Matt Roush Friday, November 9, 2007
Roush on Amazing Race 12 and Big Brother
Question: I'm a huge fan of The Amazing Race and was disappointed last spring when CBS announced there would be only one installment this year. It seemed to me that Viva Laughlin was an obvious failure, and it lived up to that after one airing in Race's time slot. Now with the writers' strike going on, wasn't it incredibly stupid on CBS' part not to order the usual two installments? I know it's a completely different type of reality show, but I know they're prepping Big Brother for an early premiere, so it doesn't seem inconceivable to me that they could order up another edition of Race to premiere after this one ends in February. What are the chances of that? Call me greedy, but I love this show!— Jess
Matt Roush: Well, Greedy, consider that it requires a heck of a lot more logistical planning to produce a season of The Amazing Race than it does to find a new batch of irritating idiots to lock inside the Big Brother house. The likelihood of them turning around a new race so quickly seems improbable, and I haven't heard anything to suggest this will happen, but given the recent turn of events, I suppose anything's possible. The reason The Amazing Race was pared down to one cycle this season had a lot to do with the fear of it being overexposed and diluted — but given the strong numbers for its return last week, maybe that fear was premature.
http://www.tvguide.com/Ask-Matt/amazing-race-12/071109-06