The Amazing Race is back—but one of your favorite twists isn't.
Longtime host Phil Keoghan has revealed why the CBS travel competition has made the decision to cut non-elimination legs from season 34, saying that their removal is an attempt to make this chapter "different and more cutthroat."
Referencing season 33's father-daughter pair Arun and Natalia Kumar, who were saved by two non-elimination legs and the show's suspension due to COVID, Keoghan said the show won't be offering any more second shots at the $1 million prize. "It's just another way to give people another reason to tune in," he said. "New locations, and also just highly competitive, and no second chances."
Also new this season? The race is beginning outside the United States for the first time ever, with the competition starting in Munich, Germany. This is because the contestants are still traveling on a charter plane between countries, a practice the show first implemented in season 33 to avoid COVID exposures as much as possible.
"This was different, because we're still working with the charter plane," Keoghan explained. "And so everybody got transported to the starting line, and right out of the gate, being in a different place, it just had a totally different feel. It felt very fresh and different."
Keoghan teased that there's even "a wild ride to the start line" in Munich during the season's premiere. Contestants will then travel to countries like Iceland, Spain, and, for the first time ever on The Amazing Race, Jordan.
"There's one scene that was set up that looks like something out of a movie," Keoghan hinted of the trip to the country. "I won't give it away, other than to say it involves a lot of big moving pieces and has very much a Lawrence of Arabia feel to it."
Season 34 contestants include former New York Jets coach Rex Ryan and golf buddy Tim Mann, as well as Big Brother and The Challenge: USA alums Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss.
The competition begins when The Amazing Race premieres Sept. 21 on CBS.