about how charming he is and if he had practiced fire making, maybe he would have fun. Instead, we did a ‘Survivor’ twist. It’s the last twist of the season. We called it a ‘Peek Into The Future.’ so now we’re going to watch Rizo lose in fire to Jonathan. Roll it!”
The studio audience roared with laughter. And so did America. Balance was restored.
On Thursday morning, Probst sat down with “CBS This Morning” to further explain what happened. Probst said that as the pretaped segments aired, he was backstage preparing for live interviews with contestants. Because of that, he wasn’t able to watch what had aired.
It wasn’t until he was speaking with Velovic that he recognized the energy of the studio audience began to shift.
“So what happened? I’m still not sure,” Probst said on Thursday. “You know, we have a big team, mistakes happen, but we just got ahead of ourselves. And none of us saw it, but Rizo even told me later. He goes, ‘I was standing next to you going, I don’t know why he’s going to send me over to the jury. I haven’t even lost yet, so.’”
Probst added later, “What else can you do? That’s why live is fun!” It sure is.
Has this ever happened before?
Yes! You may remember that in 2015, Steve Harvey crowned the wrong Miss Universe. Or at the 2017 Academy Awards, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway accidentally awarded Best Picture to “La La Land” instead of “Moonlight,” though it wasn’t their fault.
Even fully taped shows like the Great British Bake Off aren’t immune: the longtime host Prue Leith congratulated a winner in 2017 hours before the show aired.
So let’s raise a glass to live television, and the unpredictable moments it brings us.
Sopan Deb is a Times reporter covering breaking news and culture.
The post How Jeff Probst Spoiled Part of the ‘Survivor’ Finale appeared first on New York Times.
