Jeff, Enough With the Mud on ‘Survivor 48′ – We Want To See the Players’ Faces

Above everything else, Survivor is a story about human triumph. Created by Charlie Parsons, every season of this CBS reality series offers countless new examples of people facing the harshest challenges possible and coming out on top. It’s these casts that have made the program so historic. While the show’s intense format makes it an inherently fun watch, it’s the contestants that have gotten millions of fans invested over more than two decades of airing. I personally resonate with these individuals, watching every moment to see them bring out their inner strength and thrive…now if only I could see their faces.

Look, any show about surviving the elements will be at least a little messy, but what is up with the past few seasons of Survivor completely drenching their players in thick mud in every challenge!? Host Jeff Probst has detailed not only the metaphorical meaning of this mud but the hours of work that go into making it, which are all admirable from a production standpoint — but I want to see the faces of the players I’m rooting for! Maybe I’m nitpicking, but it has to be said: Jeff, please chill out with the mud and let me actually see the faces of the players I’m supposed to be rooting for.

‘Survivor’ Can Get Messy

While Survivor throws a variety of wild challenges and twists at their players each season, few are as messy (literally) as the giant mud pits people are subjected to in almost every episode. It’s become a meme online; players like current season’s Kyle Fraser have pointed out how, while castaways have always had to suffer through mud, recent installments have engineered literal swimming pools of the swampy substance for the players to battle through during challenges. Probst has stated how he views it as “mud is birthing you into Survivor,” with players’ submersion into the nastiness representing their commitment to this cutthroat game. He has also explained how Survivor’s particular style of mud is created — an hours-long process that involves importing foreign dirt, sifting through it for rocks, and digging a huge pit — showing how important this aspect of the show is to producers. It’s an honorable effort to try and really immerse both players and viewers into the game…but can’t we lighten up just a little?

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Look, I’m not here to take away from anyone’s fun, but audiences shouldn’t have to wonder who is who after challenges because everyone is so drenched in mud we can’t tell them apart. And this doesn’t even factor in how uncomfortable this must be for the players, who have a finite amount of apparel and must spend hours rinsing the clingy mess out of their clothes! Now I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be mud at all. Making contestants drag themselves through mud pits is not only an interesting challenge but fits the ‘birthing’ metaphor that Probst is looking for. What I’m saying is that it loses its thematic impact after the second or third time audiences have to squint at the screen, wondering if that indecipherable pile of dirt is their favorite player. There are ample opportunities to inject thoughtful metaphors into the brutal setup, but while mud does have some potential to bring out the show’s themes, right now it just makes watchers cringe as they wonder what it must feel like to be covered in mud on every part of your body imaginable.

Dear Jeff Probst: Less. Mud. Please.

While the mud on Survivor is certainly excessive, it’s undeniable how much this substance fits into the metaphor Jeff Probst is trying to tell every season. When I’m watching competitors slog their way through, it is an inherently resonant viewing experience. I understand the difficulty of this setup through the chaotic messes players turn themselves into trying to win it. That’s why the mud is an important storytelling aspect of Survivor and should absolutely stay around — but we don’t have to use that much, Probst!

Seeing players’ faces and expressions helps viewers relate to their journey, and by making people unrecognizable by heaping mud onto them, you’re robbing me of the empathetic excitement that each challenge is meant to bring. You can still keep it around, just maybe make those mud pits a little more shallow (or don’t feature one in almost every single group challenge of every season). Survivor is a series renowned for its storytelling and should be trusted (usually) to tell its own story, but when it comes to audiences wanting to connect more with the players, there’s one thing that the show absolutely has to do: dial back on the mud, and let us see their faces!

Survivor

Release Date

May 31, 2000

Network

CBS

Showrunner

Jeff Probst

Directors

Jeff Probst

Writers

Jeff Probst

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