Survivor Finale Moved from Panama

The December 14 finale of Survivor: Pearl Islands was all set to take place in Panama, with a minimal audience (reportedly, not even previous contestants were invited), to do something a little bit different from the usual jumping between Los Angeles and New York. It was also probably fairly convenient for executive producer Mark Burnett, who is filming the All-Star Survivor currently – also in Panama.

However, just as in the game of Survivor itself, sometimes the best laid plans get washed away because of a twist. In this case, the twist is even bigger than the return of the Outcasts. Variety reports that the landmark where the finale was to take place has collapsed.

The Arco Chato (“flat arch” – see photo above) was to be the location of the Pearl Islands finale. It was built in 1678 as a convent but was destroyed by fire in 1771. According to Panamatours.com, its name came from the “flat form that was used to support the high choir.” It was restored by the Panamanian government in 1983 and became a top tourist attraction. It had even been used by Panama to show how stable the country was and less prone to earthquakes than Nicaragua when the Panama Canal was being considered.

However, the Arco Chato collapsed on November 7, meaning Burnett would have to find another place. Since pre-production had not yet begun, according to CBS, it was apparently fairly easy to switch back to the usual Los Angeles location.

The live finale will air at 10/9 Central after the two-hour Survivor: Pearl Islands finale. Jeff Probst will once again host and many viewers can’t wait to see how he deals with people like Osten – who has insulted Probst, calling him a “coward” and various other things, since leaving the game.

In other Survivor news, as Mark Burnett hinted during a conference call a couple weeks ago, CBS will indeed be giving the All-Star Survivor the prime premiere date of February 1, immediately following the Super Bowl. So we will only have to wait a month and a half between editions.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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