New 'Survivor' Divides Groups by Race

Jeff Probst, host of "Survivor: Panama Exile Island", standing left, Cirie Fields, second left, Danielle DiLorenzo and Terry Deitz, right, all castaways on the show, hold Survivor winner Aras Baskauskas as they pose for photographers after the finale and reunion show, in this May 14, 2006 file photo taken in New York. DiLorenzo was runner-up. (Tina Fineberg - AP)

LOS ANGELES -- Get ready for a segregated "Survivor." Race will matter on the upcoming season of the CBS show as contestants will be divided into four tribes by ethnicity. That means blacks, whites, Latinos and Asians in separate groups.

The announcement was made on CBS' Early Show. Host Jeff Probst says the idea "actually came from the criticism that 'Survivor' was not ethnically diverse enough." He says the twist fits in perfectly with what "Survivor" does, saying the show is "a social experiment. And this is adding another layer to that experiment." Probst says contestants had mixed reactions to the racial divisions.

This time the new Survivors are stranded on the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. The castaways include a police officer, a heavy metal guitarist, an attorney and a nail salon manager. The new season of Survivor debuts September 14th.