In Season 5, Episode 3, we chat with Leroux Botha, the executive producer who managed to revive the production of Survivor South Africa, largely through grit and sheer moxie, after it had been dead in the water. Leroux shares his journey from Survivor super-fan to content producer, to eventually creating his own version of the show. Survivor South Africa is really a fan love letter to the show. He pays homage to past challenges and prefers to keep twists and turns to a minimum. Instead, Leroux chooses to focus on engaging and straightforward storytelling instead of sneaky editing to designed to maximize drama.

Leroux is a self-proclaimed geek at heart, and he shares some of the many Easter eggs he slipped into Season 9, Return of the Outcasts. Some of these are nods to Star Trek, Stargate, and even Magic the Gathering. (Be still, David’s heart.) He also shares some behind-the-scenes insights into the production and casting process. Peih-Gee talks about her experience during the casting process for Survivor China and how the producers ask leading questions to create more drama. LeRoux talks about a much smaller budget has forced them to be more creative.

I really enjoyed hearing about Survivor from the producer’s side, especially when the producer is a scrappy fan who managed to create a compelling homage to the show he loves so much. Survivor South Africa is well loved in part because it reaches for the same magic that made old school Survivor so compelling. I hope this episode convinces you to give it a watch.

Full with Show Notes Timestamps

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Our music was created by Ryan Elder.

REPOD is produced by Lisa Spira and edited by Steve Ewing of Stand Inside Media.