Phil Keoghan describes The Amazing Race's pandemic-delayed Season 33 as a "mystery tour"

Entertainment Weekly

"Well, I think the first and foremost, what I'm really proud of was embracing the fact that the world was different, that we had to operate different and just not fighting it," Keoghan tells EW in advance of tonight's premiere. "And I think one of the best things that came out of all of this is we literally got our own plane — a plane that says the 'Amazing Race' on it. And that was for all of us. For years, we've all been talking about wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to line up in airports and wouldn't it be great if we didn't have to go through all these crazy security procedures. To get on a plane that was a bit of a game changer, I've got to be honest with you. And it added another layer to the race that we haven't had before. So yeah, we didn't get the running through the airport, but we got these great moments where teams would get on the plane and wouldn't necessarily know where they were going. And so it was sort of like a mystery tour! But yeah, we had to take some of the randomness out of it, just so that we could ensure that we knew where people went, what they were doing, and they weren't just get lost somewhere in the public and us not knowing who they'd been into contact with. So we just adjusted it. But at the end of the day, The Amazing Race is about all the fantastic challenges that are on the show. We put together a great course, and we ended up with a fantastic finish to the season." ALSO: Keoghan never worried about The Amazing Race coming back.