Tag Archives: Jon Montgomery

The Amazing Race Canada’s Jon Montgomery teases Season 8

After two years, it finally feels like we are getting back to a sense of normalcy, that all is right in the world. Why? Because that Canadian TV summer staple is back on our screens.

Returning Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV, The Amazing Race Canada is back with Jon Montgomery as its host and 10 new teams of two vying for two first-ever Chevrolet Silverado ZR2s, a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two around the world, a $250,000 cash prize and the coveted title of champions.

We spoke to Olympic gold medallist Jon Montgomery about the upcoming season.

It must be just so exciting just to be back talking about this show and being involved with this show again.
Jon Montgomery: That’s the greatest treat that I could have been given at the end of this. I mean, if they were going to dangle the proverbial carrot in front of me, it was the show. It’s one of those reasons to get out of bed in the morning, when you get to connect, when you get to celebrate, when you get to be proud of what is ultimately home, then that is the framing that you need for perspective. And man, it helps when you get to be a part of something that is so celebratory.

What have you been doing until they hit the green light on another season?
JM: It’s the reinvention of all of this. I’m now fairly seamlessly talking into a camera and connecting with you through time and space. But we’re still sharing. We’re still affected by each other’s energy, by the words that come through our little speakers here. It’s all vibration. And whether we’re in each other’s space or communicating this way, it’s been the ability to forge new pathways and areas that I myself wouldn’t have otherwise ventured down because of a technological aversion.

What I’ve been doing is figuring out what next? What do I want life to look like? What am I supposed to be doing with myself? And one of those things is celebrating Canada, and the power of connectivity and connection and each other. That’s what I can do, will do, and intend to do.

I know that some people may say that there isn’t a lot of heavy lifting that goes into hosting The Amazing Race Canada because it’s about all those teams. Still, you make the most out of your camera time and people love you for who you are, beginning with you winning Olympic gold and chugging beer from a pitcher. Is that something that just always come naturally? You haven’t had to create a Jon Montgomery character to host The Amazing Race Canada, have you?
JM: No. And in fact, I was discouraged from trying to be anybody other than myself. Nobody ever said, ‘I really liked it when you went hell-bent for leather through corner 16, it was so cool.’ Nobody could relate to that at all. It might as well have not happened. I could have been a pole vaulter, could’ve been a shot putter. Nobody gives a shit what the medium was. But what everybody liked and appreciated was what was just authentically me, and that part of each of us that sees themselves celebrating an achievement.

The Season 8 cast of The Amazing Race

Mine was tobogganing face-first down a frozen toilet chute, but everybody’s got their moment. But when you embrace somebody’s generosity, that’s the connective meat, that’s the connective tissue that everybody sees themselves at that moment, or at least a dude that they want to hang out with that would show the appreciation that way. And that’s what I try to do with this role that’s asked of me. It’s just about being authentic and not trying too hard to be anybody else, but taking what I do seriously, but not myself.

Were there COVID restrictions during the filming of the season?
JM: No, we didn’t have anything. It was just going crazy. We will both take everybody’s individual health and wellness at the utmost of importance while respecting the law and whatever else was going on in our environment.

Did you go outside of Canada this season?
JM: No, we didn’t. We got to stay home, once again, and explore more of Canada, and I think that’s what people have asked for.

The casting of The Amazing Race Canada is always a microcosm of the diversity and the inclusion that goes on in this country. Are there any teams that you think that people should be keeping an eye out for?
JM: Well, obviously it’s that whole adage, you can’t judge a book by its cover. You could try, but then you’d be wrong. These teams, they’re for real. You always have to put a certain level of importance on familiarity, how well do you know one another. I look at that relationship as a starting point to do further investigation.

And you need luck too. You need luck on your side and you’ll create that, you’ll earn that. But as a starting point, that relationship is the foundation, that’s the hole you’re digging to build your skyscraper.

Are you constantly surprised by how the producers put together these challenges every season?
JM: Big time. They surprise me, and I’m there year over year. Wherever they go for the 11 months of the year, they’re going to places to be inspired, to bring challenges that can be erected nearly anywhere while we pick a beautiful place in which to do a fun challenge or game. Some of them are geographically dependent. Some of them are specific to a culture within a region. So for all those bits and pieces, I’m always amazed. I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but I am. I’m like, ‘What? This is here? We get to do this?’

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

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The Amazing Race Canada sprints into Season 7

After seven seasons, I honestly didn’t think The Amazing Race Canada would still be interesting to watch. But, as it is with reality competition programming, it’s the contestants that make a show compelling. Kudos to the casting department at Insight for continuing to find Canadians we really care about as they hurtle around this country and parts of the world on a quest to win two 2019 Chevrolet Blazer RS, a once-in-a-lifetime trip for two around the world, the $250,000 cash prize and the title of champions.

