The Top 10 Options To Replace Jeff Probst as Host of Survivor (One Day)

Survivor just wrapped up its historic 50th season. The show debuted in the year 2000 and since its inception, Jeff Probst has been the host for every single season. Its difficult to imagine the show without Probst. However, Jeff is turning 65 years old this year and while he still looks great — it wouldn’t be insane to think at a certain point, he might want to wind down, especially if the physical toll of hosting becomes too much. 65 is not what 65 used to be in the past. But when you are trying to yell out play by play commentary for immunity challenges with the sun beating down on your head — it’s a lot to do in easier your 40’s than in yours 60’s.

Thus, I began to wonder, who is the most likely & best option to replace Jeff Probst as the host of Survivor one day. When creating this list, I tried to keep things semi-realistic and very much within the world of Survivor itself. Let’s jump into it.

(ALSO, make sure to hit Subscribe to my Substack, its free and very new).

Honorable Mentions

Cirie Fields: Nobody understands the game of Survivor better than Cirie, and she would be an excellent host for tribal councils. I just don’t think she’d have the energy or desire to host all the other stuff in the games (challenges, twists, etc.).

Tyson Apostol: Tyson would be the funniest host ever, hands down. The reason I wouldn’t expect to work is that it would be a lot of work for someone who doesn’t enjoy working too much…and he would struggle dealing with the stupidity of some contestants.

10 Rob Cesternino

You could argue nobody else has done more work to build up the brand of Survivor & its players more than Rob Cesternino. He’s also been talking behind a microphone & camera for endless hours that he is prepped get thrust into a spotlight-like role as the host of Survivor. Rob would put in so much work to do the best job possible as an objective host & an entertainer.

Now, why is he is at #10? Well, I don’t know what happens to this world of podcasting & content creation if he were to become the host of Survivor. Would becoming Survivor host kill it dead or would it amplify it to new heights? If its the former, then it can’t happen — whereas if it were the ladder, then we might be cooking.

9 Kim Spradlin-Wolfe

Some might be caught off guard by this one, but Kim is an all-time great winner, one of the biggest comp beasts in Survivor history, is a strong strategist, and has chops as a TV host. While much different from Survivor, Kim has hosted multiple shows on HGTV now and that experience in front of camera leads me to believe she’d be a capable host. Kim is a professional and is someone who could give legit insight to the players.

8 Rick Devens

Continuing to trend of having an on-screen camera presence — news reporter Rick Devens would bring such a big energy as host of Survivor. Devens has so much playing & watching all the crazy moments in Survivor that he would bring an infectious energy as host. Now, I will say, for people who get annoyed at Jeff Probst’s commentary during immunity challenges, I think Devens would not only keep that same energy, he’d double it.

7 Sandra Diaz-Twine

Sandra has the obvious pedigree as the first-ever 2x winner of Survivor and notably, she’s been a lot of TV in the last decade. She appeared on Games Changers, Winner at War, the Australian version of Survivor, Traitors, Extracted, 99 to Beat, and notably as a non-player on Island of the Idols. The mentorship aspect from Island of the Idols is the closet thing we’ve had to a secondary host on Survivor. This is a job that I think Sandra would love to have — though I don’t know how amped she’d be to do immunity challenge commentary.

6 Jonathan LaPaglia

Look, I’ve never watched Survivor Australia, but I saw so much love outpoor when LaPaglia was ousted as the host of the overseas version. Based on all accounts, he’s quite good at his job and has more experience than literally anyone else at this.

5 Nick Cannon

There are not many people who work as much as Nick Cannon. Nick Cannon hosted 87 seasons of Wild’n Out, which is almost as many kids as he has now. Addition, Cannon has hosted America’s Got Talent for a decade, multiple game shows on the FOX network, and seems willing to do whatever is needed of him, besides wear a condom.

Plus, one day we could have a full season where all the contestants are Nick Cannon’s baby mommas and the winner not only gets a million dollars — they get the largest share of his estate.

4 Colby Donaldson

Watching Season 50 was a reminder that when Colby is locked in, he has such a likable presence. The guy respects the game & experience of Survivor. Importantly, Colby has hosted a plethora of reality shows/talk shows on the History Channel. He is someone who could capably take on the job tomorrow and we’d be in safe hands.

3 Parvati Shallow

If you want star power, Parv is the perfect woman to host Survivor. She is a 2x Winner, 3x Finalist, and has the aura that would draw in viewers & players. Now, Parv does lack the TV hosting experience that some of these other people have. Yet, what she lacks in experience, she more than makes up in charisma and overall respect & understanding of the game. Parv has played Survivor through so many different angles, perspectives, and phases of her own life that she is someone who doesn’t have a close-minded view on the game. She’s been a comp beast, a manipulator, part of big alliances, fighting on the outside, the pretty girl, the mom, the winner, etc. All she has left to do is host.

2 Boston Robert Mariano

I’ll be upfront in admitting that I’m not a huge Boston Rob fan, but he is the name most synonymous with Survivor to the general public. Boston Rob is the obvious choice to replace Jeff Probst in the same way Ken Jennings was clearly the right guy to replace Alex Trebek as the host of Jeopardy. While other players came and outperformed Jennings on the show — he was always the OG. Tony, Sandra, Parv, etc, have all come and outdone Rob, but when it comes to the history of the show — he’s someone who has given so much to the show and the franchise. Similar to Parv, Rob has played this game at so many different points of his life to where he would bring a great perspective to the game as a host.

Rob is also quick-witted and is someone who would be fun to see do commentary during immunity challenges and tribal councils. Now I do fear Boston Rob may impose too much of his own thoughts as a host, but…. Well, I have no but to that. It would suck if he did that. Regardless, if Rob took over as host, it would make logical sense.

1 A Genetically Cloned Version of Jeff Probst

Look, I’m already of the opinion that Jeff Probst is a highly intelligent cyborg whose lifelong goal has been to understand actual human nature & emotions. It’s why he is always asking questions at tribal council, struggles to land metaphors, and can’t seem to understand why people genuinely enjoy villains on television. On the off chance Jeff isn’t a robot, then I can say with certainty that he’s using the millions he’s made as host of Survivor to invest in cloning himself so that no other person will ever get to snuff out a torch on HIS Survivor. Nobody will ever outlast the Probst Overlord.