Home & Family Hosts the Amazing Race

Home & Family hosts Mark Steines and Matt Iseman
with The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan

Seven years ago this spring, I was lucky enough to be able to accompany the cast and crew of The Amazing Race 13 on the show's first leg, to the beautiful city of Salvador, Brazil.  That first night, as the cast members spent a miserable night in mosquito tents in a muddy jungle, I was even luckier, in that I had a great meal with the show's executive producer Bertram van Munster, and went back to my fluffy hotel bed in the city's Rio Vermelho section.

Writing that story was one of my favorite experiences of my career, not just for the free travel but also because I got to witness the truly amazing machinery of The Amazing Race in action.  The amount of pre-planning and coordination required to produce the show is truly dizzying, and yet season after season, the show stays compelling and fresh -- particularly now with the twist it delivers with its 26th edition, which will air its special 90-minute season premiere next Wednesday, February 25 on CBS.  (9:30 PM Eastern / 8:30 Central)

L-R, Home & Family hosts Mark Steines and Matt Iseman
with Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan and contestants
Laura Pierson, Tyler Adams, Jenny Wu and Jelani Roy

In the new season, many contestants are paired "blind date" style, with partners they've never met.  This morning, on the Hallmark Channel's talk show Home & Family, Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan and four such blindly-matched contestants, Laura Pierson, Tyler Adams, Jenny Wu and Jelani Roy, recounted for hosts Mark Steines and Matt Iseman their Race experiences, from the casting process through that moment when the starting gun was fired and beyond.  It looks like another great season, and my DVR is all set for this coming Wednesday.

Check out the clip below of this morning's Home & Family segment:



Home & Family
Airs Weekdays 10AM/ 9AM Central
The Hallmark Channel

The Amazing Race 26
Premieres Wednesday, February 26 at 9:30 PM Eastern / 8:30 PM Central
CBS