With the launch of Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn on Sunday night, Stephen Tate, 10 ViacomCBS’s Head of Entertainment sat down with B&T to discuss the show.
It is the eighth season of Australian Survivor and the first to be filmed domestically, in Cloncurry, Queensland.
Tate reflected that this change – filming in the Aussie outback – was “beautiful” but was “certainly a lot tougher on both cast and crew. This has resulted in heightened natural drama.”
Speaking on the appeal of the show, Tate said, “Survivor is the best reality format ever created. It speaks to something primal in viewers, which is probably why it’s been such a massive hit world-wide and has gone from strength to strength for decades.”
This season’s them, ‘Brains V Brawn’, sees the contestants split into two teams, on the surface by their physical strength or their natural intelligence.
However, Tate explained, the cast was chosen incredibly carefully “to ensure the natural advantages such as physical strength, intelligence, or just plain street smarts, were evenly distributed across both tribes.”
“So, for example we have a super-fit doctor in the Brains tribe and a highly intelligent world champion surfer in the Brawn tribe.”
Ultimately, Tate said, “Brains V Brawn is one of the most popular themes internationally, and a first for Australian Survivor. It’s been fascinating to see how strongly the cast identified with their tribe and we think the audience will do the same.”
