Former Survivor contestant, Richard Hatch reportedly will not be returning for season 40, because according to host Jeff Probst, Hatch doesn’t represent the show. This past season saw serious implications for contestants who behaved badly, and CBS would like to avoid more issues like that in the future.
Survivor first aired back in May of 2000 and was a big hit among CBS viewers. The focal point of the contest is to place a group of strangers from unique places in life on an isolated island where they have to find their own food, water, shelter, and fire. Each week, the contestants compete in physical and mental challenges that grant them rewards like peanut butter or immunity from elimination. A contestant is then eliminated by their fellow castmates until one is left to claim the one-million-dollar prize.
Even though Hatch was the first-ever winner of Survivor, it was announced that he will not be joining the show for its 20th anniversary. According to Us Weekly, Hatch’s history caused concern among the network executives and is one of the main reasons he was not welcomed back to the show with open arms. The 20th anniversary season will be an all champion edition and will be called, Survivor: Winners at War. The show’s executive producer and host, Probst addressed the issue by saying that every single winner had been called before they had started filming in Fiji. But Probst said he did not feel that Hatch fit what "the show was about" or represent what the show has become.
The 58-year-old survivor was known for being the black sheep of the tribe, notably for walking around the island naked and refusing to put on clothes. In the premiere season in 2000, he schemed and formed secret alliances to win himself the one-million-dollar prize. Only six years after his famous win he was sentenced to 51 months behind bars for failing to pay taxes on his winnings. Fans of the show will recall that Hatch was invited to participate in the All-Stars season that aired in 2004 but was quickly voted off after continuing to be naked and rubbing up against Sue Hawk, who quit Survivor following the incident.
Probst made it very clear during his interview that Hatch had a bad history of disobeying the rules and it did not feel fitting to include him this time around. The veteran host added that back when the show first aired was a different time and culture but in today’s world, the network would never allow Hatch to run a challenge naked, but avid fans who tune in each season know that all the antics was Hatch just being himself. For the Survivor host, it makes sense he and the producers would like to avoid future controversy at all costs so that the game can be competitive and fun again.
Source: Us