In another layer of mystery, famous internet gossip sleuth Deuxmoi has spilled some major tea regarding Survivor and the possible return of beloved host, Jonathan LaPaglia.

With Survivor: Australia V The World coming to an end — which marks LaPaglia’s last rodeo as Australian Survivor host — the international tea-spiller shared a blind item hinting at a major mix-up in the Survivor US and Australian Survivor universe.

At the same time, the golden piece of tea also hinted at a possible resurrection of JLP as a host. But of course, with all reality TV tea, please take it in with a grain of salt, as it’s yet to be confirmed or denied by the Survivor gods.

In the blind item, the insider claimed that Survivor US will expand from 26 days to 39 days. With a longer game, the US Survivor will only cop one season a year rather than the usual two.

“Paramount Global is in conversations around restructuring Survivor between the US and Australian networks (CBS and 10),” the blind item claimed, which has been shared to the subreddit r/Fauxmoi.
Me taking in this blind item. (Image source: Instagram / @JonathanLaPaglia)
The insider went on to claim that Australian Survivor will be conducting an international season, which will fill that second-season void.

“The format they’re working towards will see: – US Survivor returning to the old-era format (39 days, destination locations, etc) based on a single season order per year, to air in H1. The H2 slot would be replaced with Australian Survivor (airing date-and-date with Australia).

“In addition to their regular season, Australia will continue to produce a global format once per year, will air natively on 10 in Australia, but will see simultaneous release on Paramount+ across all territories. The licensing would afford more players and a longer game (likely adopting US new era).

“There’s some licensing rights to untangle, but everything is moving fast, and they’re aiming to announce at the Paramount (AU) upfront in September.”

Towards the end of the mammoth tea spill, the blind went on to explain that LaPaglia could be hosting those international seasons after he was brutally axed as host for Australian Survivor earlier this year.

“For the AU fans, the backlash around Jonathan being axed has VERY MUCH been noted and that’s priority #1 once the season orders and licensing are sorted.”
Universe, if you can hear me. (Image source: Reddit / r/Fauxmoi)
At the time of writing, Survivor US, Paramount, Australian Survivor, nor LaPaglia have confirmed or denied this piping hot cup of tea.

However, this isn’t the first time rumours of LaPaglia’s return to the show have surfaced.

Channel 10 snuffs out recent rumours about Jonathan LaPaglia’s return

To give you a quick TL;DR on all the LaPaglia hullabaloo, in June of this year, Channel 10 confirmed that LaPaglia would be exiting the Australian Survivor universe.

After months upon months of murmurs and whispers of a possible replacement, the network confirmed that David Genat would be hosting future versions of the show following his brutal elimination from Survivor: Australia V The World.

Weeks after the major announcement, an insider claimed to Woman’s Day that Channel 10’s rights to Survivor “are set to expire” and that the next network to snatch up the show could bring LaPaglia back as host.

“Network 10’s rights to Australian Survivor are set to expire next year, and everyone is worried that the show could be snapped up by a rival network,” the insider told the publication.

“Everyone is expecting Channel Nine to make a play for the show — they’ve already stolen The Bachelor franchise from Network 10 and The Golden Bachelor, so it would be just another sign of Nine giving another reality TV franchise a second life on their network.”
The new supreme. (Image source: Channe 10 / Supplied)
The insider went on to claim that the Australian Survivor OG had “serious concerns” for Genat, especially on “whether he can handle the transition from contestant to host”.

“Secretly, he doesn’t think Network Ten has made the right choice and let’s be honest, he would know after working with David on previous seasons,” the insider told Woman’s Day.

“David isn’t a bad guy but he has a tendency to make things about himself and he’s coming off a season where he didn’t get the best edit and was booted off early, to then bring him back as the host feels a little misguided.

“There are even fears he might struggle with bias towards certain contestants, given he’s just been in the game himself. The outrage from previous players is unanimous too, no one is happy to see JLP replaced by the winner of Australian Survivor: All-stars.”

Shortly after the insider came forward, Channel 10 quickly shut down the rumours, confirming it has a “multi-year” deal on the beloved series and with Genat as host.

“10 has a multi-year deal for both the show and the new host. The only place to watch Australian Survivor is on 10,” a spokesperson for the network told Daily Mail Australia.

The reason behind LaPaglia’s axing has yet to be confirmed. However, an industry insider claimed to PEDESTRIAN.TV that the OG host had been “clashing” with the show’s creators for some time, with the source claiming he was “outspoken about production changes and let’s be real, if you’ve ever watched the man storm tribal council in head-to-toe linen, you know he takes the job seriously. Gym, set, repeat. He lives it”.

Channel 10 nor LaPaglia has revealed the reason behind the devastating reality TV split. But regardless, fans have been fighting for LaPaglia, calling for his return to the hosting role.

But only time will tell if LaPaglia will rise from the ashes like a phoenix and take on another hosting gig. Fingers crossed!