Jeff Probst was shocked by the elimination of the first “Survivor 47”

If viewers were shocked by the first person to be voted out Survivors 47 They weren't alone at the two-hour premiere on Wednesday on CBS. The presenter was too.

Andy Reuda looked set to be the first to go after the Brooklyn-based AI research assistant suffered heat exhaustion during the challenge and criticized his tribemates for not liking him. He also openly stated that he had considered giving the train car to his best allies. And in the end, that's what he did.

Andy joined the rest of his Gata tribe and unanimously voted out celebrity podcaster Jon Lovett – a vote that stunned none other than Jeff Probst. “Given how things were after the challenge, I was shocked,” says the host and showrunner in the latest episode of On Fire with Jeff Probst Podcast. “I thought Andy was done for, and he seemed like a huge liability for all the reasons we talked about.”

In fact, Probst was so sure that Andy was a hopeless case that he felt sorry for the seemingly soon-to-be-dead man. “I was actually pretty sad when Andy left because I wanted him to take everything he had hoped for out of this experience, but that didn't seem to happen,” says Probst.

Although Probst was initially surprised by the vote, he sees the logic in it: “In hindsight, Jon is obviously a very smart guy and a great storyteller. And so it really shouldn't be a surprise that people like Sam would take that idea and decide, 'You know what? Andy might actually be more valuable because of what happened, and Jon is going to be a tremendous threat because of who he is. Maybe the move now in Episode 1 is to take out someone who we all think could win this game.' And I think that's what they did.”

Lovett's early exit undoubtedly surprised fans who had read on just a few days earlier Weekly entertainment as the host called the podcaster one of the franchise's greatest storytellers. Unfortunately for Lovett, his story ended after just three days. In the podcast, Probst revealed the notes he took about the player during the casting process.

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“My first impression was what you'd expect,” says Probst. “I wrote, 'He's an incredible, very engaging, incredible storyteller. He's going to be great. Yes, he should be on the show.' And then as we continued to talk in subsequent conversations, I wrote, 'He thinks too much. That could lead to decision-making problems.' And after another interview, I wrote, 'He should and could go very deep. He's so smart. What would stop him?'”

What stopped him, Probst argues, was “something unexpected. Andy breaks down and starts throwing him under the bus, and that goes back to the beginning of this episode, which is the uncertainty that begins when you're on that beach and your story isn't told yet. Well, the first words are written, and maybe in those first moments Jon Lovett said something that someone else noticed and wondered, 'Who is this guy?'”

It turns out this guy just got voted out Survivors.

To hear Probst analyze the entire premiere—including all the capsizing boats—watch: On Fire with Jeff Probst.