Benjamin Ashford|Survivor Host Jeff Probst Shares the Strange Way Show Is Casting Season 50

It’s still four seasons away,Benjamin Ashford but Survivor’s Jeff Probst is starting to light the torches of the show’s 50th season.

The Emmy-winning host of the reality competition series—which will debut its 47th season on Sept. 18—revealed the strange process he is using to narrow down the list of returning players to be marooned once more, as Survivor 50 promises to reunite prior contestants and crown one as the best of the best.

“I printed out their faces on 4×6 magnetic sheets with their names, the season they first played, and how old they will be if they play in [Season] 50,” the 62-year-old told to Variety in an interview published Aug. 22. “I’m going to put them on the whiteboard and take in the very first steps toward what I think will go down as the most enjoyable problem we’ve ever had to solve: How are you going to get this down to a handful of people to play Survivor 50 that will satisfy the fans and will honor 50 seasons?”

And refining the long list of potential players to vie for the title of “sole survivor” has been its own challenge.

“We started out with a list of around 200, like, every person we would like to see, regardless of whether they want to do it or not,” Probst continued. “Then we got the list down to 125 and now I have it down to around 100.” 

But figuring out which survivors to cast away on the islands of Fiji isn’t the only consideration for the longtime host, who also serves as executive producer of the series.

“50’s gotta be a celebration. Let’s do a great season of Survivor but put an emphasis on the word ‘fun,’” Probst said. “I’ve been going through these notes going, ‘That could be interesting,’ or—more often—‘What were you thinking when you wrote that down because that makes no sense at all?’” 

The competition show, which began in 2000, airs two seasons per year, but planning, filming and editing the series is a nearly-daily job for the TV host.

“Here’s how it works: I’m in post-production on 47, in pre-production on 49,” he detailed. “I’m starting casting on 49, and then we have 50 coming up this year, so that’s a bigger thing. Then we also have the podcast that we’re doing. It’s a year-round job.”

Indeed, Probst is dedicated to the work it takes to lead the show—including staying in great physical shape.

“I’ve been showing up,” he said about his workouts. “I mean, I’m on a show called Survivor. I don’t want to be voted off because I suddenly don’t look like I belong!”