Jon Lovett Flames Out in First Episode of Survivor 47

People who don't typically watch Survivor were excited to follow along with Survivor 47, the 47th season of the popular reality competition, because of one contestant in particular: Jon Lovett, the former Obama speechwriter who, along with fellow former Obama staffers including Jon Favreau, created and hosts the popular podcast Pod Save America. They tuned in to the premiere Wednesday with anticipation ... and were quickly disappointed when Lovett became the very first person voted off, NBC News reports. "I was prepared to watch a season of Survivor for the first time in like 15+ years for @jonlovett… welp byeeeeee," reads one typical X response. Some of the coverage surrounding the unexpected development:

• What happened? For a recap of the episode, check Entertainment Weekly, which explains that when Lovett's "tribe" lost the first immunity challenge, Lovett found himself voted off despite the fact that another member of the tribe, Andy Rueda, had a breakdown during the course of the episode.

• "No regrets": That's what Lovett tells the Washington Post, saying he's still glad he tried. He also makes several Donald Trump-inspired jokes in that interview as well as an interview with EW, saying we might see him "storm the Tribal Council with a group of insurrectionists" in the next episode. (His X response to his elimination Wednesday: "stop the steal.")
• The host's thoughts: Jeff Probst, longtime Survivor host, said on his aftershow he was "shocked" it was Lovett, not Rueda, who was voted off. TV Insider has more from Probst.
• Back to the beginning: For more on why and how Lovett ended up on Survivor in the first place, see the interview he gave Parade earlier this month.

(More Jon Lovett stories.)