Yahoo Lifestyle 'The Amazing Race 37' Host Phil Keoghan Promises a New 'Surprise' Every Episode (Exclusive)
When the 14 teams of The Amazing Race 37 begin their million-dollar race around the world on Wednesday, Mar. 5, they'll be thrown into what the Emmy-winning reality series has coined a "season of surprises." Every time they start a new leg, not only will they be at the mercy of the familiar yellow-and-black envelope, telling them where they need to go and what they need to do moving forward. They'll also face a change-up specific to that episode, another element to shake up the game for that day.
"This is unique to this season," host Phil Keoghan explains to Parade. "Because, let's be honest, the show is a show of surprises, period. Every time a team rips and reads an envelope, it's a surprise. They don't know where they're going; they don't know what they're doing. But this was making more of a point of, 'Okay, here's a specific surprise for you.' It was just about trying to catch people off-guard."
The extent of "surprises," naturally, will run the gamut. Some things will be brand new to the CBS show, including the premiere "Fork in the Road" twist that splits the pairs in two, creating two separate races–and eliminations–for the leg. Some will test their strategy, like an element Keoghan teases at the season's halfway point that will force them to "make some pretty crucial decisions that definitely affect their standing in the race." But most will be elements from previous seasons which are seeing their return in Season 37. That includes the Fast Forward, a mainstay of the first four seasons of the race that allows one team to skip all remaining tasks and go directly to the Pit Stop.
Despite all of the elements, old and new, that are being fueled into The Amazing Race 37, Keoghan promises that diehard fans of the show will still recognize the resulting race. Rather than fundamentally changing the basics, transforming it into The Amazing Twists, these "surprises" are mere garnishes in a meal that has kept people fed for nearly 25 years.
"You don't want to mess with the format too much," he says. "You don't want to deviate too much where the show becomes unrecognizable for people. One of the things I did this season was I spent a whole week doing an analysis of, 'What do people talk about? What teams do they like? What challenges are their favorites? What are the reasons that people tune into the show'" And if you look at the primary reasons that people tune into the show, it's not about twists or wanting to see a new twist as much as they want the surprise elements. It's much more about who's on the show, what do we get them to do, and how are they going to react? That is what makes the show work. So you want to be careful that you don't do things that are going to alienate the audience as well."
Check out our full interview with Phil Keoghan below. The Amazing Race 37 premieres with a 90-minute episode on Wednesday, March 5, at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
Related: Everything We Know About The Amazing Race Season 37
So Season 35 was the first season out of the "COVID era," and brought about 90-minute episodes and the return of the U-Turn and Express Pass. So what was the approach to Season 37 by comparison? Was it as simple as continuing that momentum?
Well, we were finally out of the confines of having not to do a show [in the COVID era]. COVID definitely put a damper on things for a while. We were trying to keep the show going during COVID, and this felt like we were back on our hitting our stride again, back to where we were before we got stopped down in Season 33 on the road. And then also, we decided that we would just go with a "season of surprises." And not necessarily surprises like, "Oh my God, I've never heard of this thing," as much as surprises like, "Let's just throw everybody off-guard every episode. Let's just throw something in there that just wakes them up a wee bit, makes them feel like anything could happen at any time."
To that point, does that mean we should expect a different twist or "surprise" every single episode?
Every leg is going to have something that will force them to have to adapt or to adjust or to strategize in a unique way. And by the way, this is unique to this season. Because, let's be honest, the show is a show of surprises, period. Every time a team rips and reads an envelope, it's a surprise. They don't know where they're going; they don't know what they're doing. But this was making more of a point of, "Okay, here's a specific surprise for you." For instance, in Episode 1 with the Fork in the Road. There's a point about halfway through the season where they're forced to make some pretty crucial decisions that definitely affect their standing in the race. So again, it was just about trying to catch people off-guard.
Let's talk about the Fork in the Road, which has never been done before on American Amazing Race. With a record number of teams, it sounds like an easy way to split the cast up seven/seven so it's easier for the audience to keep track of everyone's progress. Talk to me about how this premiere twist came together.
I think you kind of pretty much figured out what is going on with the Fork in the Road. We got 14 teams, and they get to a Fork in the Road. And only a certain number can go one direction, and a certain number can go the other. So, yes, you're onto something there. And, again, just a fun way of changing it up a little bit. A lot of times, we give teams a choice, and they have an endless number of choices, meaning they have the ability to go to make the decision that you think is best for them. This particular element forces them to make a decision that they may or may not want to make.
