Survivor: Fiji is the 14th season of the founding father of reality TV and is currently filming on the island of Vanua Levu, the second largest island of Fiji. Though filming for this season will be sure to be the most interesting production to date.
The other day a military coup was held in Fiji where the military overthrew the government in a bloodless coup, “claiming that the Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase’s government is corrupt.” Luckily the coup was bloodless and took place on the island of Viti Levu, which is a 30-min flight from Vanua Levu, where Survivor: Fiji is filming. Luckily, the coup has yet to have a direct effect on the Survivor: Fiji production, though you can bet the entire production crew is a little on edge.
Survivor host Jeff Probst sent the following email to Entertainment Weekly to let everyone know that production has not been affected and everyone is okay:
“To be shooting Survivor while the host country is in the midst of a coup is a bit surreal for all of us here in Fiji. We have set up our satellite TV in the catering area [for producers and crew members only] and during dinner the entire crew watches the local news to get updates on what is happening. … Fortunately, we are on another island that is a 30-minute flight away from the capital city of Suva where the coup is centered. Everyone here is safe and the disruptions thus far have been minimal. We had a few production staff stationed in Suva that we brought back to base camp, and during the past week any crew members that were scheduled to fly to location were unable to due to flight cancellations. Otherwise, we have continued filming without interruption.â€
More important than the effects the coup could have on the Survivor production are the effects it will have on the people of Fiji. Thankfully the coup was bloodless and thus far no one has been harmed, and we can only hope, for the people of Fiji, that it will stay that way.
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