Bertram van Munster

World Screen Weekly, November 29, 2007

Co-Creator and Executive Producer

The Amazing Race

The long-running competition-reality series The Amazing Race returned to CBS’s schedule at the beginning of this month, filling a slot vacated by the axed Viva Laughlin. And viewers, it seems, were thrilled with the replacement. The launch of the 12th season posted its best delivery ever for a first episode of any edition of the show in households and viewers, with 13.72 million people tuning in. It was also its best delivery in the 18-to-49 demo since 2005. The ratings success came on the heels of the show winning its fifth consecutive Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Competition Program. “And people still tell me I’m doing it wrong!” quips the show’s co-creator and executive producer, Bertram van Munster.

The new season again sees 11 teams embarking on a race around the world in a quest to win $1 million, taking in stops in Ireland, Croatia and Lithuania, all first-time destinations for the show. Van Munster believes this season “is one of the best we’ve ever done,” and among his highlights was beginning the race at the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles. He also cites the diversity of the contestants, which this season includes a “Goth” couple from Kentucky and married lesbian ministers. The casting process, van Munster says, is crucial. “We look for people who have a preexisting relationship: lovers, married couples, brothers and sisters, grandpas and grandsons. They have to know each other really, really well. They have to have a good sense of humor and they have to be in good physical and emotional condition to do something like this. They of course have to have a sense of adventure. And I prefer [to cast] people who have never traveled before.”

In addition to shoring up slots on broadcasters around the world, The Amazing Race has also spawned a successful pan-Asian version, which is heading into its second season on AXN Asia. In addition, a Brazilian edition recently launched on RedeTV as A Corrida Milion�ria. “It’s a nail-biter,” van Munster says of the first Latin American adaptation of the show. “Brazil is phenomenally beautiful. The [show] has great contestants, there’s phenomenal interaction, a great deal of humor, and I do think that we’re bringing some new ideas into the Latin market.”

According to van Munster, there has been strong interest from other territories, and Russia is on his wish list of local adaptations. “It’s such a huge country and has such great potential.”

While van Munster notes the inherent international appeal of the series—“it’s so relatable for anybody in the world”—he acknowledges, “it’s a complicated project. In [some of these countries], the kind of money we have [in the U.S.] is just not available. But also the salaries are lower and location rentals are lower. The [level of] creativity will determine if it’s going to be an expensive or inexpensive show. It depends on how flexible you are in your market.”

Van Munster is mum on whether or not The Amazing Race will return for a 13th go-round. In the meantime, he does have several other projects in the works, including one with Harpo Productions and Oprah Winfrey on The Big Give for ABC. “I feel blessed that I get to work [in this business],” van Munster says. “I have a creative mind and thank God it hasn’t abandoned me yet. Maybe it’s from the jet lag!”

—By Mansha Daswani