real talk
Staying power
‘Survivor’ returns with its 38th season
By Kyla Brewer
TV Media
Staying power: In May
2000, a reality TV show about a
group of strangers stranded on
an island premiered to a little
over 15 million viewers. When
the finale aired in August of the
same year, more than 51 million
TV viewers tuned in. The show
that sparked a decades-long TV
craze has outlasted the compe-
tition and it’s back with a new
season and a new twist.
Eighteen castaways embark
on the adventure of a lifetime
as they compete in “Survivor:
Edge of Extinction,” premiering
Wednesday, Feb. 20, on CBS.
Jeff Probst returns once again
to host the 38th season of the
show, which pits competitors
against each other in a grueling
battle for a $1 million prize.
The show’s formula has been
successful from the get-go as
TV audiences have tuned in by
the millions to see which player
will outwit, outplay and outlast
the others. At the beginning of
each season, the competitors
are stranded in an uninhabited
area, usually on a beach, where
they’ll have to work together to
acquire fire and build a shelter.
Divided into tribes, the cast-
aways then compete in chal-
lenges throughout the season
to win rewards and immunity
from elimination at Tribal Coun-
cil. Those who do face Tribal
Council could be voted out of
the game by their tribe-
mates. In the end, only
one player earns the
title of Sole Survivor.
This season’s com-
petition features 18
players in the running
for the $1-million prize,
including four
returning play-
ers from past
seasons.
While not
much
has
been
revealed
about
20 | Screentime
season 38, the producers have
promised a unique twist to the
game. Host Probst has been
tight-lipped about what’s in
store for “Survivor” fans, but
in a December interview with
ew.com, he did talk about the
inspiration for the new season.
“The inspiration for next sea-
son came from our desire to see
if we can take the show even
deeper,” explained Probst. “One
thing that has become appar-
ent over the last several years
is that the yearning for adven-
ture in our lives is a real thing.
‘Survivor’ already provides an
amazing format for game play.
So what would happen if we
added another challenge to the
experience? A question that
simply asks ... How badly do you
want this?”
The crew returned to the is-
lands of Fiji for the seventh time
in the show’s history to produce
season 38. Other editions have
been set in Australia, Thailand,
Kenya, Samoa and other exotic
locales. The new season was
filmed over the course of 39
days between May and July
2018. Details about the “Extinc-
tion Island” twist have been
few and far between, but many
“Survivor” aficionados specu-
late that the show’s latest gim-
mick may provide eliminated
players with an opportunity to
re-enter the game at some later
point. Such a concept would be
a risky move considering that a
similar plot twist in a previous
season — “Survivor: Re-
demption Island,” season
22 — turned out to be
panned by many critics.
Luckily, none of this
season’s returning play-
ers hail from “Redemp-
tion Island.” Of the re-
turning castaways,
Kelley Wen-
tworth
has the
lon-
February 13, 2019 | East Oregonian and Hermiston Herald
gest history with the game. She
first appeared in the 29th sea-
son of the show, “Survivor: San
Juan del Sur,” which premiered
in 2014. She went on to vie for
the $1-million prize in “Survivor:
Cambodia” in 2015 but only
made it as far as fourth place.
Joe Anglim earned the
moniker “Joey Amazing” for his
appearances in both “Survivor:
Worlds Apart” in early 2015
and “Survivor: Cambodia,”
alongside Wentworth, later that
same year. During his turn in
“Cambodia” — the show’s 31st
season — he made it to Day
32 and enjoyed a 29-day run of
immunity.
Like Anglim and Wentworth,
returning player Aubry Bracco
has also played the game twice
before. She made her “Survi-
vor” debut in the 32nd season,
“Survivor: Kaoh Rong,” in 2016.
After 39 days of fierce competi-
tion, runner-up Bracco lost to
that season’s winner, Michele
Fitzgerald. Not one to give up,
she made a comeback in 2017’s
“Survivor: Game Changers,”
making it to fifth place.
