What To Know
- The Amazing Race returns for Season 39 on September 30.
- Unlike Season 38, which featured reality stars from Big Brother, this year’s cast is made up of unknowns.
- Host Phil Keoghan told TV Insider why he prefers casting this way and explained why another “celebrity” season likely won’t happen for a while.
The Amazing Race returns on September 30 with its 39th season. But unlike Season 38, which featured a cast made up of former Big Brother contestants paired with their loved ones, the latest installment won’t be made up of former reality stars.
In fact, host Phil Keoghan told TV Insider that he prefers casting unknowns and hinted that a “celebrity” season with
“I’m seeing this from our fans, and our research shows this, that race fans want to see themselves,” Keoghan told TV Insider. “They want to see people that are relatable to them. And I think our most successful seasons have been the ones where we put David and Mary, the coal miners from Kentucky, we put Heartland Americans into our show and give them an extraordinary experience. It’s been shown that for our show, I can’t speak for the other shows, but for our show, that’s definitely what our fans are saying.”
Keoghan recognizes that fans “have a fascination with celebrity,” and noted that he would be interested in a “one-off” or “special” season with “real celebrities” (i.e., those who are famous “outside of” reality TV). With reality stars, though, Keoghan pointed out, “The more they’re on [TV] and the more they buy into the fact that they think they’re ‘celebrity,’ they’re more aware of wanting to promote themselves.”
Sara Kempner/CBS
He continued, “This can change the dynamic of who they are. Because they came in, they’re kind of naive, they’ve never been on before, and there’s a sort of rawness and authenticity to them because they don’t really know that world. But then after a while, they’re getting more savvy, like, ‘Wow, OK, if I go on this show and that show and this show and that show, I can leverage this to do something else.’ So it’s almost like there’s an ulterior motive.”
At the end of the day, The Amazing Race is about taking the average Joe to places they’ve never been. “I love on our show when people … it’s like a dream come true that they can get on our show and they are literally a fish out of water and never dreamed in a million years they would ever be in Bangladesh or Calcutta,” Keoghan shared. “Suddenly, we’re in a fish market in Sri Lanka selling fish to locals. It blows their minds.”
It’s different with reality stars, who Keoghan worries “become a little desensitized” to what they’re experiencing. “They’re not necessarily experiencing the opportunity in the same way because you’ve taken away some of the rawness, I guess, of every person being in an extraordinary situation,” he explained. “Because they’ve had other experiences. It’s only my opinion.”
The Amazing Race, Season 39 Premiere, Wednesday, September 30, 9:30/8:30c, CBS
— Reporting by Kelli Boyle