David Genat explains how he is going to win over longtime “Australian Survivor” fans as host

Dalton RossWed, February 11, 2026 at 11:00 PM UTC

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David Genat, host of 'Australian Survivor: Redemption'

Network 10

The future of Australian Survivor is looking golden. That’s because the upcoming Redemption season (which premieres Feb. 23 on Network Ten in Australia) will also usher in a new face of the franchise, and it is no mere mortal, but rather a Golden God.

Reality TV fans were shocked to learn on June 29 that longtime Australian Survivor host Jonathan LaPaglia had been let go by the program he had hosted for 11 seasons. It was later announced that his replacement was none other than one of the show’s most famous players, three-time Australian Survivor contestant and All-Stars winner David Genat.

Genat had already spread his golden wings into hosting, acting as master of ceremonies for the 2023 travel competition series Rush. He also conquered American television, winning a record $5.8 million on Deal or No Deal Island in one of the craziest displays of uncalculated risk ever see on TV.

But even with all his success as a contestant and experience as a host, the 45-year-old Genat has some very big shoes to fill, and a very opinionated fanbase to please in his new gig. With his on-screen Survivor hosting debut less than two weeks away, David sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss how he plans to win skeptical fans over, making the transition from contestant to host with both the crew as well as former tribemates now under his watch, and why Redemption is “probably one of the best Australian Survivors, if not the best Australian Survivor season ever.”

David Genat, host of 'Australian Survivor: Redemption'

Network 10

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was it like looking over on day 1 of hosting and seeing not just contestants over there, but people you played with before in Brooke and Harry?

DAVID GENAT: Well, I legit got choked up. I was standing on the mat, and the first challenge is this big obstacle course, so I had a lot of time to see the cast walking towards me. And basically, leading them in are two of my pretty close friends, and just the gravity of the moment…. And 2025 was such a big year for me, and I got lost for a second and I had to kind of compose myself and choke back some tears before I was like, "All right, you guys ready to get into it? " It was just, such a big moment and really, really special.

So how do you set that line or boundary with former players out there where it’s like: “We used to be mates, and we can still be mates, but the dynamic has changed in this environment?”

I just had to take a hard line on it. There was gonna be a bit more elevated banter with them because when you're hosting, the screen goes up. It’s like: Here's the host, you respect him, you listen to what he says. And all the shows kind of have that. I think the great hosts have this energy to them where they're separate from the contestants. And so I had to make sure that the shield was up and I was completely impartial, which I was able to do.

I think they obviously could be a bit cheekier with me than some of the other contestants who don't know who you are and are a bit in awe of the situation. Because Brooke was definitely giving me a hard time when I first got out there. But it was cool. I think it added like a nice little dimension and it actually helped me kind of ease in. I didn't feel as stiff. It was just unfamiliar.

David Genat, host of 'Australian Survivor: Redemption'

I was going to ask about how nervous you were on day 1 and how it compared to your first day of playing Australian Survivor in terms of a different energy.

Oh, completely different energy. I felt way more prepared in hosting. The first time I played Survivor, you're experiencing something your body's never been through. You can't actually prepare for it. The cameras, what's happening, the dynamics, all these people. And the first time I played Survivor was with legends, like Australian celebrities and sports legends and stuff. So it was quite overwhelming for me the first time I played Survivor.

Whereas hosting, I'm prepared, I've had my script, had plenty of time to learn it. I know what I wanna get across. I know what we need to do in that moment, and it was more about preparation. So there definitely were some nerves, but I felt way more prepared to host than I did when I was a player.

Obviously, there were a lot of feelings out there about Jonathan being let go. How do you handle winning over those fans that are upset about him no longer hosting the show?

I just think by building on his legacy. I'm not trying to be Jonathan. I'm not Jonathan. Jonathan was an amazing host. So, for me, it's not about wiping what Jonathan does and being better than Jonathan. It's really just building on the show. And for me, I never watched Survivor for Jonathan or for Jeff Probst. I watched for the players. I watched for the contestants to see what they were doing. They're the ones that are driving the game.

So I knew there was gonna be obviously some people who were upset with Jonathan being gone, but for me, I just need to facilitate the game. And I know that the players and the game are gonna speak for itself. So whilst there is a lot of pressure to do that, I know a lot of people don't like change, they're upset that Jonathan is gone, but the franchise continues, the format continues. It's just as good.

We have an incredible cast, and we have a great season, and I know people are gonna be really happy. You just have to get over that shock of the first episode of being like, "Wait a minute, that's not Jonathan's voice. That's David!" But I think they're gonna like it.

David Genat, host of 'Australian Survivor: Redemption'

Network 10

It's interesting you say that about how while Jeff and Jonathan did a great job, you didn't watch it for them, and you watched for the gameplay and the players. So as a host then, how did you figure out how much you want to… insert yourself in the process is maybe not the right phrase, but how did you figure out how much to lay back at Tribal Council, and when to go in and poke and prod a little bit? How did you find that sweet spot for yourself?

I love gameplay, and so it was just about helping them play, or if they weren't playing, not letting them off the hook. So it was feeling that little ebb and flow at Tribal. I loved Tribal Council as a contestant because I feel like the Tribal craft is so important of being able to get your narrative going and your story before you blindside someone.

