Television
Art and chemistry
in reality television
Talking with the co-creator of 'Amazing Race'
By Toni Fitzgerald
Sep 27, 2005
There’s finally been a slowdown in the rash of more-outrageous-than-the-last reality shows, and “Amazing Race” producer and co-creator Bertram van Munster thinks he knows why. Viewers can find the outrageous stuff on the news. What they want from their reality shows, he says, is actual reality even if it’s with a Paris backdrop. “Race” returns tonight at 9 p.m. on CBS after its two most successful seasons ever last year. The show was on the brink of cancellation before it caught on during summer 2004, and since then it’s become CBS’s second-most-successful reality series, after “Survivor.” Van Munster talks with Media Life about what makes a good reality show contestant, the controversy over season-seven contestants Rob and Amber, and why the nightly news is more entertaining than fiction.
What do you look for in a contestant when you cast them? What makes a good contestant?
Well, when we’re casting, we’re casting teams, so they have to have a pre-existing relationship, be articulate, and have a good sense of humor. They have to have traveled as little as possible, and people, of course, must be in decent physical shape. We look for the relationships, that’s what’s important to us.
I think focus, too. We have had some very unfocused people in the race, to my great surprise. If they’re focused and tenacious, they have a good shot.
Is there anyone who you had one impression of when you cast them and then came off totally differently on the show?
We have psychological profiles of people, so we know who they are. There’s only one person who blindsided me, and that’s Jonathan, from season six with Victoria. He completely blindsided me. [The pair fought basically the entire race, culminating in Jonathan shoving Victoria while they were in Berlin.]
I expected him to be just the outgoing, vivacious guy I met, but I didn’t expect him to be this outrageous. I think the more outrageous television is, the less people can relate.
And yet we see so much outrageousness in reality TV these days.
Yeah, I know. I don’t think that’s the way to go.
It has to be relatable, a mirror so we can see ourselves in it. I love outrageous stuff, I think it’s hysterical, but I don’t know if it’s for everybody.
It may make it hard to export stuff like that in terms of advertisers. They also want some value for their money, and they’re reluctant to associate with some reality shows. And probably rightfully so.
Can you tell ahead of time which contestants are going to catch on with viewers? For example, did you think Charla and Myrna would be as popular as they were?
Well, they were just a terrific team. Charla was a powerhouse, just total powerhouse, and Myrna was a fantastic supporter. And [former “Survivor” contestants] Rob and Amber did very well.
We got criticized all day long over that, people didn’t want them to win. I was sitting in my chair thinking, “If they only knew.” [Rob and Amber lost.] And some of the older people we had were just extraordinary, the way they laid out the race.
The show took a lot of heat over the Rob and Amber thing. People were pretty divided on whether it was a good idea, whether it helped or hurt the show. Was it your idea or CBS’s, and why did you do it?
CBS’s.
I’m not always sure with reality television if it’s good to repeat people. They’ll have these all-star things, but I don’t know if it’s always good to repeat a character.
There are so many fantastic ones running around as it is, and that way you keep the show original. But Rob and Amber were really good, it was an incredibly good suggestion.
You’re doing families now, and you have some younger kids. Did you have to change anything to accommodate them? What’s been the most interesting part of filming with kids?
They only thing that changed was the length of the race.
The basic premise and challenges were the same – you get more story, more drama, more humor. The kids are just performing incredibly well. The way they run through a crowd, there’s no way you and I could copy this, with the vigor and enthusiasm on their face.
I look at my colleagues and we’re ready to go to bed exhausted. The kids are just sitting there eating an apple jumping up and down ready to go.
How do you decide on the locations? Is there anywhere you’d like to shoot that you haven’t been able to?
It has to be logical in a trip around the world. I look for places that are exotic. Every country has something to offer. We went down to South America, Peru, but we did not go to Machu Picchu. Everyone expects you to go there.
We’ve gone to the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Berlin Wall. We started the end of one day in front of the Sphinx. It was the one time in your life that they’ll let you run in with 15 people for one time at the foot of the Sphinx that had just gotten restored.
We are not looking for trouble, we’re looking for beauty. We go around as a guest of the Earth, not as a potentate.
There are certain places we don’t go because it’s too unsafe to bring in a large group. I go anywhere in the world myself, but you cannot bring a large group of people to roam the streets in certain countries.
What was your favorite location?
Sometimes my favorite location is going to bed. We’ve been going nonstop for five years.
What’s your opinion of other reality shows that are on the air?
I watch everything that’s out there, but I’m really a news junkie, although the news in many cases is such that I almost can’t believe what I see.
The news is more entertaining than anything I see. I see crazy stories on the news about crazy retired generals, and I know I was just there in that country yesterday and I just don’t see what they see.
It looks like they’re making this stuff up. I just don’t believe it, it’s pure entertainment. I really enjoy it when they’re all yelling at each other, but it’s entertainment.
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