'Survivor' Premieres Wednesday Night On CBS

HOLLYWOOD (CBSLA.com) — "Survivor" will begin its 29th season Wednesday night with a 90-minute episode on CBS.

The "Blood vs. Water" theme is expected to return as all new castaways compete to outwit, outplay, and outlast their competitors to win the $1 million prize.

The theme pits loved ones against each other, which Emmy Award-winning host of the show Jeff Probst says "really amps up the emotion."

Probst appeared on CBS2 earlier in the day with a preview of the show, which is set in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua.

"It's taking that family dynamic and putting it in the context of this game where the only way for me to do better is at the expense of my mom, or my dad, or my wife, or my brother," said Probst.

Probst says the shared experience likely has bonds grow stronger between the castaways.

"When it's over, you do blame the game. You say, it was just a game and now we went through this crazy event together," he said.

The best-known castaway is John Rocker who pitched for the Atlanta Braves, among other teams between 1998 and 2003. Rocker, however, was suspended for the start of the 2000 season for a series of disparaging remarks.

"Rocker wanted to be on the show and I thought it was interesting because the premise of 'Survivor' is to take a group of people and let them form their own society with their own rules and decide who they want to keep and who they want to get rid of," Probst said. "He comes in with a lot of baggage from these comments. I certainly don't condone those comments."

"The game of 'Survivor' will either condemn or condone," Probst added. "That's what I like. What are you gonna do with a guy like Rocker?"

Rocker's girlfriend, Julie McGee, a 34-year-old model and owner of a spray tan business, is also a castaway.

(©2014 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)