Earlier this year, we watched The Amazing Race pull off a "season of surprises." But Phil Keoghan faced a surprise of his own when he was told the theme for the upcoming Season 38, premiering Thursday, Sept. 25. For the first time, a cast would be comprised of notable Big Brother alumni, racing around the world alongside a loved one.The Amazing Race 38 marks a noted seasonal shift for the Emmy-winning reality series. Former houseguests have shown up in plenty of seasons prior. But this is the first time an entire cast is wholly dedicated to Big Brother. Not only that, but this marks one of the rare times teams come in with pre-existing relationships both inside and outside of their duo. Across the 13 pairs, some have bonded over their shared experience in the infamous house, while some played with and against each other in the same season. Members of two separate teams were even dating at the time.
? SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox ? "There are lots of connections between them, so it is unusual for us," Keoghan tells Parade in an exclusive interview. "We have never had a cast where they are all connected before. Every single one of these cast members knew of or dated somebody on the cast. It made for some totally new content. When you are 38 seasons into the show, it is nice to try new things."Indeed, despite the familiar faces, there's plenty of new in store for Amazing Race fans and the racers alike. The teams will immediately be hit with a starting line task. First place gets two Express Passes, one to keep and one to give away. Last place receives an immediate Hazard penalty on the first leg. The season will see the return of twists like the Scramble and the Driver's Seat, allowing them to strategize like never before on the race. And an increased concentration on footraces and self-driving leads to what Keoghan calls "a hotly contested-race concentrated in the biggest democracy in the world."Read below for Parade's full interview with Phil Keoghan. The Amazing Race 38 premieres on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.
Related: Everything to Know About The Amazing Race 38
What was your first reaction when you were told the concept of this season? And did your opinion change as the season went along?When I first heard about the idea, and I believe the idea came directly from our president Amy Reisenbach, I was sort of surprised. I was like, "This is not something I thought about. We’ve had people from Big Brother and Survivor on Amazing Race before. But an entire season full of Big Brother contestants…wait, what? Does that mean that one day all the Amazing Racers are going to go into the house?" As I started to think about it more and more, I thought, "These people are really good at competing in a house where the temperature is 69 degrees and they have a reasonably nice lifestyle. What would it be like if they were out in the real world?" They would not be all together like they are in Big Brother. They could be spread out all over the world if they got on different flights. At the end of the day, these people are really big personalities. There are lots of connections between them, so it is unusual for us. We have never had a cast where they are all connected before. Every single one of these cast members knew of or dated somebody on the cast. It made for some totally new content. When you are 38 seasons into the show, it is nice to try new things.Did you find there was an increased amount of strategy and alliances this season, given the background of the former houseguests?I found the strategy was different right out of the gate and the alliances were different right out of the gate because they all had a history with each other. Normally the alliances and connections happen later in the season because they have to get to know each other and then decide, "Oh, I want to work with this team or that team based on their strengths or weaknesses." But at the starting line, we had one team win the Express Pass and have another to give away to another team. They knew the history and knew who would be best to strategize with at the beginning, so it played out differently than we would normally see on the race. So yes, it was different as far as alliances and strategy were concerned.What do you think Big Brother fans will get out of seeing their favorite houseguests in a brand new light on the race, especially alongside a loved one?I think for Big Brother fans to see their favorites and some of the biggest personalities from Big Brother in a new light under new circumstances and different stresses, I think it will be exciting for them. To see them in a different competition will be really interesting for them. It will be interesting to see if it puls Big Brother fans over to Race when there aren’t Big Brother people on. We are exposing some people to Race that haven’t seen it before. They may think, "Hold on a second, I haven’t watched this show before, and I like this show! I want to watch this show."Last season saw the return of many twists from seasons past, as well as some new ones. How many of these will we see incorporated into Season 38?Fans really loved seeing some of the new surprises. We are definitely bringing back some of the old challenges, like the Driver's Seat. People love a good Scramble. Our goal is always to do new and different things. Surprises are definitely a part of it. Thirty-eight seasons in, we gotta keep the fans and the contestants on their toes.This season was given the subtitle of “European Adventure.” What can you tease about where the racers will be going, and what they’ll be doing?One of the things that we heard loud and clear from our fans — I did a whole week's worth of research of what fans like about the show and what they want to see… They want to see more foot races and people traveling on trains and more self-driving. By going on a European adventure, we were able to zero in on those elements of the race. There are more foot miles, more self-driving, planes, trains and automobiles on this season than we have ever had before. Because they are not flying long distances to get around the world. It is concentrated in the biggest democracy in the world, which is in Europe. So it is a hotly contested race concentrated in Europe.
Related: It's a 'Big Brother' Takeover! Meet the Full Cast of 'The Amazing Race 38'
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