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There are plenty of sweaty palms at Channel Ten’s Pyrmont HQ after my exclusive story on Jonathan LaPaglia being sacked as host of Australian Survivor.
Not only are they furious that I broke the news before the launch of the upcoming season – they’d hoped to quietly drop it to the Daily Telegraph at the end of the year – but now there is ‘serious internal panic’ over the viewer backlash to the decision.
‘They expected some noise from the hardcore fans, sure, but nothing on this scale. The backlash has completely blindsided them,’ an insider tells me.
‘No one anticipated the audience would rally behind Jonathan like this. He was always popular, but they’re freaking out behind the scenes about the level of outrage.’
While the official line is that the network is ‘moving in a different direction’ following a dip in ratings, sources tell me the call to move LaPaglia on came from high up the food chain at production company EndemolShine Australia – not Channel Ten.
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There is ‘serious internal panic’ at Ten over the viewer backlash to the sacking of long-time Australian Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia (pictured)
LaPaglia, 55, was seen with his wife and daughter in Los Angeles on Tuesday
Meanwhile, another big change is happening behind the scenes.
I’m told Survivor veteran Amelia Fisk – EndemolShine’s Sydney-based director of content – is returning as executive producer, having previously worked on the show when it was first announced in late 2015.
She is stepping in to fill the void left by outgoing EP David Forster, who quietly exited the franchise after filming wrapped on the upcoming thirteenth season, Australia V The World, which premieres later in the year.
‘There’s no EP in place right now – they’re scrambling,’ a production source tells me. ‘Amelia’s return is supposed to steady the ship – but the mood is really tense.’
And the leaks keep on coming, with one crew member getting in touch to reveal just how ‘tough working on Survivor has become’ for the team.
‘A lot of the original team have walked away – the culture changed, and not for the better. The living conditions were shocking. The crew hotel was under construction, the food was awful – people were constantly getting sick,’ they tell me.
‘But JLP was the one who always helped with crew morale. He lifted the energy. Without him there, I honestly don’t know who’s going to want to come back.’
I have also been told that LaPaglia, host of the series since 2016, was on a rolling year-by-year contract and was reportedly pulling in more than $500,000 per season.
There is turmoil behind the scenes, too. Not only has the show lost an executive producer, but crew members tell me the ‘culture changed’ on set and living conditions are ‘shocking’. (The cast of Australian Survivor is shown for illustrative purposes. None is accused of wrongdoing)
Executive producer David Forster quietly exited the franchise after filming wrapped on the upcoming thirteenth season, Australia V The World, which premieres later in the year
Survivor veteran Amelia Fisk (pictured), EndemolShine’s content director, is stepping in to fill the void. ‘There’s no EP in place right now – they’re scrambling,’ a production source tells me
And while the network might be trying to spin it as a mutual parting of ways, industry insiders are calling it what it really was: a cold cut to save cash.
‘He may have gotten a courtesy phone call from Ten eventually,’ one source tells me.
‘But that was just to soften the blow. The truth is, he found out via email. It was sent by someone at EndemolShine – and it wasn’t exactly warm either.
‘It just pinged into his inbox after he finished Australia v The World. He opened it thinking it was about logistics, then realised they were firing him. It’s not how you treat someone who’s carried the show on their back for nearly a decade.’
Others close to production described the email to me as ‘blunt,’ ‘clinical,’ and ‘a slap in the face’.
‘He’s been the face of the franchise for almost 10 years, and that’s the best they could do? An email?’ fumes one of my sources.
The change of host – word is LaPaglia is being replaced by popular ex-contestant David Genat – comes amid a ratings slump for the once high-flying franchise.
The most recent season, Brains v Brawn II, saw viewership plummet to as low as 486,000 total overnight viewers – a far cry from the million-plus numbers it once pulled.
LaPaglia is being replaced as host by popular former contestant David Genat (pictured)
And the drama doesn’t stop there.
Producers have also been scrambling to cast the next season, which is slated to air in 2026.
In fact, casting was so challenging that the deadline was extended to June 1 – and they even started poaching rejected applicants from Married At First Sight.
‘Casting has been a nightmare,’ I was told.
‘Some of the MAFS applicants actually seemed like a better fit for Survivor – but the fact producers were even going down that road shows how bad things have gotten.’
Despite the upheaval, Survivor: Australia v The World is still slated to hit screens later this year – with LaPaglia’s swansong having been filmed between September and October 2024.
The format will see Aussie castaways face off against international Survivor royalty in a cross-continent showdown.
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