“It was very emotional,” he tells Parade.com. “These teams have all sacrificed so much to be there. They left jobs, left their families, completely turned their lives upside down to be a part of something special. And then they are suddenly told, ‘Listen, sorry, we’re flying you home.’ You can imagine some people were like, ‘Is this really necessary? Are you sure? This is unprecedented. We’ve never had anything like this. Are we going to come back next month? How long could this go on for?’” When a subset of teams returned over a year later to resume filming the show, everything felt slightly different. Production had to make notable changes to keep their cast and crew safe, including modifying their route to a Europe-only season and chartering their own plane to go from location to location. And each one of the pairs had their lives turned upside down from the pandemic. But considering what every team had undergone in their lives up to that point–some of which even became the subject of books and movies–they were eager to strap on their Amazing Race fanny packs once more in the fall of 2021. “It was like we got something back,” Keoghan says. “So much has been taken away. So much has changed. But some things have remained the same. And it was just great to see them start again. I was like, ‘Okay, great. We did it. We got this thing kickstarted again.’” Below, Keoghan gives his thoughts on this season’s teams, including who stands the best chance to take home the million-dollar prize at the end of it all. The Amazing Race 33 premieres with a special two-hour episode on Wednesday, January 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Akbar Cook Sr. and Sheridan “Sheri” Cook - Married educators from Martinsville, N.J.My mom’s a teacher. Teachers made tremendous sacrifices. They’ve got a huge investment in the lives of other people. I think you have to be a special person to be a teacher. They’ve been recognized for their work and their passion, creating a community a safe place for young people. I believe Oprah put around half a million dollars into a program they were starting up for kids who needed a place to go after school, a place where they felt like they were part of a community. They’re also larger-than-life characters. When Akbar walks into the room, he has a big booming voice, a big beard, a big afro, and a big presence. And a real passion. Both Akbar and Sheri have been D1 athletes, so they’re very competitive. Anthony Sadler and Spencer Stone - Childhood friends from Sacramento, Calif.Anthony and Spencer literally have the scars of what they went through on their travel adventure. There was a terrorist attack on a train to Paris, and there some military personnel happened to be on that train in Anthony and Spencer. Spencer got up and attacked one of the terrorists who had pulled out a gun, and Anthony came in to help. Clint Eastwood found out about the story, and he wanted to bring that to life. When Anthony and Spencer started The Amazing Race, they wanted to have fun. They’re two people who deserve to have a good time racing around the world, having done what they’ve done. Arun Kumar and Natalia Kumar - Father and daughter from Detroit, Mich.They are superfans. I love when superfans get to come on the show. You just see their eyes open up; they realize that their dream has come true. I find parent/child relationships really interesting on the race. A lot of times, as a parent, there’s a certain dynamic where you’re the “old one,” instilling this knowledge in this “young one” and telling them what to do. And then, when you have a parent with a child who is now an adult, the dynamic has changed. You haven’t really spent that much time with your adult child because they’ve gone out into the world. Or maybe you’re close, but you just haven’t got the same amount of time together that you would have when they were small. Arun and Natalia know the show inside and out. The question is whether they can get it together and be a successful and dynamic team. Caro Viehweg and Ray Gantt - Dating from Los Angeles and Toms River, N.J., respectivelyLove Island is a fantasy destination and a fantasy scenario. It’s not “take the trash out, go mow the lawn,” those everyday relationship challenges we face. It’s more of a honeymoon-type environment than a real-world environment. So for Caro and Ray, it’s going to be like, “Welcome to the stresses of being outside that environment and in a more stressful place.” And I know you love the stickshift driving; it always makes for some good TV. And driving dynamics that go on between these two are enough to push any relationship over the edge. Can this island love survive the stresses and strains of The Amazing Race? Because there’s no way to hide from it; it’s going to happen. Kim Holderness and Penn Holderness - Internet personalities from Raleigh, N.C.They’re both huge fans of the show. For those people who have not seen them before, they do these fun family videos where they dress up in pajamas and do crazy dance moves. Their careers show how the world has changed. They found a way to share their moments online. And people love watching them. They’re very telegenic; they know how to put on a show. They have a lot of fun with each other in terms of the differences between men and women. It’s a big deal to leave your young kids and head off around the world on a race, particularly with a restart where we promised we’d get them back home safely to their family. Marianela “Lulu” Gonzalez and Marissa “Lala” Gonzalez - Twins and radio hosts from North Bergen, N.J.I remember with Lulu and Lala in the casting process. I’ve never met identical twins who finish each other’s sentences the way they do. It’s really uncanny. It’s like it’s almost being scripted or something. They’re talking over each other and saying exactly the same thing. They’re really full of energy, larger-than-life characters. Smart, funny, and a great dynamic between the two of them. Michael Norwood and Armonde “Moe” Badger - Singing police officers from Buffalo, N.Y.We’ve got yin and yang here. Michael is like a bodybuilder. The guy is built, and he’s big. And he has a real presence. Moe is also very muscley, but not as tall. So together, they’re a great-looking combination. They came up with a fun way of humanizing police officers in their community. It’s been challenging for police officers, and a few bad eggs have ruined the reputation for all the good police officers that are out there have done. These guys wanted to find a way to connect with the community. So they started singing and actually have really good voices! For them, this is an opportunity just to escape their everyday lives and just have some fun around the world. Raquel Moore and Cayla Platt - Flight attendants from Chicago, Ill. and Gulf Breeze, Fla., respectivelyI love the relationship between Raquel and Cayla. I love when you see a good friendship where people just get on really well. They are funny and bubbly personalities. I think they would be the first to admit that sometimes people might underestimate them because they bounce around so enthusiastically. But they are really smart and really savvy. They have the experience of being a flight attendant and having to think quickly. They’re used to adapting on the fly. Ryan Ferguson and Dusty Harris - Best friends from Columbia, Mo.The love that they have for each other as friends is very clear. It’s this deep love, wanting to be there for your friend. And certainly Dusty was there for his friend Ryan, who was wrongly convicted of a murder and spent a decade in prison. A lot of Ryan’s friends didn’t want to have anything to do with him and assumed that he was guilty. But Dusty believed in his friend from day one, and obviously, that means a tremendous amount to Ryan. Ryan is very accepting of what’s happened. But can you imagine ten years of your life has been taken away from you for a crime you never did? It’s just a great story to see them be able to go out into the world and have some fun together, since a big part of their friendship was Ryan being locked away. Taylor Green-Jones and Isaiah Green-Jones - YouTube sensations from Portland, Ore.They’re two men who are very much in love. They’re the perfect partners on the outside. They take their style very seriously with a lot of matching clothing. Their viral wedding video is definitely something to look up online; you can just see the energy between the two of them. Big smiles and incredibly enthusiastic about the race. It’ll be interesting to see how they cope with the race. When they lined up at the beginning, I really had no idea how they were going to go. Because they just look like they’re ready to have fun. And we’ve got a lot of very competitive teams, so they’ve got their work cut out for them.Next, check out more about the teams running this season of The Amazing Race.
