‘Survivor’: Jeff Probst Reveals Why He Let Rome Replace Him at Tribal Council

Kelli Boyle October 24, 2024, 2:37 pm

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Jeff Probst and Rome Cooney in 'Survivor' Season 47 Episode 6 — CBS

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Survivor Season 47 Episode 6.]

For the first time in Survivor history, someone else sat in Jeff Probst‘s seat at tribal council. Probst let Rome Cooney briefly “host” to explain why the amulet advantages are disliked by players and fans. He explained his take well and got praise from both the castaways and Probst. It was a dream-come-true moment for Rome, who was close to tears when he returned to his seat among the tribe and said he’d love to be Probst’s “protege” one day. Probst was clearly impressed by him. In the new episode of the On Fire podcast, he explained why Rome got this special honor.

Much of Survivor Season 47 Episode 6 was subtly told from Rome’s perspective, Probst said on the podcast (the full episode is embedded below). The producers find him entertaining and engaging in scenes with other players but especially in his solo interviews, which have been getting a lot of screen time this season. Those days are over now that Rome has been eliminated, but he’s likely to get an invitation to return for Survivor 50 (more details on that here).

Survivor amulets are a relatively new advantage that can be attained by up to three players. With every player that finds one (or receives one while on a journey), the amulets’ powers change. They can only be used when the players choose to play them together, and the amulets are always divvied up between players on different tribes, making coordinating how to use them difficult. But three contestants had them when all 13 remaining castaways partook in the Season 47 Episode 6 tribal council on October 23, the biggest tribal council in Survivor history.

When players expressed concern that they’d “disappoint” Probst with their advantage decisions, Rome took the opportunity to explain why the amulets are disliked. This was news to Probst (“My heart is breaking!” he said), who then let Rome “school” him by having him sit in his tribal council seat and make his argument.

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“We know that three people have the amulet. They all went on a journey together. Usually when you go on journeys, when you come back, you tell your whole tribe what happened. So everyone knows who has the amulet right now, and everyone knows that the amulet by itself has no power,” Rome said in the episode. “You have to use it together with the other two people. So the only option is target the other two people so that you have all the power with the amulet or say, ‘Hmm, I don’t want to be one of the two targets. Let me just go ahead and get rid of this thing right now. We’ll use it together. That way we don’t have a target on our back.’ And I think that, as a group, sums up the amulet advantage right now in the game.”

“Wow,” Probst replied. The cast’s complaints were “duly noted” by the host. Probst told On Fire cohosts Jay Wolff and Charlie Davis that while his pre-filming casting notes about Rome said to let him “call a challenge if he sits out or if he falls out early” because he’s a good broadcaster, he didn’t go into this tribal council with a plan to give Rome this temporary starring role.

“It’s not that complicated really. It’s the same thing that prompts me for every question I ask or whether I say yes or no to a negotiation,” Probst explained on On Fire. “And that’s simply being in the moment and responding to what’s in front of you. There’s a lot of improv in Survivor, and this was one of those moments where I kind of started to see it playing out in real time and I knew the only answer was yes, and you should come over here and host.”

He shared his casting notes about Rome: “Here’s what I wrote: ‘Fantastic. I love him. Should be on the show. Really pops. Boastful, but he’s charming. Really wants to fit in with the group. Fear of being left out.’ But Jay and Charlie, here’s a nugget I found. I don’t remember writing this, I never look back at these notes while we’re doing the show. I wrote, ‘Have Rome call a challenge if he sits out or if he falls out early.'”

“So there was something in my subconscious about he should host at some point,” Probst continued. “I’m telling you, I did not walk in looking for that opportunity, but when it presented itself, it was somewhere filed in that mental storage cabinet I was talking about earlier. And you go, oh, there you are. Yes, I’ll take you right now. Rome, come sit here at tribal council, and you have a really fun moment.”

What did you think of Rome’s moment in the spotlight? Let us know in the comments, below.