AsSurvivorkicks off its40th season, former contestant and full-time podcasterRob Cesterninois hosting the ultimate viewing party for die-hard fans.
The outing will also celebrate the 10-year anniversary of his podcast, aptly titledRob Has a Podcast,which has helped transform theSurvivorcommunity into one of the most loyal fan bases in television today.
Konrad Brattke
“And then people were listening and then it was really, really fun,” he adds. “I was teaching myself all the different things that I needed to do to get the podcast live and to do the social media and book the guests and everything that went into it. I wore a lot of different hats, and I still do.”
Along with manyRHAPlisteners, former contestantsStephen Fishbach(also Cesternino’sSurvivor Know It Allscohost), Phillip Sheppard, Abi-Maria Gomes, David Wright, Aras Baskauskas, Hannah Shapiro, Lauren Beck, Natalie Cole, Shane Powers and Terry Dietz will be at the Feb. 12 premiere party.
Although Cesternino began his podcast in 2010 with his wife Nicole, he made the gig his full-time career in 2014 and hasn’t slowed down since— even with two young sons in his household.
“They want to come in here and they want to touch all the controls and talk into the microphone,” Cesternino jokes of sons Dominic, 6, and Anthony, 4. “They’re very interested in what I do. And now they can open doorknobs and come upstairs.”
Cesternino family.
“But really, just that season, all of the characters, it was such a wild season to cover and it was also so special for me, because that was also the first season that I was doing the podcast full time,” he says. “I’m very excited for the return of Tony, because I have so many fun memories about his first time out there and all the fun that we had on the podcast.”
And Vlachos isn’t the only champion Cesternino is excited to see back on his television screen. “Ethan [Zohn]returning is a really big thrill for me,” he says of the 46-year-oldSurvivor Africawinner andcancer survivor.
“I’ve known Ethan for a long time and I’ve known about just how serious and grave his cancer battle was, only six or seven years ago,” Cesternino says. “I know that everything that he’s been through, so that really just blew my mind, that he was going to be out there for this season, and just somebody that I never expected to see back out there.”‘
CBS
So would Cesternino ever play another season of the longtime CBS competition series?
“I think about it sometimes, but I really just love what I get to do on the podcasts so much,” he admits. “I get to have so much fun. I can’t get voted out. I get to talk about something that I love. I’m in my pajamas most of the day.”
“We have such a great community that we’ve built around the podcast, so as much as it is tempting to think about getting away from email and not having to do all of the different dad stuff that I have to do around the house, that’s the appealing part for me,” he adds. “But otherwise, I’m very happy to never playSurvivoragain and just keep doing what I’m doing and watch other people playSurvivorfor another 10 or 20 years.”
Survivor: Winners at Warkicks off with a two-hour premiere Feb. 12 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
source: people.com
