Phil Keoghan Weighs in on Possible Celebrity Edition of ‘The Amazing Race’ (Exclusive)

CBS is moving forward with another season of Celebrity Big Brother, which will return this February. Could any of the network’s other well-known reality shows — such as The Amazing Race — follow suit with their own celebrity editions? According to host Phil Keoghan, who spoke to PopCulture.com about Season 33 of The Amazing Race, it’s something he’s thought about before and even has some ideas for who should join the cast granted Celebrity Amazing Race ever comes to fruition. 

The Amazing Race has been on since 2001. While several well-known personalities have competed on the show in the past, there has never been an entire cast of celebrity contestants. Could that change in the future? Keoghan said that there have been discussions about a possible celebrity edition “for years.” In fact, he’s had celebrities come up to him to throw their hats into the ring. 

“I have had different celebrities come up to me and say that they would like to be on the show,” Keoghan recalled. “From memory, I remember early on Neil Patrick Harris stopped me at one point at an event and he wanted to go.” The host went on to say that he’s heard rumors that several others including possibly Sarah Jessica Parker and Drew Barrymore would be interested in going on TAR. He added, “I don’t know how many of those rumors are true and I also don’t know if all of them realize just how hard it is … I’m sure there’s some tough, hardened celebrities who could do it.” Keoghan also recalled that Leslie Jones shared how keen she was about joining the competition, noting that she’d definitely bring the humor to the series. 

Suffice it to say that Keoghan would be on board if a celebrity edition of The Amazing Race were to happen. The host even said, “Look, if we got enough interest and there were enough teams, why not? It could be fun. It’s certainly fun to talk about.” In the meantime, fans can catch a new season of The Amazing Race, which premieres on Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. This season is unlike any other, as the COVID-19 pandemic forced the show to shut down in the midst of production. Luckily, over a year after they paused production, they were able to find a way to safely finish out the season so that fans can get their The Amazing Race fix once again. 

The Amazing Race airs on CBS on Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET and will stream on Paramount+. For a trial subscription to Paramount+, click here.