The Amazing Race Marks 25 Years Since Premiere and 9/11 Survival

Marking 25 years since its broadcast premiere, The Amazing Race continues to send contestants across the globe for a $1 million prize, maintaining a format that survived post-9/11 uncertainty and inspired pop culture crossovers.

From a New York Starting Line to a Global Legacy

On Sept. 5, 2001, Standing under gray New York City skies, mop-headed host Phil Keoghan gave final instructions to 22 contestants about to crisscross nine countries for a $1 million prize at CBS’ first-ever The Amazing Race starting line. What followed was a television milestone that spanned 25 years and 38 completed seasons, sent players over 1 million competition miles across 39 countries, and earned 15 Primetime Emmys. Cocreators Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster proved that their insanely complicated international production could be pulled off and made for compelling TV.

Yet the show’s survival was tested almost immediately. Just six days after the Sept. 5 premiere, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks changed the world. The tragedy immediately cast doubt on the need for light-hearted reality shows, much less one built around international travel.

"I was living in New York, and I remember going home and watching the news. I just wanted to throw up," Keoghan says. "I just felt so confused and surreal watching news footage and seeing a poster of ‘Amazing Race’ on a bus covered in debris amid people covered in debris. It was soul destroying as far as the importance of a reality show in that moment."

CBS postponed the second episode, scheduled for Sept. 12, for a week as the network focused on news coverage. But Keoghan credits government leaders for rallying the country around the need to move forward, and for entertainment. Keoghan notes that the series took on a new meaning as an escape from life’s hard realities.

The Accidental Origin of the Legendary #Browsey Eyebrow

One of the franchise’s most enduring visual signatures nearly didn’t make the cut. Season 1 started the momentum as a moderate breakout hit, and Season 2 began production in January 2002. Keoghan ended with his original unscripted send-off for the 11 teams, but a note came back from a network executive asking, "Where’s Phil’s raised eyebrow? It wasn’t in the starting line in Season 2."

Keoghan had shot the raised eyebrow again as well, a pure ’70s facial flourish subconsciously stolen from his childhood TV hero, The Six Million Dollar Man” star Lee Majors. With the exec's note, the eyebrow lift had to be added, and editors actually went back to the footage, found the eyebrow raise, and put it back in.

The move has remained through the seasons, growing legendary and referred to by fans as #Browsey. The inspiration behind Keoghan’s signature eyebrow arch was fully revealed when Majors’ wife, Faith, approached Keoghan at the Kentucky Derby, saying, "I love ‘The Amazing Race,’ but you stole my husband’s eyebrow."

Prime-Time Crossovers and the Celebrity Factor

Nearly three decades after its debut, the format continues to bleed into scripted television. Hacks went big for its final season as the HBO Max comedy crossed over with CBS fan-favorite The Amazing Race, as Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and her daughter DJ (Kaitlin Olson) competed in a celebrity version of the competition series in the episode, D’Amazing Race. Facing off against teams that included Property Brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott, as well as Trisha Paytas and I Love LA‘s Jordan Firstman, Deborah and DJ weren’t the sharpest competitors, and their time was ultimately cut short after they were unable to complete a detour, which saw them dress and dance as clowns.

Phil Keoghan completes “Amazing Race”-style competition Minnesota State Fair

Phil Keoghan filmed his meta cameo overseeing this celebrity version of the game, doing the introduction in the LA Colosseum and standing exactly where he was for the start of Season 13 of The Amazing Race almost 20 years ago. It was a privilege to do anything in that historic LA landmark, where Carl Lewis got four gold medals in 1984.

While famous fans like Reese Witherspoon and Drew Barrymore even pitched an idea for a romantic theme race to him once in a New York restaurant, and Will Forte mentioned that the late Val Kilmer wanted to compete with him on The Amazing Race, the realities of trying to coordinate celebrities’ schedules and the amount of time they would be able to be away would be extremely challenging. Filming 12 shows in roughly 21 days while traveling around the world is no joke, and the other major considerations would be how many of them would put up with sleep deprivation, the demanding schedule, and not so luxurious travel and accommodation.