Phil Keoghan Teases A Reality Clash Of ‘Big Brother,’ ‘Survivor,’ ‘Amazing Race’ As ‘TAR’ Season 31 Kicks Off

The Amazing Race has started. The 31st season of the continent-hopping CBS reality competition has kicked off, and longtime host Phil Keoghan is letting fans in on a secret. In a new teaser video posted to Twitter by CBS, The Amazing Race host revealed that the upcoming season will feature cast members from all three of CBS’ long-running reality competition shows: Big Brother, Survivor, and The Amazing Race.

Keoghan posted his video from the starting line of the race in Hermosa Beach, Calif. The Amazing Race host announced, “I wanted to let you in on a little secret. I am at the start of The Amazing Race 31 and for the first time ever we have a reality clash between fierce competitors from three of your favorite shows: Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race. Trust me, this is going to be crazy time.”

While CBS has not yet confirmed The Amazing Race 31 teams, Keoghan’s announcement ends months of speculation about what type of mash-up reality TV fans can expect for the upcoming season of the Emmy-winning reality show.

According to The Amazing Race tracking site Reality Fan Forum, the first challenge for the 11 Amazing Race teams was to dig through the sand at the beach before heading to the airport. The teams are reportedly headed to Tokyo, Japan.

You can see Phil Keoghan’s announcement about The Amazing Race Season 31 below.

According to RFF, the 11 teams will include five former Amazing Race teams, six Survivor veterans and six Big Brother fan favorites. The names leaked by the real-time fan forum include Becca Droz and Floyd Pierce (TAR Season 29); Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl (Season 28); Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran (Season 23); Art Velez and “JJ” Carrell (Season 20); Colin Guinn and Christie Woods (Season 5); Rachel Reilly (two-time Big Brother and TAR vet) and her sister, Elissa Slater (BB15); Janelle Pierzina (BB6, BB7, BB14) and Britney Haynes (BB12, BB14); Nicole Franzel (BB16, BB18) and Victor Arroyo (BB18); Eliza Orlins (Survivor Vanuatu) and Corrine Kaplan (Survivor Gabon); Rupert Boneham (Survivor Pearl Islands) and Laura Boneham (Survivor Blood vs. Water); and Chris Hammons and Bret LaBelle (Survivor Millennials vs. Gen X).

Amazing Race fans know that the mash-up format works very well. Last season, CBS lovebirds Cody Nickson and Jessica Graf took home the $1 million TAR prize. The couple met in the Big Brother house last summer and are now engaged.

In an interview with Variety, Amazing Race creators Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri admitted that they “really hit it out of the ballpark” for Season 30 of the show.

“We came up with good concepts, good ideas that worked around the globe,” van Munster said.

But surprisingly, after the success of The Amazing Race Season 30 with two Big Brother veterans as winners, the producers revealed that they prefer casting contestants who have never been on the show before.

“But there is something to be said about bringing celebrities on,” Doganieri added.

The Amazing Race returns to CBS next year.