August 03, 2005
Help Us Get Cast on The Amazing Race
Hello and thanks for checking out our site. We both thought it would be a cool idea to build a web site to support our efforts to be cast on The Amazing Race, an Emmy-winning reality TV show on CBS. We've both been fans of the show since Season 1 way back on 2001 and our dream is to be cast on the 9th season (filming in November 2005) or the 10th season (if there is one, filming in Spring of 2006).
You can help us catch the eye of the casting directors by linking to this site from yours, emailing anyone and everyone you know in the television industry, and following our progress as we find out whether we are or are not going to be cast.
This site, therefore, is a grand experiement. How much influence can we generate from the blogosphere and fans of the show? Will we succeed in getting the casting directors to take a second look at our audition tape? (Some estimates put the number of tapes they receive each season is upwards of 20,000 to 30,000.) Do we have any natural advantage because we are identical twins and long-time bloggers?
We are excited about the possibility of being cast, though we realize the odds are very low that we'll even get a callback for second round of interviews. The goal of this site is to find new ways to get our audition tape seen by the casting directors, in addition to the standard tape submission process (which we have already participated in). We are also excited about the possibilities of CBS using us as a way to market the show to a new audience (did I mention, we are huge fans?). I don't think any reality TV show has had contestants that were bloggers, and should we be cast we'd be the first.
Posted by Cameron at August 3, 2005 12:32 PM
Comments
Good luck! TAR is one of my favorite shows. You might want to be careful with the blogger angle, though. As I'm sure you know, CBS makes contestants sign draconian non-disclosure agreements. I don't know how much trouble Gretchen got in for posting spoilers in her blog last season; I do know those pages got taken down.
The devoted Web fans helped TAR get through a few seasons of low ratings, though, for which the producers have expressed gratitude. So you've got that on your side.
Posted by: Susanna at August 4, 2005 12:37 PM
Thanks for the kind words, Susanna. We thought about this and have agreed that should we be cast, all of our blogs would go silent until the show airs, and then all posts related to The Amazing Race would have to be vetted through the show's staff.
Posted by: Cameron at August 4, 2005 12:41 PM
I thought they were going with teams of four going forward... Maybe I'm just mis-remembering though. I like the show, but I'm not a "super-fan" or anything.
Posted by: Greg at August 4, 2005 02:13 PM
Hi Greg. The teams of 4 are for Season 8, which is currently filming. Eye-witness reports say this show will mostly be filmed in North America. We are hoping to get cast on Season 9 (which films in November) or Season 10, which films next spring.
Posted by: Cameron at August 4, 2005 02:17 PM
Good luck guys! I absolutely love The Amazing Race and Blogger. A combination of the two? You've got a dedicated viewer in me. =)
Posted by: Kimmy at August 4, 2005 03:00 PM
Blogs, TAR, and smokin' hot twins. What's not to like? I hope you guys make it!
P.S. Nice powerbooks.
Posted by: Mike at August 4, 2005 06:08 PM
As a avid TAR fan, and a new Blogger fan I am backing you guys all the way!! I've posted a link to you on my site in support. Good Luck, I'm pulling for you!
Posted by: YellowRose at August 5, 2005 11:23 PM
