KEY POINTS:
LOS ANGELES - Long-running reality show Survivor has been renewed, with US network CBS ordering the 17th and 18th installments of the series.
Jeff Probst has also signed a new deal to continue as host.
The series' 16th edition, Survivor: Micronesia, premieres in the US next week. Casting for Survivor 17 is under way.
"I still get excited to get on the plane and travel to another exotic location with another group of adventure-seeking, type-A personalities," said Probst, who has been host since the series' inception.
"It is without question the best job I've ever had."
The most recent installment, Survivor: China, averaged 15.2 million viewers in the US, and a 5.1 rating/14 share among adults 18-49. While the franchise has been trekking downward in the ratings since its early heyday, it still dominates its time period, anchoring CBS' Thursday lineup.
- REUTERS/Hollywood Reporter
