It’s no secret that Drew Barrymore and Reese Witherspoon know a thing or two when it comes to romance. That’s why when the romcom royals pitched a romantic twist for a future season of “The Amazing Race,” host Phil Keoghan was all ears.
While teasing Season 37 of the CBS competition series, Keoghan revealed how the actress’ idea for a Valentine’s Day-themed season echoed a twist he’s long had in mind himself.
“I ran into Drew Barrymore and Reese Witherspoon in a bar in New York like a week, two weeks ago. I knew Drew because I did ‘Hollywood Squares’ with her and I’ve met her a few times,” he told TheWrap. “They both stopped me and they were like, ‘Hey, have you ever thought about a Valentine’s season?’ and then I said, ‘Well, are you guys offering to be on the show?’”
“It’s definitely something that we have talked about,” Keoghan explained. “I have a particular idea for how to do it, where it would literally be people traveling under the stress of going around the world, but also really looking for love. We would have people who we know are into it because of doing a bit of research beforehand about what kinds of people they like, what kind of partner they like. Personally, I think it would be a fun show to watch.”
It’s worth noting “The Amazing Race” already implemented a blind date twist back in Season 26, though those five pairs were matched without full compatibility taken into account (Season 29 similarly paired strangers together, albeit without strings attached).
“I think it’s such a big part of the zeitgeist — dating and online dating and trying to find the right partner, and then figuring out whether you’re compatible,” Keoghan continued. “Maybe we can convince Reese and Drew to be a female team, but then they’re looking for partners.”
Outside of the CBS trifecta, past Racers like Boston Rob Mariano, Britney Haynes, Janelle Pierzina and Rachel Reilly have all appeared on “The Traitors” … but there has yet to be an “Amazing Race”-first contestant on the Peacock competition series.
Naturally, Keoghan would like to see that change, so he hand-picked whom he thinks would be good representation for “TAR” in Alan Cumming’s Scottish castle: Jet and Cord, Kent and Vyxsin, Jen and Kisha or Ricky and Cesar.
“The Amazing Race” Season 37 premieres Wednesday, March 5, at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT on CBS and streams the next day on Paramount+.