As previously announced, nine pairs of new competitors were ready to race alongside Canada’s Choice, Jet and Dave, who first appeared in Season 1, where they placed fourth. Coming into Tuesday’s return, I wasn’t a fan of this decision. I much prefer a completely fresh cast, but you can’t deny the two friends are fun to watch.

The teams began Season 7 just down the block from Bell Media’s Toronto headquarters in a small park nestled up against Roy Thomson Hall. At the drop of Jon Montgomery’s finger, they were on the way, snagging knapsacks and Route Info to Extreme Reach Recording Studio. Couple Dave and Irina were the first to arrive, followed by Jet and Dave, grandfather and grandson Gilles and Sean, friends Nicki and Aisha, married couple Anthony and James, athletes Sarah and Sam, sisters Lauren and Joanne and dating couple Aarthy and Thinesh. Moms and friends Trish and Amy were the last to arrive.

Instructed to lend their voice to a trailer for The Lion King (the first of what will be many, many, sponsorship plugs this season), Irina, Jet, Aisha, Sean, Anthony, Sam, Meaghan, Lauren, Thinesh and Trish stepped up to the microphones for their teams. Irina completed her voice work in the first take—she took it very seriously—and she and Dave departed. It took some folks a while to realize that timing was the key to success. Sadly, Sam wasted precious time thinking he had to memorize the script.

A group of people run toward the camera.Next up was the Ontario Food Terminal, where teams had to run around 100,000 square feet of cold space to find two halves of a postcard that revealed the next clue. Irina and Dave got there in first place, closely followed by Jet and Dave, Aisha and Nicki, Meaghan and Marie, Trish and Amy, Gilles and Sean, Lauren and Joanne and Anthony and James. Sarah and Sam and Aarthy and Thinesh, meanwhile, were still stuck at the studio. Thinesh finally completed the task, leaving the Olympic hopefuls in last.

Jet and Dave put the pieces together and headed off for Kamloops, B.C., on one of two flights. Irina and Dave, Aisha and Nicki, Joanne and Lauren and Trish and Amy were nipping at their heels and scored seats on the first flight. The others were on the second, delayed by 30 minutes.

In the Road Block, the person who didn’t voice the trailer were tasked with ziplining over an old copper mine and dropping a ball into a target below. Dave missed on his first try, as did Nicki, but Irina’s Dave landed it and they regained first place. Amy and Trish were befuddled by the map and argued over where to go. Sarah and Sam leapfrogged to fourth place, just ahead of Trish and Amy; Gilles and Sean were left behind. As Sean said, they’d need another team to make a mistake for them to recover. That seemed to come in the form of Jet and Dave, who were trying to navigate with no map and, ultimately, learned they had gone 80 km in the wrong direction.

Next was the Circle Creek Equestrian Centre, where teams searched moving cattle for a clue. Staying still was the name of the game for this test and Irina and Dave quickly learned their final destination: the Pit Stop at the Kamloops Bike Ranch. Sarah and Sam and Lauren and Joanne worked together to learn the destination. It was Dave and Irina who arrived first, confident and picking up a trip to South Africa and two Express Passes (one to use and one to give away). Sarah and Sam, who I thought would be eliminated, arrived on the mat next, followed by Meaghan and Marie and Lauren and Joanne.

It was Jet and Dave who arrived in front of Jon last, and they were eliminated from the Race. Wow, after the voting and the pomp and circumstance surrounding their return and the pair were cut in Week 1.

Here’s how the teams finished the first Leg of the Race:

  1. Dave and Irina
  2. Sarah and Sam
  3. Meaghan and Marie
  4. Lauren and Joanne
  5. Trish and Amy
  6. Anthony and James
  7. Aarthy and Thinesh
  8. Nicki and Aisha
  9. Gilles and Sean
  10. Jet and Dave (eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on CTV. It airs at a special time, 9:30 p.m. ET/PT, next week.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

CTV announces heroic 2018 summer schedule anchored by first-ever The Amazing Race Canada: Heroes Edition

From a media release:

CTV confirmed today details of its summer 2018 schedule anchored by the return of the #1 Canadian series for five consecutive years, THE AMAZING RACE CANADA. CTV’s summer schedule is also stacked with star power including: television veterans Rachel Bilson and Eddie Cibrian in the hot new detective drama TAKE TWO, comedy powerhouses Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman in the new crafty DIY competition series MAKING IT, and worldwide phenomenon Jennifer Lopez in Season 2 of WORLD OF DANCE who take centre stage.

Hosted by Olympic Gold Medallist Jon Montgomery, the multiple Canadian Screen Award winner THE AMAZING RACE CANADA welcomes a new cast of racers to the Season 6  starting line, premiering Tuesday, July 3 at 8 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. MT on CTV and CTV GO, and delivers a new twist with first-ever THE AMAZING RACE CANADA: HEROES EDITION. Featuring teachers, first responders, parents, community leaders, mentors, athletes, and other everyday heroes with a story to tell, the most-watched Canadian program of the 2016-17 broadcast year follows 10 intrepid teams as they push themselves out of their comfort zones in a non-stop, action-packed adventure with the hopes of being the last team standing, in the biggest race this country has ever seen.

