"The Amazing Race" going back in time for Season 36
MINNEAPOLIS — Thirteen teams will put their skills to the test in a race around the world Wednesday night as "The Amazing Race" kicks off for its 36th season.
The 90-minute episodes are returning — but there's one thing that the show will be doing that it hasn't done before.
The Amazing Race has already traveled to over 90 countries but it's never gone back in time.
"Initially this season was not intended to be 90-minute episodes," said Phil Keoghan, host and executive producer of "The Amazing Race."
It was shot in 2022 under COVID protocols. Last year, when CBS super-sized "The Amazing Race" and "Survivor" into 90-minute episodes, the show went out and shot an entirely new season. Now, that previously taped season is airing.
"It means that we can go now, we could go back into the shows and just open things up a little bit more. See a little bit more of the relationships between the contestants but also learn a little bit more about where we are and why we're there," said Keoghan.
The unknown nature of the destinations and the challenges is also part of the appeal.
"I'm not sure there's a reality show on television that has as many surprises as 'The Amazing Race.' When contestants run up, get the envelope, rip the envelope, they don't know where they're going, they don't know what they're going to do. We do singing, dancing, cooking. We do everything else in between and you just don't know what's inside that envelope. I think that's a big draw for the audience," Keoghan said.
This season of the race begins from a start line in Puerto Vallarta.
"It's just such a colorful, tropical paradise with great food. What's not to love?" asked Keoghan.
From Mexico, the teams of married and unmarried couples, family members and friends will travel to Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay and the Dominican Republic before returning to the finish line in the U.S. where the first to arrive win a $1 million.
For Keoghan, one of the perks of shooting "The Amazing Race" is making connections with locals along the way.
"I love being able to say to them, 'Where do you get your coffee, where do you buy your food?' You know, I want to go where they go and do the things they do. I want to be a part of... It makes you feel like you're not a tourist. You don't want to feel like a tourist," he said.
"The Amazing Race" does its best to achieve that too by giving us a chance to see the world through the eyes of travelers.
Season 36 of "The Amazing Race" premieres Wednesday, March 13 at 8:30 p.m. CT after an all-new "Survivor" on WCCO.
All of this season's 90-minute episodes can also be seen on Paramount+.