Season 37 will also see the return of the Fast Forward. The old-school Amazing Race fans like myself remember in the first four seasons when there was one on every leg, but they then got sprinkled through a couple of times every season until Season 29. Talk about how the Fast Forward ended up returning.
It's fun. It's fun to bring them back. Look, I gotta be honest. It's not easy for us to throw one of those in there. Because it suddenly shortcuts the pathway for one of the teams. So it takes a lot more from our end. And logistically, it makes it a hell of a lot more challenging, particularly for me, as I have to get to introduce all the challenges. So suddenly, it does affect my my timing of when I have to get to the Pit Stop to get to that first team. So, from a selfish point of view, it's a pain in the ass for me! [Laughs.] From a creative point of view, it does add a fun element, because it does force people to be like, "Are we going to go for this? Are we going to make this a part of our strategy? Has somebody else gone for it? Do we think that we could get it if we get there at the same time against another team?" So all of that stuff, all of that decision-making, the strategizing and all of that, I think, is really good for the show.
Related: Meet the Full Cast of The Amazing Race 37
We've just talked about two "surprises," one being an item from a previous season and one being something completely new. What's the balance between previously-existing and brand-new in all of the "surprises" this season?
It's more about bringing back things that we know have worked before, as opposed to trying to change the whole format. You don't want to mess with the format too much. You don't want to deviate too much where the show becomes unrecognizable for people. One of the things I did this season was I spent a whole week doing an analysis of, "What do people talk about? What teams do they like? What challenges are their favorites? What are the reasons that people tune into the show?" And if you look at the primary reasons that people tune into the show, it's not about twists or wanting to see a new twist as much as they want the surprise elements. But we have surprise elements all the time, because our show is literally "rip and read an envelope, and you don't know where you're going. You don't know what you're doing." So it's much more about who's on the show, what do we get them to do, and how are they going to react? That is what makes the show work. So you want to be careful that you don't do things that are going to alienate the audience as well.
I can definitely see that. People come to The Amazing Race every season for an expected series of events. While you want to keep things fresh, you also don't want an "oops all twists" season where the end product becomes almost unrecognizable.
After all my analysis, the things they talk about, they talk about the drama within the challenges. So they talk less about, "Oh, they got to do a traditional dance." It's less about what it is. It's more about what happens when they do that particular challenge. It's a little bit like going on vacation. The trips you remember are not the ones that went perfectly. The trips you talk about are the ones where things went wrong. You went to St. Lucia on one trip, and it was perfect. The sun was out. Every day you went out, you sunbathed. Everything was perfect. You come home, and that was a lovely trip. The next trip you go on, there was a hurricane. You're all held up in the bar. You meet a whole bunch of people you never thought you'd meet. There's a flood. You can't get out on your flight. You all huddle together and you start playing cards and swapping stories.
If you then go to a dinner a year later, what's the vacation you're going to be talking about? "Oh my God, you would not believe what happened to us when we went back to St. Lucia this year. It was unbelievable. The hurricane came in. We didn't get out. We got stuck there." That's what you talk about, and that's what they want to see. Fans want to see that. They want to see the travel mishaps. They want to see the funny moments that come out of the mishaps. So it's more about the person who really struggles with the coordination in the dance, rather than it is about the dance. And then they also love the food challenges. They love to see different culinary delights like Hungarian goulash, or they want to see heartfelt moments. And I broke it all down into all the things that they talk about the most. So we have all the ingredients, so to speak, to make entertaining TV. You've got to be careful that you don't try too hard. It comes out of what we're doing.
You have enough ingredients to make your own culinary challenge! Let's talk about the destinations this season. You're continuing your streak of seasons with brand-new countries for The Amazing Race U.S. with Bulgaria. Talk to me about what that was like.
Well, anytime we go somewhere we haven't been before, it's always fun. I think one of the highlights in the last little while for me is being going to Slovenia. Because we've been so close so many times. We've been to Croatia, we've been to Italy. We've been all around Slovenia, but we've never been there. And it was a little bit like that in Bulgaria, where we've been skirting around the edges, so to speak, and then we get to go to a new place. And you just are able to see it's really about the people. They're unique in their own way, the different customs. And I love that we're able to offer the audience a chance to see a place that they've never been to before.