David Wright is the only
returning castaway who’s only
played the game once before.
He made it to fourth place in
“Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen
X,” the show’s 33rd season,
which premiered in September
2016. He made his mark in
“Survivor” history by crafting
the most authentic-looking fake
immunity idol ever created on
the show.
In “Survivor: Edge of Extinc-
tion,” these four veterans will
face off against 14 new players,
including morning news anchor
Rick Devens from Macon, Geor-
gia, and 25-year-old swap-meet
vendor Wendy Diaz from Los
Angeles. Experience in the game
means the returning players will
likely have an edge over their
rookie counterparts, but they’ll
also have targets on their backs
as eager new players vie for
their chance to become a part of
“Survivor” history.
Jeff Probst hosts “Survivor:
Edge of Extinction”
Late laughs
Conan
We are back with a
30-minute show. I don’t
want you to worry about
that — it may be only 30
minutes, but I assure you,
it’s going to FEEL like two
hours.
The Tonight Show
With Jimmy Fallon
Well you guys, it was just
five degrees in New York
City today. It was so cold,
hot dog vendors were
complaining about
shrinkage.
Temperatures
are below
freezing all
over the
country. Up in
Boston, two Patriots fans
high-fived and their hands
just shattered.
Throughout the country,
people are dealing with
freezing temperatures. All
day long, New Yorkers
struggled with how to give
each other the finger while
wearing mittens.
Nominations for the
Academy Awards were
announced early this
morning by Tracee Ellis Ross
and Kumail Nanjiani. So if
you’re keeping track, they
found two people to wake
up at 5 a.m. to read the
nominations, but still no
one to host the show.
I saw that Christian Bale
was nominated for his role
in “Vice,” while Bradley
Cooper and Sam Elliott
were nominated for “A Star
Is Born.” They were actually
all nominated in the same
category: “Best
Achievement in Growling.”
for anyone who’s looking to
get a little more fiber in
their diet.
It’s Day 32 of the
government shutdown, and
I read that a record 10
percent of TSA workers are
now skipping work. So if
you’ve ever wanted to
sneak a bottle of water
onto a plane, now’s your
chance!
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Flights in and out of
Newark Airport were
delayed yesterday when a
small drone was spotted
flying near the airport. Then
United Airlines said,
“Actually that’s our new
‘Basic Economy’ plane.”
The Late Late Show
With James Corden
Personally, I’m very excited
about “The Favourite”
getting all this recognition,
because it means the
United States might finally
admit that the word
“favorite” is supposed to
have a “u” in it.
A lot of
people were
complaining
on Twitter
this morning
about Bradley
Cooper being snubbed for
Best Director, which is an
outrage, it really is. It
means he’s just going to
have to settle for being
Bradley Cooper.
More than 68,000 pounds
of gluten-free chicken
nuggets were recalled after
customers found pieces of
wood in them. Good news
Ticket prices for seats at
the Super Bowl are
reportedly down they say,
in part,
because
Rams fans
don’t want
to go all the
way to Atlanta
to see the game. That
makes sense. In L.A., it’s
hard to get anyone to drive
20 minutes to meet you for
dinner.
Today was a very big day
here in Hollywood. It was
Oscar nomination day. If
you got a screaming call
from your publicist before 6
a.m. this morning, you were
either nominated for an
Oscar, or you’re Kevin
Spacey.
Late Night With Seth
Meyers
A recall was issued last
week for a brand of ready-
to-eat chicken nuggets,
following complaints that
the packages had pieces of
wood in them. And if
there’s one thing chicken
nugget consumers don’t
want, it’s a natural
ingredient.
Pro-skateboarder Tony
Hawk is launching his own
fashion line that will
include hoodies, T-shirts,
flannels and carpenter
pants. It’s great if you love
hearing your wife say, “No.
Change.”