From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

Jeff Probst Reveals How rCySurvivor 49rCO Players Were Chosen for Season 50 (Exclusive)

The host and executive producer reveals that the two people picked to
return were a decision made on the very last day of the season.

Dec 17, 2025 11:22 PM EST

By Mike Bloom
TV Editor, Parade

Key Points

Rizo and Savannah from Survivor 49 join the cast of Survivor 50 as returning players.
Both impressed producers, who kept casting flexible and invited
them right after filming ended.
Jeff Probst calls season 50 rCLbig, fresh, completely unpredictable, emotional, shocking, full of redemption.rCY

On Day 26 of Survivor 49, Savannah Louie memorialized her ally Rizo
Velovic, who had recently been eliminated against the eventual winner in
Final Four firemaking. rCLI hope he gets the chance to come back,rCY she
said. rCLAnd I know he has it in him to be a winner. I feel like, in the future, this game is his.rCY

She had no idea how much those words would come to fruition almost immediately. And that she would, once again, be along for the ride.

Nearly the entire cast of the Survivor 50 cast was announced on May 31,
days before the historic cast of 24 returning players would go out to
play. But there were two spots left unannounced by Jeff Probst for the landmark season, reserved for two players from Survivor 49, which had
filmed but not yet aired at the time. And the first look at Survivor 50
that aired tonight officially revealed who will be rounding out the
cast: Rizo and Savannah.

In an August interview with Parade, Probst had said that the Survivor
casting team went into 49 with no hard and fast rule about casting a
certain number of people. Or even anyone at all.

rCLWhat we agreed to as a group was, rCyIf somebody makes a big impression, werCOre going to want them on 50. So letrCOs go into 49 with our own state
of flux,rCO Probst reveals in an exclusive interview with Parade. rCLAnd
what happened was two players impressed us.rCY

rCLWe did not go in looking for two players,rCY he continues. rCLWe didnrCOt go
in saying, rCyIf we do it, it has to be a person of this age or this gender.rCO We didnrCOt have anything. We just said, rCyLetrCOs just stay open.'rCY

And if one were to pick a shortlist of players to return from the recently-wrapped Survivor 49, both Savannah and Rizo would be at the top
of the shortlist. The two started as tight allies from the beginning,
only growing tighter when a power shift at the merge left them suddenly
at the bottom. Staggeringly, despite being down 7-3, they, alongside
Sophi Balerdi, clawed their way through to somehow wind up as three of
the Final Four.

Each of the pair took on different roles to achieve that success.
Savannah was the shield for the trio, the constant target throughout the postmerge. But she helped secure safety for herself and her allies by
winning four Immunity Challenges, tying a record for women. Rizo wielded
a different form of immunity: An idol he found in the premerge. Despite
it being not so hidden, he was able to wield its power and Tribal
Council theatrics without actually playing for a historic 12 rounds.
Their partnership, unfortunately, got cut short on Day 25, when Sophi
put her two closest allies in firemaking against each other at the Final
Four. Savannah prevailed and eliminated Rizo, who was one of five jurors
total to give the win to the former reporter.

rCLWe didnrCOt decide on Rizo and Savannah until we had our Final Three. It was that late into 49 and that close to 50! And remember, it wasnrCOt a situation where we had to have players from 49 to fill out our roster
for 50. We just made the decision to stay open to the idea throughout
the shooting of 49, see how it all played out, and then decide. We set
up a Zoom the morning after the finale. They walked in, and I was
waiting on the Zoom to invite them to be a part of our most historic
season ever! We were so happy that they both said yes.rCY

Indeed, Parade can confirm from preseason interviews with Rizo and
Savannah (to be released at a later date) that both were asked to return
to Fiji mere hours after the champagne was popped and pizza was eaten
around SavannahrCOs win. It was an immediate yes for both, who had less
than two weeks back at home before flying out again for Season 50.

With the full cast of Survivor 50 now out in the open, the wait
officially begins until the epic three-hour premiere on Wednesday, Feb.
26. And Probst could not overhype the upcoming season enough, feeling it
will hit all types of people rCo even those who have never seen Survivor.

rCLThis is the most excited I have ever been to launch a new season of Survivor,rCY he says. rCLDiehard Survivor fans are going to love it! Newer fans whorCOve only been with us for a few years are going to love it!
Families are going to love it! Kids are going to love it! And I really
hope people who have never watched Survivor will give us a try. Because
I genuinely believe if you watch just one episode, yourCOll be hooked.rCY

rCLThatrCOs how confident I am in what this season delivers,rCY he continues. rCLItrCOs big, itrCOs fresh, itrCOs completely unpredictable, itrCOs emotional,
itrCOs shocking, itrCOs full of redemption and revenge, of support and betrayals! Ultimately the fans will decide where it ranks, but there is
no doubt this will go down as one of the all-time great seasons of Survivor.rCY

Until that rCLall-time great seasonrCY premieres, you can check out ParaderCys exclusive preseason interviews with the cast of Survivor 50 rCo including
Rizo and Savannah rCo in 2026.

Source: https://parade.com/tv/jeff-probst-how-survivor-49-rizo-velovic-savannah-louie-got-cast-survivor-50
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Brian
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