• TV Week, Thursday, August 24, 2006 11:30 AM

CBS is splitting up the contestants in a coming installment of "Survivor" along ethnic lines, with teams of blacks, whites, Asian-Americans and Hispanics competing against each other. But the castaways for "Survivor: Cook Islands" will eventually merge in a later episode. Host Jeff Probst defends the ethnic breakdown, telling CBS' "The Early Show" that the idea "actually came from the criticism that "Survivor" was not ethnically diverse enough." He admits that when you first hear the idea, it could sound like a stunt. The move has raised eyebrows even among seen-it-all reality executives. "That's a bold thing to do in this country," says David Lyle, COO and general manager of Fox Reality Channel, adding that it seems inflammatory. "But I daresay that's what they want. It's a pretty confronting way to act in a world where ethnicity and tribalism and religious differences are seen as flashpoints."

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