Jeff Probst is best known as the Emmy-winning host of CBS' Survivor, but now he's ready to enter the treacherous waters of daytime talk.
He's no expert, but The Jeff Probst Show, due in September, will focus on social issues, relationships, and other typical talk fodder. "My weakness as an interviewer will be a strength in daytime," he says. "I share too much."
Though he says he's been offered talk shows before, "I didn't think I had anything to say." But things changed when he became more opinionated on Survivor, substituted for Regis Philbin on LiveWith Regis and Kelly, and married Lisa Ann Russell, inheriting a blended family, the kids she had with actor Mark-Paul Gosselaar.
She now works on the show and will be a regular presence on camera as he discusses parenting, technology and the like. "Our life is going to be part of a show. There's no way around it. I'm not going to ask a guest to answer a question that I'm not willing to answer myself."
The show won't be celebrity-driven, though he'd love to have some, and his role models are Dr. Phil and Oprah Winfrey, not Maury and Jerry Springer: "I'm not interesting in people fighting onstage; I'm not looking for a paternity test."
CBS is distributing the show, which will air on NBC stations in top markets. He'll juggle Survivor duties easily, as the reality show now films two cycles back to back in summer, when talk shows air repeats.
