In an interview with American Songwriter Magazine, John Rich said that he carefully matched each contestant personally with their Nashville songwriting team, stating "It's like the Chuch Woolery of songwriting hookups."

Through brutal challenges, harsh living conditions, and extreme tactics, the goal was to outwit, outplay, and outlast every other contestant on the island, a feat that Richard Hatch accomplished to become the first Survivor winner.

Every episode has a different challenge for the elimination round, and while sometimes there will be a contestant entering this round with immunity there are other times when every chef is up for elimination.

Whether the show pits each contestant against one another, or couples come to the ranch as their own two-person team, at some point during game play, it's almost inevitable that friendships and alliances form.

Immediately after the finale of Dancing With the Stars, which was won by former teenage heartthrob Donny Osmond, Johnston said that if the show called him up right now and asked him to be a contestant, his answer would be yes.