The longtime producer explains how a practical workaround involving host Jeff Probst and executive producer Mark Burnett turned into one of the show’s most enduring behind-the-scenes institutions.
the scenes. John Kirhoffer has been with the show since inception as a co-executive producer, overseeing the iconic challenges that have become one of the series’ most defining and enduring elements.For the uninitiated, the Dream Team is a rotating group of 20somethings who test challenges before the castaways.
If you’ve ever spotted mysterious knees or rogue calves in a challenge preview, those legs likely belonged to a Dream Teamer. Kirhoffer originally created the group so he, Probst, Mark Burnett and other producers wouldn’t have to run the obstacles themselves. What began as a practical workaround has since evolved into a training ground for young creatives hoping to break into television production.caught up with Kirhoffer who shares below the origins of the Dream Team, why Burnett might be the most competitive person alive and why — like Whitney Houston — he believes “the children are our future.”“Season one, we had all these ideas . We would go to a park in L.A., any park we could find, and put together makeshift versions of these games we were going to do and test them. It was pretty rudimentary, to say the least. Then we get out on location and would start setting them up and we realized,I’m doing it. Mark Burnett’s doing it. Jeff Probst is doing it. And so right away I was like,. It was us testing all these games, and nobody’s watching it. That’s part of the problem, we need to watch it to learn.So the next season , we went out, scouted, came back — and I’m talking to the money people saying, “Hey, I need a designated team of people to test, young people. They just have to be PAs , and then they can also help other people and cameramen and stuff.” We never thought it would turn into the mentoring apprenticeship that it turned into. We just needed bodies. So those first dozen seasons or so, we’d go to wherever we were locally and get kids on holiday from all over the world. We weren’t flying anybody in. We were going to get anybody we could. I would go to youth hostels and post up signs like:That’s how it started, and then we decided we needed to give them a name. My friend Kevin McManus goes,So he named them the Dream Team — and it’s been the Dream Team ever since.”“Hudson Smith, who’s a co-EP on our show, and Matt Van Wagenen, our EP, saw the mentoring potential in the Dream Team and wanted to focus on film school and get the best of the best — bring them in, let them work with professionals and watch them rise through the ranks. Supervising producer Chris Marchand and I do most of the vetting. Matt and Hudson will then go out to colleges and talk to students, give them our information, and they write to us. I’ve spoken at schools, and anybody who’s interested to hear somebody fromWe only have about 25 positions, usually the same number as the cast. We get a couple hundred applications. I have 175 people a year I turn down. We don’t advertise but people hear about it through word of mouth. Also, everyone has a niece, daughter, son, nephew, cousin — a buddy who they want that are of age and would be perfect. So you take everything into account. But every year, there’s a handful of people I’ve never met who have no association with anybody else. They just came in because they heard about the opportunity and got on.”“Art Department and Challenges are like brother and sister. The majority of the time when the Dream Team, especially newer Dream Team, aren’t out testing things, they’re painting, helping load and unload trucks. They’re out in the field getting things together, helping out the prop and construction guys. Then we also have shadowing. Every season at the beginning of the season, we bring everybody in one by one to ask,First of all, just be a good Dream Teamer. But as you go, if you see something in television production, say, ‘Hey, I’m really interested in camera, I’m interested in audio, I’m interested in art. I want to be a producer.’ Let us know. Brittany is a perfect case example. She’s a co-executive producer. She was a Dream Teamer. Now she’s at my level, we’re absolute contemporaries. And she worked for me many, many years ago. Her husband, Riley, was a Dream Teamer. Then he became our prop master, and we became friends and I was at their wedding. I’ve been to six different Dream Team weddings. Brittany and Riley have three of the 80-somethingThe legacy of the Dream Team “The legacy of the Dream Team, I think, is finding talent where you weren’t initially looking. We were just looking for bodies to do something, and then you realize nobody aspires to be a production assistant all their lives. We get these young kids and they all have desires and passions and talents. We don’t look at them as a herd of labor, but as a bunch of individual potential superstars. I don’t want anybody being a PA for too many years. Move up, move up, move up. I think it’s the responsibility of everybody who’s a boss or a manager to the people that are below them, not to just keep the good ones where they are, but to nurture them. As soon as possible, promote them up. I see people who don’t want to get rid of their production assistants because they’re such good assistants. It’s like,I think the legacy of the Dream Team is, to quote Whitney Houston,“One of my favorite stories from season one — it’s been a long time since I talked about this — but we had a challenge where you had to swim out, dive down and get a heavy chest. We called it In From the Deep, and we were on a sandbar out in the ocean. Back then it was probably 12 feet deep or so. We had to swim out and dive down to a really heavy chest filled with lead. There were two teams side by side and six handles. You go down, pick it up, then you walk as far as you can underwater, drop it. When you run out of breath, get some air, go back down and keep going. Back then, 26 years ago, I was a 35-year-old surfer. I was a scuba diver. I was in pretty darn good shape. I consider myself a water guy. And Mark Burnett is the most competitive person I’ve ever met in my life. Mark and I are on one team, and some of our other friends are on another team. We went down, we pick it up, and we’re heading towards the beach and get halfway. And I gotta go up and let go. We pop up and Mark goes,And we’re going down and I was just dying. Finally, I could feel my head hit the surface of the water, three more steps and I could breathe. We went up and we won. And I realized,Live Feed‘Real Housewives of New Jersey’: Teresa Giudice, Melissa Gorga and Dolores Catania Returning for Season 15 Alongside New Cast. We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the GoogleThe Hollywood Reporter is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2026 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
‘Smell Blood’—Pep Guardiola, Man City Players Disagree on Premier League Title ChancesMikel Arteta had a firm response to talk of Arsenal’s wobbling title challenge.
Read more »
Power Lunch Sparks Rumors HBO Head Is Fleeing MAGA BossHBO’s creative mastermind was spotted having lunch with Netflix’s CEO.
Read more »
Prep Rally: The top City Section baseball teams are rising to the challengeOne month into the high school baseball season, the top teams in the City Section are becoming clear.
Read more »
Utah cancer survivor creates AI platform to help patients find life-saving treatmentsA Utah mother of six who was once told she might only have a few years to live is now cancer-free and helping patients around the world find life-saving treatme
Read more »
Air Canada survivor: ‘The pilots saved our lives’Basic
Read more »
LaGuardia plane crash survivor describes 'crazy 12 seconds' leading to deadly collision: 'Blood everywhere'Air Canada Express passenger Jack Cabot describes the deadly plane collision at New York’s LaGuardia Airport on 'The Will Cain Show.'
Read more »