Thoughts on RHAP 5000

So you've probably heard by now, I dropped the 5000th episode of RHAP last night with my interview with Jeff Probst. If not, what are you waiting for...

https://robhasawebsite.com/rhap-5000-jeff-probst-on-the-state-of-survivor/ 

I really was very happy with how it all came together and how hard the team worked behind the scenes to bring it to you. Here's a little bit of the backstory about how this all came together.

In coordinating with CBS for the Survivor 45 post-season interviews back in January, I asked the head of publicity at CBS if Jeff might be up for coming back on the podcast for what would be the 5000th episode of RHAP. I was told that they would but the request in with Probst and I was very surprised that he was up for it.

We coordinated the time and date, which happened to be on February 12, the actual anniversary of the first episode of RHAP. I was going to have a few weeks to prepare how to use the thirty minutes in the most interesting way.

From the start, I always wanted to make this an interview about my big picture questions for Jeff. In the last year, I feel like Jeff has actually already answered many of the specific questions about bringing back or removing certain aspects of the game on the official Survivor podcast. I really wanted to find some topics that Jeff hadn't gone into previously.

I was certainly nervous on the day of the recording but once we got into it, I thought it all went really smoothly. Jeff was worried about that his dogs might bark at some point but we got through the interview uninterrupted.

I  was really happy with how the interview with Jeff came out. First, I wanted to do a really good job for our community. I treied to conduct myself as professional as possible because I didn't want to blow this opportunity for RHAP.

I found Jeff to be very candid discussing his vision for the show. Personally, I would prefer a version of Survivor that is more foucsed on the strengths of the players rather than their struggles but I respect Jeff's vision. I really admire how much he cares about Survivor and how hard he works.

I know there's been a lot of criticism of Jeff online about him not wanting true villains on the show but I think the uproar is a little hyperbolic. In my optinion, Jeff is saying you won't see another Jonny Fairplay or Russell Hantz any time soon. Do you think they wouldn't kill for another Boston Rob or Parvati or Tyson or Tony?

Survivor casting has changed a lot and what I believe this means is that they want 3-dimensional characters who may make an underhanded move - but they want the viewer to know WHY they're doing it. Survivor is not looking for cartoonish type villains in the way they might have during the shows early days.

I actually found Jeff's opinion on where the show is going to be really positive. The show came back from COVID and was trying to do and be a million different things. Each year since 41, I think Survivor has settled more into a groove of figuring out the right balance. Just listen to all the places that Jeff talks about getting to knife the rice, getting tougher at tribal council and how vicious the 46 cast will be. I believe that the show is headed more and more in the right direction.

If you're taking the time to read this, I imagine that you probably listened to the full interview as well. I think that if you agree with Jeff's ideas or vehemently disagree, I'm just really happy that we had the opportunity to discuss them in an interesting conversation. I think we need more of this in Survivor and just about everywhere elese.

I have been particurly been blown away by all the positive feedback about the epsidoe and the 5000th episode milestone. I watched along last night and the coolest part was that my oldest son, Dominic, was around to follow along. It was such a thrill for me to see his reaction to so many positivie comments in the chat about his Dad. It's a memory that I'll cherish.

Looking forward to all the fun in store as we kick off Survivor 46 this week. Hope you are too!

-Rob