Jeff Probst Admitted To Jimmy Fallon The Process On SNL Was "Intense" Backstage (2024)

Jeff Probst has earned himself a nickname as the “king of sass” within the circles of Survivor. When he got a chance to test himself in the different world of Saturday Night Live, however, he would later tell Jimmy Fallon that it was quite the intense experience for him.

Probst has been at the helm of Survivor since the show premiered on CBS in the spring of 2000. In the near half century seasons that have followed, the Kansas native has grown to be described as “the most important reality show host ever.”

Probst is not one of the frequent guest stars on SNL, but he got a dream chance to feature in the classic sketch comedy show in 2022. He won’t soon forget the intensity he found on set.

Jeff Probst Admitted The Process On SNL Was Intense And Tight To Shoot

Jeff Probst spoke about his struggles on Saturday Night Live when he visited The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in November 2023, about a month before the finale aired for Season 45 of Survivor. He started by explaining how he got on the Lorne Michaels series in the first place.

The original call to Probst was actually made by one of his acquaintances, with whom he shared a common friend on the staff of SNL. In their conversation, he was informed of an idea for him to feature in a Survivor-themed sketch. The long-time host immediately signaled his willingness to take part.

Probst told Fallon that the experience was a “dream come true” for him, having long desired to somehow feature on the popular show. It wasn’t long, however, before he realized just how intense things could get while filming SNL.

“I'm telling you, SNL is intense,” Probst recalled in his chat with Fallon. He especially pointed to the fact that there was barely any time for him to rest after flying to New York for the gig. “We [landed] at three o'clock,” he said. “[Then] I'm on the stage [by] like, 4pm and they usher you in.”

Jeff Probst Received Multiple Pieces Of Advice Ahead Of His Saturday Night Live Cameo

While he ended up having a bit of a hard time filming his sketch on Saturday Night Live, Jeff Probst had come into the moment equipped with advice from different people. One of these was comedian and filmmaker Judd Apatow, who is well connected within the world of SNL.

According to Probst’s interview with Jimmy Fallon, the Knocked Up director had very specific insight for him: “Judd Apatow [said], “When you do SNL, the first thing you do is you find the writer and you tell them, ‘Hey, I'm here to serve you. Thanks for having me.’”

“[I thought it was] great advice,” Probst went on to say. Another star who advised him prior to his SNL cameo was Foo Fighters lead singer Dave Grohl, himself no stranger to awkward moments on Saturday Night Live.

It wasn’t long before he realized that it was not going to be that simple, however.

Jeff Probst Played A Fictional Version Of Himself On Saturday Night Live

Jeff Probst has always believed in himself as a performer, a confidence that is always apparent when he is running the show on Survivor. In that same spirit, he imagined that he would flawlessly fit into the cast of Saturday Night Live, even as a guest star.

The SNL sketch starring Probst featured in the 15th episode of the series’ 46th season. The episode was headlined by Jack Harlow as musical guest. As it aired on the final weekend of October 2022, the content was mostly Halloween-themed.

The sketch portrayed a Halloween night wedding in the South, with Harlow as the groom named Patch and Chloe Fineman as the bride named Dooney. When the officiant asks if anyone objects to their union, Dooney does, citing that Patch's best man, Clint, is dressed as the Joker.

Clint refuses to change his outfit, leading the officiant to call for a vote. Guests take turns debating whether Clint should stay in costume. Ultimately, Probst arrives with his signature Survivor slogan: "The tribe has spoken," reads the vote from a paper, and puts out the loser's torch.

Jeff Probst Struggled To Focus During His Saturday Night Live Sketch

Starring in a Saturday Night Live sketch might have been a dream come true for Jeff Probst, but he found that he could not quite focus while he filmed his lines. In his chat with Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show, he explained how it had to do with the advice he had been given.

Interesting BTS Facts About Saturday Night Live, per BuzzFeed

• The crew at SNL usually has under two minutes to switch up the "home base" stage, which is used for the cold open and the opening monologue, during the show's opening credits.
• SNL reuses most of its set pieces because storing them in a warehouse would be "sitting in a warehouse costing money."
• SNL reportedly features real cars in its sketches. The show apparently offers to buy them from people, using the allure of the vehicles being on SNL for price negotiation. They then remove the engine and any other unneeded parts.

After delivering his lines the first time around on the set of SNL, Probst was convinced that he had done an excellent job. He soon found out that this was not exactly the case. The first person he reportedly interacted with was the writer for the particular sketch.

As urged by his friend, Probst told her that he was there to serve her vision. “She goes, ‘That’s so nice… Judd Apatow tell you to say that?’,” he hilariously narrated to Fallon. “[But then] I get on the stage, and they give you a mark, and I hit it. And then we're acting, and I'm connecting with Harlow eye to eye.”

At this point, Fallon–himself an SNL veteran—interjected with a “no,” suggesting to Probst that this approach was a no-go on the sketch show. The Survivor presenter agreed with this POV, revealing that he was quickly reminded of Dave Grohl’s advice to “just read the cards.”

Fallon was kind enough to explain why this matters: “You have to do that because they [can] change the line last minute… The lines always change.”

Saturday Night Live

Music

Comedy

Release Date

October 11, 1975

Cast

Leslie Jones , Aidy Bryant , Kyle Mooney , Alex Moffat , Kate McKinnon , Beck Bennett , Kenan Thompson , Colin Jost , Mikey Day , Cecily Strong , Michael Che , Pete Davidson , Melissa Villaseñor

Seasons

48

Franchise

snl

Story By

Colin Jost

Writers

Colin Jost

Network

NBC

Streaming Service(s)

Peaco*ck

Directors

Lorne Michaels

Showrunner

Lorne Michaels