'Amazing Race': Phil Keoghan on 34 Seasons, Why the Show's a Huge Success (Exclusive)
The Amazing Race is gearing up for its latest run worldwide as 12 new teams competing for a chance to win the top prize this fall will comprise the competitors of the 34th season. The Emmy-winning reality competition series will debut its 400th episode on Wednesday, with longtime host Phil Keoghan returning to oversee the competition. For the first time in the show's history, the 12 globe-trotting teams will begin the race outside of the U.S., traveling to Munich, Germany, for the starting line. The racers also visits Petra, Jordan, where the teams will ride a train and experience a scene reminiscent of the 1963 classic Lawrence of Arabia, perform Jordanian folk dance and learn the Arabic alphabet. Viewers will travel alongside contestants to Austria, Italy, France, Spain, Iceland, and Nashville, where the finish line will be located. There's a $1 million grand prize.
CBS has also revealed that the show is getting rid of non-elimination legs for the first time. With one team being eliminated at the end of every leg, it will be one of the most grueling races to date, and Keoghan is pumped for viewers to watch it play out. Read our full Q&A with Keoghan below:
PC: Congratulations on another season of Amazing Race. You've been with the show since the beginning, since 2001. This is the 34th season. What keeps you excited to keep returning back as the host?
PK: I think it's rare to be able to work on something where it never feels like you're repeating yourself. I guess it's a little bit like with your job, too. You're meeting people, new and different people all the time, so that's what keeps it exciting because you never know who you're going to meet and never know what you're going to be doing. It's a little bit like that on Amazing Race. We've been to, I think somewhere like 100 countries now, and 400 episodes, and we've done so many different things with so many different people. It just keeps the job exciting. I feel very lucky to work on a show that keeps me on my toes and keeps me guessing, and it's always exciting. Always. I love people, and I get to meet awesome people.
What about the show do you feel makes it a success? Like I said, we're in its 34th season, and aside from soap operas, that doesn't really happen.
Yeah, it's true. I think it's just an awesome format. The creators came up with a great format where we've got people who are in a preexisting relationship, traveling around the world, trying new and different things. It's a celebration of the human spirit. I think people resonate with the race because it makes them feel good.
There's plenty of shows that sort of focus on the things that are wrong and make entertainment out of that. I mean, news in itself is a lot about what's going wrong in the world. We're reporting some terrible thing that's happened in the world. We need news, but it doesn't necessarily make us feel good, and a show like Amazing Race is a show that can celebrate some of the better things in life rather than some of the things that go wrong. That's part of what I love about the show. I think that's why people like to watch it because it makes them feel inspired and makes them want to get out and travel, and it makes them enjoy and experience with the cast.
You said that you've been to over a hundred countries along with this show. What's been the top five places that you've been on this show?
Well, I personally have been to over 130 in my life because before I started on Race, I had actually been to 60. It never gets old for me to go home. I mean, I'm from New Zealand, so I love going home. I love going to New Zealand. I think Italy is an amazing place. I love France. France is the most visited country in the world, so I'm a bit of a Francophile. I mean, I love the Pyrenees, I love the culture, the food.
It's really anywhere new. I love going to new places. I spent a good part of my life in Antigua when I was younger. I lived there for eight years on the island of Antigua in the Caribbean, so I love the Caribbean islands and exploring new places there. Anywhere new and different is my favorite place I would say. Even though I've been to so many different places and I love going back to certain places, I also do love the place I've never been.
There's a twist this season. What can you tease us about the unexpected inclusion?
Well, this is the first season ever that we have had no non-elimination legs. For years we've had them. People have not known where the elimination legs are, and so people have run into the pit stop, and they've been wondering, are they going to be eliminated or not? We decided that we would take the non- eliminations out and make it much more fate accomplished. If you are last, you're out, you're done. There's no second chance. That definitely increased the tension on the show, I would have to say.
My last question to you is there's this new wave of health and fitness and exercise enthusiasts. How do you think that this show is an extension of conversations surrounding wellness?
Well, I'm excited about the fact that people are talking more about health and wellness. I've been into working out and eating healthy certainly since my late teens. I think the awareness is huge. I think on our show, the people that we've cast on our show have tended to be quite aware of working out and being fit because you got to be fit to be on the race. It's always a good thing to eat well because it helps to promote longevity. I think we've had some really great examples on Amazing Race of people who have led a really healthy lifestyle, and it's something we need to focus more on. We've got a lot of obesity, too. A lot of that is to do with education.
Back in my day, when I was at school, we actually learned about nutrition. It was a subject at school. What a carbohydrate was, what sugars were, what they did to you. I think I would love to see a day where kids are learning more about the fuel that they put in their bodies mixed with some form of exercise. When I went to school, same thing, not only did we learn about nutrition, but it was compulsory to do some form of physical activity. I think we need more of both of those in school, but it has to start young because you want people to start those habits early. It's harder when people get older to have them change habits.