The upcoming season of CBS' Amazing
Race includes a gay couple.
The 19th season of Amazing
Race will send 11 teams of two on a race around the world. Along
the way, teams will travel through four continents and 20 cities and
cover nearly 40,000 miles.
The season will include a new penalty
called the “Hazard,” which, producers say, will impact one team's
future on the race right from the starting line.
Team Gay's members are two men in a 13
year relationship.
In an introductory video, Ron Zeitz and
Bill Smith say they have wanted to enter the race for a decade.
“We wanted to be on this show for a
long time …” Zeitz says.
“Ten years, since 2001,” Smith
interrupts.
“Since it started,” Zeitz
continues. “We would sit there and play the game every season, of
course, from our living room ...”
“With a glass of wine,” Smith
points out. “And we always came in first place.”
While the reality show has often
included teams with gay members, a gay couple has not won the race
since 2003. Reichen Lehmkuhl and Chip Arndt won the 4th
season of Amazing Race. They remain the first and, so far,
only gay couple to win the competition. Lehmkuhl can now be seen on
cabler Logo's reality series The A-List: New York,
now in its second season.