A "young, good-looking" 25-year-old bartender from Hermosa Beach is one of 18 castaways on the 25th season of "Survivor" which begins tonight at 8 p.m. with a 90-minute episode on CBS.
Other notable castaways include former Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent and actress Lisa Whelchel, who played Blair on the 1979-88 NBC comedy "The Facts of Life."
Host and executive producer Jeff Probst called Malcolm Freberg, the Hermosan, "your prototype for 'Survivor,'" saying he "looks like he's from the jungle."
"I think women will like him. Guys will want to hang out with him."
"Survivor: Philippines" includes three castaways who were medically evacuated in previous seasons. Michael Skupin suffered severe burns when he inhaled a thick cloud of smoke, passed out and fell forward into the fire on "Survivor: The Australian Outback," which aired in 2001.
Probst called it "the most iconic medical evacuation of any reality show I think that's ever been on TV. There was skin dripping off his fingers as he was evacuated out to a hospital.
"That's when everybody knew 'Survivor' was real."
Russell Swan "nearly died in front of me" on "Survivor: Samoa" in 2009, Probst said. Swan was suffering from dehydration and fainted multiple times during a challenge.
"I'll never forget that moment," Probst said. "It was the hardest time I'd ever had on the show. To see him recover, get the blessing from his wife to come back out here to do it again is very inspiring to me."
Jonathan Penner is a 50-year-old writer from Los Angeles who finished seventh on "Survivor: Cook Islands" in 2006, then returned for "Survivor: Micronesia -- Fans vs. Favorites," which aired in 2008. He was medically evacuated due to a knee infection.
"Penner is one of my all-time favorite Survivors," Probst said. "He'd be on my top 10 list for sure. I like how he plays the game. I like how aggressive he is. I like how he pushes the rules. I like how he lips off to me."
