(Also make sure to check out our Survivor 43 premiere recap, and watch an exclusive deleted scene above.).

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Usually, a two-hour Survivor means two episodes put together, but you actually had two hours to play with on this premiere for just 3 days (and one Tribal Council) of action?

For this premiere, we decided to go with just one Tribal Council. So we added a lot of additional layers, including a marooning challenge, a Sweat vs Savvy dilemma and a journey where one player from each tribe had to leave camp and make a risk vs reward decision that would impact their game. Even though it may appear like we're approaching it all with an easy flowing, play it by ear attitude, it's always very specific and laid out in advance. .

There are some insanely talented people making some wonderful shows! We're just very fortunate to have an extremely experienced and talented team of storytellers who have been together for a long, long time. So, we'd be foolish to not give them the autonomy to try whatever they want.  In fact, most of the time their ideas make it into the show exactly as they presented it in the first cut of the episode.

This experimental attitude extends to all areas of our creative process: challenges, advantages, twists, logos, torch design, snuffer, Tribal Council. Every single person who touches any part of the show is encouraged to share their ideas for how to make it better, more fun, or more dangerous! If I went through just one episode with you, I could mention dozens of names who contributed ideas that helped shape a single moment. .

We really like the risk vs reward dilemma as a format element, because the loss of a vote can be so significant when you're on a small tribe. For Survivor 41 and 42 we were very consistent with how it worked because we wanted to lay a foundation for a new game so the players could get a foothold.  For this season, we decided to open it up a bit more and play around with those expectations. .

After Survivor 43 and Survivor 44 have finished, it will be almost impossible to predict what might happen on a journey.  Will they have a decision to make, a game to play, or maybe nothing to do at all!? And then when they return to camp, do they tell their tribemates the truth and even if they do, will they be believed? .

Again, I love that you mention this moment because you are really hitting at the heart of what I just said earlier regarding staying alert and adjusting as you go. Cody was the only player who stepped out of the emotional chaos and studied the problem while it was still unfolding. How do we get that flint?  We had tested that challenge many, many times with our Dream Team. Nobody ever thought of doing that, but Cody did. .

It's a seemingly tiny moment, but it's a great example of how you have to play this game