Clutch your tribal torches, ‘cos Australian Survivor legend Jonathan LaPaglia has seemingly confirmed his return to reality TV months after he was brutally dropped by Network 10.

ICYMI, the Australian Survivor fanbase has been left shattered after Network 10 announced that LaPaglia had been axed as host. Following the devastating news, the network soon confirmed that David ‘Golden God’ Genat would be taking on the hosting reins from 2026 onwards, which copped a mixed bag of reactions from loyal fans.
The new supreme. (Image source: Network 10 / Supplied)
Naturally, with LaPaglia being the OG Australian Survivor zaddy — after all, he hosted the shebang for 10 years — many fans are advocating for the beloved reality TV icon, with many urging the network for his return.

But amongst the protests, rumours have begun to swirl of a possible return to reality TV, and in what appears to be a miracle, JLP has seemingly confirmed that he will be on our screens soon.

Australian Survivor‘s Jonathan LaPaglia hints at reality TV turn

During a Survivor: Australia V The World watch party — which saw World Tribe’s Parvati Shallow win Sole Survivor and World Champ — LaPaglia made a surprise appearance paired with a heartfelt speech.

Kicking off the shenanigans, the Australian Survivor legend praised Parvati for her iconic gameplay in this year’s second season, dubbing her “the greatest of all time”.

However, it’s what he said at the end of his speech that got tongues wagging.

“Stay tuned, because you’re gonna see me on something else, but I can’t…”, LaPaglia said as the crowd cheered.

OHHHH, why must you edge us? Just spill the darn tea!!!

LaPaglia’s cheeky little hint has already stirred up some theories, with one person claiming that he could be taking on a role in the Australian version of Traitors, which has yet to cop a date for 2025.

However, what’s quite interesting is the fact that the clue comes days after international tea spiller, Deuxmoi, shared a blind item hinting at a massive shakeup to Survivor US with a possible return of JLP.

Deuxmoi blind item hints at a possible return of Jonathan LaPaglia

In early September, ahead of the Survivor: Australia V The World finale, Deuxmoi shared a blind item that claimed Survivor US is set to see two massive changes next year.

The first change is that instead of two seasons, Survivor US will only have one. However, to make up for that lost time, the game will expand from 26 days to 39 days.

“Paramount Global is in conversations around restructuring Survivor between the US and Australian networks (CBS and 10),” the blind item claimed.

The blind item then claimed that the empty slot will be filled by Australian Survivor, who will be conducting an international season, similar to Survivor: Australia V The World.
Truly a golden season. (Image source: Instagram / @survivorau)
“The format they’re working towards will see: – US Survivor returning to the old-era format (39 days, destination locations, etc) based on a single season order per year, to air in H1. The H2 slot would be replaced with Australian Survivor (airing date-and-date with Australia),” it said.

“In addition to their regular season, Australia will continue to produce a global format once per year, will air natively on 10 in Australia, but will see simultaneous release on Paramount+ across all territories. The licensing would afford more players and a longer game (likely adopting US new era).

“There’s some licensing rights to untangle, but everything is moving fast, and they’re aiming to announce at the Paramount (AU) upfront in September.”
Please, please, please. (Image source: Reddit / r/Fauxmoi)
Now, this is where it gets juicy. Towards the end of the mammoth tea spill, the blind item claimed that LaPaglia could be the one hosting those international seasons.

“For the AU fans, the backlash around Jonathan being axed has VERY MUCH been noted, and that’s priority #1 once the season orders and licensing are sorted.”

Is Jonathan LaPaglia coming back to Survivor?

At the time of writing, no one has made any confirmations regarding LaPaglia’s return to the Survivor universe. However, with that juicy detail in his speech at the Survivor watch party, we’re bound to see him on telly soon.