Jeff Probst is headed to daytime.
The Survivor host has signed a development deal with CBS Television Distribution to star in his own daytime talk show that would debut in fall 2012. CTD is shooting a pilot in the middle of next month that it plans to shop to stations. Probst will remain host, executive producer and mastermind on Survivor, the granddaddy of the primetime reality program.
"His strength from Survivor is that he's the everyman approaching topics that the audience wants to hear about," says John Nogawski, CTD's president. "Looking back over daytime history, his style is probably most similar to Donahue."
"Anyone who has seen Jeff on Survivor knows how he connects with people, and has an instinct that makes him a natural and compelling host for daytime. With the same adventure Jeff approaches his own life, the show will take the same path. Whether it's a newsmaker-of-the-day, a celebrity or ordinary folks, Jeff will go further than typical discussion. The show will cover a range of topics from relationships to human interest. And like Jeff, the show will encourage action, change and discovery," said Aaron Meyerson, CTD's president of programming and development, in a statement.
Probst has hosted all 22 editions of CBS's reality hit Survivor since its inception 11 seasons ago, and is currently an executive producer. He is a three-time Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Reality Host, the only winner since the award was created in 2008. Survivor also won the first-ever Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Special Class) Emmy in 2001.
Probst is a regular fill-in for Regis Philbin on Live With Regis and Kelly. He's also been a regular guest host for Larry King on CNN's Larry King Live, and he hosts the "Howard Stern Celebrity Fan Roundtable" for Howard Stern on Sirius/XM radio.
