Episode Details

Phil Keoghan, the host of The Amazing Race since its 2001 premiere, joins The Exclusive ahead of the Season 39 premiere to break down the all-new Express Pass twist and the show's first trip to Albania. He explains why handing every team a pass "took away some of the predictability of the stronger teams always winning a leg," why casting made a concerted push for the "very strong women" who define this season, and what it means to be sitting on country number 99 with a 40th season in sight. Keoghan also talks about the racers he loves most — the "wide-eyed and enthusiastic" teams from small-town America who have never owned a passport — the 25th anniversary that "snuck up on us," and where he lands on the celebrity-season idea that Hacks put back in the conversation. Plus the Albanian Cold War bunkers that have been turned into cafes and museums, why the starting line moved to Vancouver, and the live U-turn vote he wants more of.