Secrets From the New Season of 'Survivor: Nicaragua'
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When "Survivor: Nicaragua" premieres this fall on its new night, it will be a battle of the ages … literally. ET talks to host Jeff Probst to get the inside story on how the 20 new castaways will be divided into two tribes: Young vs. Old. The Espada Tribe will be made up of individuals over the age of 40, while the La Flor Tribe members will be 30 years and younger
ET: What can you tell me about the new season?
Jeff Probst: Early in casting, we decided we had a lot of good older people. And older people on "Survivor" means over 40, so bear that in mind. So Mark [Burnett] decided he wanted to do old vs. young, which is risky for us to do because one tribe could dominate the other and it would be over soon. Surprisingly, it was a very interesting experience early on. We have a great, fun cast.
ET: Normally, when older people are cast they are voted off right away.
Jeff Probst: Yeah. Typically, if you are older, you are in trouble because they tend to keep the younger people around. Now, the older tribe is on its own. All they have to do is win to stay on the show. It is wisdom vs. brawn. That is the question. Being strong is one thing, but do you have anything upstairs? That is where you usually see the older people excel. They know how to think; they know how to remain calm. They have lived a little.
ET: Did you keep the same challenges?
Jeff Probst: No. We adapted the challenges. You don't want to do big, strong physical, knock-down, drag-out challenges when it is old vs. young. We built challenges that would be as fair for a 68-year-old guy as they would for an 18-year-old woman.
ET: So are we going to have some good villains this season?
Jeff Probst: The villains remain to be seen. I cannot ever predict who people are going to love or love to hate. There are people on this show that annoy me that become heroes. There are people that I love, like Coach, who end up becoming villains. I can't predict anymore. But there are some memorable characters.
ET: The past two seasons the Tribal Councils have been really good. How do you keep it fresh?
Jeff Probst: I think keeping the show fresh is done the minute you put new people on it. You get a new group of people and it is a whole new show. If I was interviewing the same group year after year, it might grow old, but they have new answers and I have new tricks for getting answers, so it makes it fun.
ET: So it still surprises you?
Jeff Probst: That is what I like. I like when somebody comes to Tribal ready to play.
"Survivor: Nicaragua" premieres Wednesday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. on CBS.
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