Jeff Probst Reveals Why the 'Survivor 50' Fan Vote Was 'Terrifying' for Producers (Exclusive)

For the first time, the Survivor producers handed the keys to the kingdom over to the fans–and according to longtime host Jeff Probst, the experience was rather nerve-wracking from a production standpoint.

As the landmark 50th season, Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, kicks off its three-hour premiere tonight, Probst is opening up about the legal realities of letting viewers decide the game's format. While the show is always experimenting with various twists–some of which are popular, others not–this season's fan-dictated element came with a strict mandate from the network.

"It was terrifying to do that vote because it's a legal vote," Probst exclusively told Men's Journal while on set in Fiji. "CBS is getting the results and saying you're beholden to this. You just made this a vote. So they're basically saying you've got to do what the votes say."

The Emmy winner admits that the lack of production control was tough during the planning stages of the game. "I'm hoping they give us some room to play, but if the fans decide we want no idols, no advantages, no twists, then that’s what we’ll do," Probst explains. "It will be really fun to watch the players figure it out."

Executive producer Matt Van Wagenen echoes that the stakes of the fan-led season changed how they approached the returning cast too. "We had to really just go with our gut and just know that this was a group of people that was going to do what they did today," Van Wagenen told MJ, noting they specifically looked for players with a "reverence for the game" who could handle any format the fans decided on.

Even the crew felt the weight of the landmark season. Challenge producer John Kirhoffer, who has been with the show since Season 1, felt the pressure of delivering on the fans' expectations. "I was nervous this morning," Kirhoffer says after filming of the marooning, noting that the opening challenge—a revamped version of the original "Quest for Fire"—was a direct result of wanting to honor the show's history.

For Probst, the "adventure" of Season 50 is seeing if the producers can still make a compelling show when they aren't completely in the driver's seat. "I’m really curious how this season plays," he says. "This notion of other people deciding how the season plays… it’s really intriguing."

Survivor 50 premieres on CBS tonight, Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

Related: Jeff Probst Says 'Survivor 50' Won’t Be a 'Gentle Season' (Exclusive)