Phil Keoghan News

Phil Keoghan is back at the helm of The Amazing Race for its upcoming seventh season.

The underrated host recently spoke with USA Today about past and future adventures. Here are excerpts:

Q: You're returning for the seventh time to India, which makes it the show's most-visited destination after the USA. What's the appeal?
A: It's my favorite (place for the show). I don't know a more diverse, colorful, dynamic country in the world. There's a sameness and comfort level you get living in a country like America. For people like Nancy and Emily (a first-season mother and daughter team who had a tough time negotiating crowds in New Delhi and Agra), it was like being on another planet.

Q: You're also going back to your birthplace, New Zealand, the adventure capital of the world, for the third time. What new thrills can we expect to see?
A: New Zealanders are very proud of their indigenous Maori culture, and we were looking to get something of that in the show. We ended up having the teams search for Maori warriors on an extinct volcano (near Auckland), and it was the most magical morning when they arrived: As the sun was rising, there were these warriors doing the haka (a traditional war dance) with a magnificent rainbow over the top of the hill.

With yet another season of The Amazing Race on the way, host Phil Keoghan recently spoke on the challenges facing the long-running reality series. Here are some of his thoughts on the topic:

On keeping it fresh:
"We're going to new countries, working with new people, and when they get caught up in the enthusiasm of The Amazing Race, it keeps it fresh for all of us. Their enthusiasm reminds us that we're working on something incredibly special. They bring something to it themselves because they're looking at it from a totally different perspective."

On the rigors of production:
"People in the industry know what it's like to get 30 to 40 cameras through customs and signing equipment in and out - every bit down to the smallest microphone has to be documented in and out of countries. They understand that taking one trip to a country is something, but if you're doing it every other day and they have to negotiate in and out of airports every single leg, lights, tripods, microphones, that have to make it. The show has to go on."

The Amazing Race 12 premiered last night.

A few days earlier, host Phil Keoghan spoke with BuddyTV about the adventures of leading the Emmy-winning reality show.

He said his favorite teams are the ones that make for good TV, "not necessary the ones that he'd like to go have a beer with."

At the end of the day, Keoghan realizes this is a TV show, so while he may not love the personalities of some contestants, he's aware the cast requires entertainment value.

Over the course of 12 seasons, the concept of The Amazing Race hasn't changed much - and Keoghan believes it's this consistency that's led to such viewer loyalty.

To read the full interview, click here.