Phil Keoghan previews 'The Amazing Race' Season 39 with first-ever all-team Express Pass twist

Keoghan teases a franchise-first Express Pass for every team

Phil Keoghan told TVLine that when Season 39 of "The Amazing Race" launches from Vancouver, all 13 teams will start the competition with an Express Pass — the first time in the show's history that every team has received the power play for free. "What would happen if everybody could get a Get Out of Jail [Free] card?" Keoghan said, framing the twist as a way to push strategy into the very first leg. He added that the season premiere's title, "Sorry Guys, We Used Our Express Pass," confirms the pass will be deployed early. Keoghan said teams will have to weigh using the pass immediately against holding it in reserve for later legs, with "strategizing starts right at the beginning of the race, right in Episode 1."

Season 39 premiere plans and CBS schedule

The two-night Season 39 premiere is set for Wednesday, September 30 and Thursday, October 1 at 9:30/8:30c on CBS, per TVLine. Keoghan said the race circumnavigates the globe "in roughly 21 days," a pace he credits with keeping the competition feeling fresh, and told TV Insider that "the outside world comes into our world" through unpredictable train and plane schedules and encounters with locals. He told TV Insider that "our stage, which is the world, is a key element in why people tune in," calling location "a character in our show."

Cast standouts Keoghan is watching

Keoghan highlighted the season's roster to TVLine, singling out soccer players Ali and Joanna as teams to watch. "They've played at a really high level in their careers and they're used to competition," he said, adding that the season overall is "loaded with strong women." He said he has been most moved by the personal stories teams brought to the starting line, including one team in which one member "has been fighting cancer for a number of years" and is racing to show their child "that your mom is a fighter."

Looking ahead to milestone Season 40

Keoghan told TVLine he is already workshopping ideas for Season 40, the franchise's milestone season, and floated possible returning elements including a non-elimination leg, the Intersection, and a Fast Forward. "I would say I have a wish list of probably about 100 things that we could bring back," he said, while cautioning that "at some point you have to put it down on paper and go, okay, what are we doing?" He also pitched casting the daughter of the couple from Season 1 with her own partner as a way to mark the anniversary.

CBS reality slate context

In the wider CBS reality lineup, "Big Brother" is airing its 28th season and recently passed its 1,000th episode, with a finale scheduled for October 1, according to TV Insider. "Survivor 51: The Open Era" is set to premiere on September 23, the same outlet reported, while "The Amazing Race" will hold its 39th-season bow on September 30 and is "gearing up for celebrations of its milestone Season 40," per TV Insider. Keoghan, Julie Chen Moonves and Jeff Probst appeared together to reflect on a quarter century of network reality competition.

The next verifiable milestone is the two-night Season 39 premiere of "The Amazing Race" on CBS on September 30 and October 1.