When The Traitors returns next year, fans will see a trio of Survivor alums in the Season 4 cast, which is no surprise given how vital the CBS survival series has been to Alan Cumming’s game of murrrrder. While fans are likely stoked about seeing Rob Cesternino, Natalie Anderson and Yam Yam Arocho, I’m not sure the same can be said for Survivor host Jeff Probst, who admitted to being “a little territorial” with his cast members.
Survivor — which has already filmed its 50th season, despite Season 48 just ending its run on the 2025 TV schedule in May — has been THE name in reality competition shows since 2000, and its brilliant casting is undoubtedly one of the reasons. That’s exactly why Jeff Probst gets a little bitter when he sees his players on other series, as he explained:
We find an incredible human, and they’re on an incredible season of Survivor, and the next thing you know, these other shows are going, ‘Hey, why don’t you come do our show?’ and I’m like, yeah, of course you would. That’s a great casting philosophy, just wait for us. So I do get a little territorial, I’m not gonna lie.
Paramount+ subscription), only to have other series like Big Brother, The Traitors and The Amazing Race swoop in to capitalize on their already-developed reality TV personalities.
didn’t watch Survivor before they watched The Traitors but who will now either watch future seasons or even seek out past seasons because they liked the players so much on other shows. It can be a mutually beneficial situation, and apparently it’s something Jeff Probst is working on.
Keep an eye out for the Survivor Season 49 premiere date this fall on CBS, while The Traitors Season 4 will return to Peacock in 2026.