Phil Keoghan, Julie Chen Moonves and Jeff Probst attend the CBS New Fall Schedule Celebration event to announce CBS’ 2024-2025 primetime lineup at Paramount Studios in Los Angeles on May 2, 2024. The primetime programming lineup of CBS Originals features three new dramas, two new comedies, a new alternative series, a reimagined classic game show, special event programming and 18 returning series. — Photo: Sonja Flemming/CBS
Reality TV has existed for decades, with endless shows coming and going, showcasing endurance challenges, the full spectrum of human emotions, and thousands of invested fans and critics who always clamour for more. However, three shows in particular have outlasted (pun intended) hundreds of others because of their organic premises, endless creativity, engaged fan bases, and extremely hardworking production teams, including their respective long-standing hosts.
I’m talking, of course, about Survivor,Big Brother, and The Amazing Race, all of which have been on the air for over twenty years. Each franchise has recently hit incredible milestones (Survivor just aired its 50th season earlier this year, with its 51st premiering next week, Big Brother just crossed the 1000th episode landmark, and The Amazing Race will air its 40th season next year), cementing their legacy in the reality TV history chronicles.
Each show’s host has become essential to its identity, with the same person for each leading every season since the beginning. Jeff Probst has hosted Survivor since it premiered in 2000, while both Phil Keoghan and Julie Chen Moonves have been the faces of The Amazing Race and Big Brother, respectively, since their debuts in 2001.
Recently, all three came together for an interview with TV Insider to discuss how reality TV has evolved over the last 26 years, with each host sharing their unique perspective based on decades of experience. They also shared their takes on how The Traitors is a juggernaut and a ratings rival when it comes to reality TV casting.
To start, they are asked what it is about their shows that captures all aspects of human nature. Keoghan commented on how, unlike the other two, in The Amazing Race the world itself interacts with its contestants, so that level of unpredictability can bring out all kinds of human responses. Chen Moonves responded that in Big Brother, human relationships make or break anyone’s game; therefore, these bonds and rivalries bring out every type of emotion and reaction.
For his part, Probst replied, “The Amazing Race asks you to interact with the existing world. Big Brothershuts you off from the world. Survivorasks you to build a brand-new world. What sets Survivor apart is the contradiction of being forced to vote out the very people you are relying on to survive… Survivordoesn’t tell you who you are — it creates an experience that allows you to discover it for yourself.”
The hosts also discuss how conversations around reality TV have evolved over the past 25 years, including the rise of “professional reality TV contestants.” Keoghan shared how, as a New Zealander with an accent, he had to “fake it until he made it” because having an accent on TV was unusual at the time. On casting, Keoghan explained that research shows fans prefer seeing everyday people they can relate to rather than contestants with prior TV experience or celebrities, since the latter can make the show feel less authentic.
Probst replied that, on the one hand, reality TV didn’t kill scripted TV as feared, but instead changed the TV game completely. Both can coexist in the same space because they serve different purposes and meet different needs.
On the other hand, Probst astutely added that viewers have evolved over time and grown more sophisticated. “They recognise strategy, they study behaviour, and they can tell when a moment feels authentic and when it doesn’t… the bar keeps rising — for casting, game design, production, and of course storytelling.”
As for Chen Moonves, she remarked that the mentality in the business has shifted from sobbiness towards reality TV, to “if you can’t beat them, join them,” to now, “Hey, you got a job?” She also said: “Reality is not as real anymore, in my opinion, in today’s day and age, because people want fame.”
In addition, The Traitors comes up as the three hosts ask whether the show is well-suited to casting professional reality TV players and whether it could run long in the future, now that it has found its calling. Chen Moonves immediately agreed, calling it entertaining and performative, and said she loved its host, Alan Cumming, whose presentation is “reality TV on steroids times 10.”
Both Keoghan and Probst agree, saying the people entering the castle already come in with reputations and must make a performance out of it. Keoghan added that now that The Traitors is casting civilians, the producers must cast unknown people who bring these characteristics to the table on their own.
“Permanent Uncertainty” – Castaways marooned in remote Fiji embark upon the Open Era of SURVIVOR and battle to win $1 million on the two-hour 51st season premiere of SURVIVOR, Wednesday, Sept. 23. Jeff Probst Photo: Robert Voets/CBS
Lastly, the interviewer asked Keoghan and Probst for a snippet about their shows’ upcoming seasons. Regarding The Amazing Raceseason 39, Keoghan said he’s really excited about the people cast, and as season 40 approaches, TAR is going for a few Hail Mary passes and new surprises.
As for Survivor 51, Probst teased, “The engine of Survivor‘s evolution is uncertainty. Our goal is to keep the players off-balance so they never really know what to expect. And beginning with Survivor 51 and the open era, that level of uncertainty is going to become permanent. We think it will take our game to the next level.“
Check out the next major episodes for each of the series:
- Season 51 of Survivor premieres Wednesday, September 23 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.
- Season 39 of The Amazing Race premieres Wednesday, September 30 at 9:30pm ET on CBS and Paramount+.
- The season 28 finale of Big Brother airs Thursday, October 1 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.