And so as the host, it's really just giving them that little tap, or being able to facilitate that gameplay. So it wasn't really inserting myself so much. It was just keeping them accountable. And I have played so much Survivor, and I've been in that seat so many times that I kind of knew what the ebb and flow of those situations was gonna be, and I just kinda kept the waves coming.

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How much did you want to deliver a hosting style familiar to what people are used to with Jeff or Jonathan’s style, and how much did you want to put your own spin on it? Jonathan would say a lot of the same phrases that Jeff would say. There was an established Survivor language there. How much did you want to lean into that, or how much did you want to come up with your own… I’m not saying catchphrases, although maybe those organically happen?

You're right though, that is kinda what it is. I definitely wanted to have my own spin on things. But we have a director, we have a script, there are EPs, there's all these people involved in it. So I'm giving my performance. I am myself in that moment giving a performance, but it's really a collaborative effort. There are so many people involved in that process. So I was trying just not to shock the audience too much.

I didn't want to be something completely different. I just kinda wanted to blend in more with the furniture, you know? I am a piece of the puzzle in the game. I'm not the game. The game exists and people play it how they wanna play it. I'm just there to facilitate them. I didn't want to do some of the same things they were doing, but I also didn't push against it. If the director was like, "Hey, would you do it like this? " If I liked to do it, I did it. If I didn't like to do it, I wouldn't say it.

I would see sometimes things would resonate with the players or I'd say a certain catchphrase, I guess for lack of a better word, but I would say something and the players would be kind of like, "Ahhhhhh…." I would resonate with them or get them charged up. And then you're like, "Oh, I'm onto something here. They're liking this, they're vibing with this.” And then we would run with it.

But those structural things in the show exist for a reason, because they've been so successful. So I wasn't gonna be like, "No, no, no, we're not gonna say, ‘Come on in.’ Done with that, like, ‘Get over here!’” I think there's this stuff that works, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. So the stuff that worked, I used, and the stuff I didn't like, I would change.

David Genat, host of 'Australian Survivor: Redemption'

Network 10

You talked about working with the director and the EPs, and I asked earlier about winning over the fans. What about winning over the crew? I’m sure some of these people have been there for a while, you’re the new guy coming in, a former contestant, no less. How do you win them over?

The thing that was pretty fortunate for me is a lot of the guys are people who I have worked with. The director of photography was the director of photography for Rush, which is a show that I'd done before. And I fully trusted all the EPs from Endemol Shine and people I'd done shows with before.

And what's kind of funny is that when you're filming Survivor with the camera guys and the producers‚ no one talks to you on the beach. They pull their buff up, cover their face, and won't talk to you. But they're there and they get to know you on a real level. So when you meet them outside the show, they're like, "Man, I just spent 50 days watching you and being behind the camera."

So I did have an advantage in winning those guys over because most of them I've worked with. I might not have had a personal relationship with them as a contestant, but when you're on the outside of it and you get to relate to them, it was amazing. I think probably for them, the biggest concern was, like: How much of a change is this gonna be? Can he do it? And it was just getting to know them on a personal level.

Even though you had hosting experience before this, I imagine this was still sort of a trial-by-fire situation where you were learning on the job, so could you feel yourself improving and getting better as the season wore on as you figured out what worked and what different?

Definitely. It's a beast. We got 500 crew members working on the show. So there's a lot of moving puzzle pieces, and I can prep and I can get my lines and I can do that stuff, but it's learning all the nuances of how the show works. Now, the second time I do it, when we go for the next season, it's gonna be easier because I know some procedural things and how things work. It's really learning all these small parts because it's just a beast of a show.

David Genat on 'Deal or No Deal Island'

Monty Brinton/NBC

What was it like calling your first challenge, because that is a lot more difficult than it looks on TV?

The best person to explain it was our editor. I was talking to our lead editor and he was like, "This is what I need from you when we're editing your challenge together." Because, we have some insanely long, big obstacle courses, and I'm running with the people at the front, but then if the story is more related to someone at the back, it's tricky to get everyone in those situations. So I didn't realize it was gonna be like this, but it was about collaborating with my editor who told me, “If it's an obstacle course, it's like calling a horse race.” And if it’s a puzzle, there are all these little bits and pieces that they kind of go, "This is how we want you to call it for edit." Because at the end of the day, you're making a show.

Now, if it was all broadcast live and in the moment, you'd do it completely differently, but as you're doing it, it's learning the things to say at the right time so that the audience at home can make sense of what's happening with our challenges. And that all came down from our editing.

Network 10

Okay give us your pitch about why this new season is worth watching.

Well, listen, I think I know Survivor pretty well. I've played most iterations of the game. I've won it, I've been a first boot, I've been a jury member, and I love the show, I've seen everything. And this season with our cast, I would write fan fiction in my head about what I would hope would happen during a Tribal Council or in the game, and they were far exceeding anything that I could conceive of in my brain.

The stuff these guys were doing, the huge dramatic swings, the alliances breaking down and reforming ‚ it was so, so exciting to watch, and that was before it's even been edited. So I think we are on probably one of the best Australian Survivors, if not the best Australian Survivor season ever.

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