Also returning to the CTV schedule this summer are some of Canada’s most-watched competition series including: the action-packed AMERICAN NINJA WARRIOR, culinary competition series MASTERCHEF, Emmy® Award-winning pop-culture phenomenon THE $100,000 PYRAMID, and the critically acclaimed true crime comedy TRIAL & ERROR. In addition, the all-new comedy series CORNER GAS ANIMATED inspired by Canadian cult classic CORNER GAS, and the original mystery-crime drama CARTER, starring Jerry O’Connell, make their network debut.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Bad moves and bad weather on The Amazing Race Canada

The first episode of a new season of The Amazing Race Canada is always tough, because you’re just getting to know the teams, figure out who seems to work well together and decide who to cheer for. That first hour shows the competitors adjusting to the team dynamic as well, sussing out their strong and weak points.

But the producers offered the Season 4 contestants no mercy, throwing them into a terrifying Road Block—crawling under a cable car hundreds of feet in the air—that cued tears for more than one competitor and a bunch of penalties for the rest. Not every team took a penalty for deciding not to participate, but inclement weather on Jasper’s SkyTram meant those that didn’t complete the test or leave with a penalty hanging over them were forced to wait for a determined amount of time before moving to the next stage. It had all started so swimmingly: the 10 teams bolted into the trees around Yellowknife’s legislature at the top of the hour, seeking the translation to a First Nations greeting.

Former Big Brother Canada players Jillian and Emmett broke the code first and departed for the airport, where they quickly devolved into a bickering twosome. Jillian’s yelling and crying from the back seat clearly frustrated Emmett, though they still managed to land spots in the first airplane to Jasper. And though she groused at him the entire Leg, the pair still landed in first place at Pyramid Lake, scoring a trip for two to London, England. Jillian and Emmett are certainly strong players who boast strength for physical challenges (Emmett aced crawling under the SkyTram car in his first shot), but a lack of patience getting to locations could derail them.

Dating couple Steph and Kristen scored second place thanks to physical prowess (Kristen turned a hand slip on the tram into a success thanks to well-placed feet), confidence and support that should serve them well down the stretch.

Husband and wife Julie and Lowell are an inspiration already. Lowell has just a pinhole of sight remaining, and it’s going too, and Julie is determined he sees as much of Canada and the world as he can before he loses his sight completely. How can you not cheer for them?

As for the rest of the teams, it’s really too soon to tell which ones will be in the hunt for the $250,000 prize, cars and title, but it won’t be Anthony and Brandon, the two friends from Windsor, Ont., who opted to skip the SkyTram challenge just before the rest of the teams were halted due to weather. If the weather had held, the move would likely have paid off. Instead, they could only watch helplessly as slower teams completed the leg, leaving them up for elimination.

Would you have gambled like Brandon and Anthony did, hoping other teams would finish behind them? Comment below.

Here’s how the teams finished:

  1. Jillian and Emmett
  2. Steph and Kristen
  3. Stéphane and Antoine
  4. Joel and Ashley
  5. Julie and Lowell
  6. Frankie and Amy
  7. Rita and Yvette
  8. Anne and Tanya
  9. Kelly and Kate (four-hour penalty)
  10. Anthony and Brandon (four-hour penalty, eliminated)

The Amazing Race Canada airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CTV.Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

CTV Unveils its Summer 2016 Schedule

From a media release:

CTV “is in it to win it” as Canada’s most-watched network unveiled its Summer 2016 schedule today, including the announcement of four new programs and four returning hits, all joining star-studded music celebrations THE 2016 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS and THE 2016 IHEARTRADIO MUCH MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS.

With the starting line now within eye shot, Canada’s most-watched summer series for three years in a row hits the road for a brand new Season 4 of THE AMAZING RACE CANADA (June 28). All-new seasons of summer favourites also make their triumphant return including the scandalous season premiere of MISTRESSES (May 30); award-winning chefs Gordon Ramsay (MASTERCHEF JUNIOR) and Christina Tosi (CHOPPED) welcome 40 new home cooks into the MASTERCHEF kitchen for Season 7 (June 1); last summer’s biggest event series is back with a special two-hour season premiere of ZOO (June 28); and CTV’s original hit crime drama MOTIVE concludes its final season episodes with riveting all-new investigations (July 5). Plus, CTV doesn’t skip a beat, delivering a tandem of star-studded celebrations of music with THE 2016 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS, featuring a tribute to Prince by Madonna (May 22), and THE 2016 IHEARTRADIO MMVAs, hosted by international supermodel Gigi Hadid, and featuring performances by singer-songwriter Alessia Cara, multi-platinum recording artist Nick Jonas, and pop supergroup Fifth Harmony (June 19).Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail