Why Bill Murray Wants To Be On The Amazing Race

Bill Murray is the type of actor who gets to be in a lot of different types of projects, including dramas, comedies, TV miniseries SNL episodes, and even a Netflix Christmas special. While he often favors film projects over stuff on the small screen, there is one TV show that he would be totally down for signing on for and that project is actually a reality competition series, of all things. Yes, that’s right, Bill Murray would be down with joining The Amazing Race. You can check out what Murray had to say in a recent AMA, below.

The Amazing Race looks like a lot of fun. You get to go to a bunch of places. It calls on all your skills. I tell people, if you want to get married, travel around the world first. Cause then you get to know people better. It’s a test of wills to travel. I think The Amazing Race would be fun.

If you are going to choose a reality TV show to be on (and you have no discernable cooking or singing skills), Amazing Race has got to be tops. The CBS program is currently airing its 27th season and has been on the air since 2001, and it’s the only ageing reality series that I can honestly say has not grown stale in the least, thanks to the format and Phil Keoghan's excellent hosting skills. The show chooses different locations all over the world for its teams to traverse across and each season a wide variety of types of teams show up to compete. It’s hard work, and some teams have better luck or more fortitude than others, but teams also get to see awesome countries and attempt activities they might not otherwise. As Murray notes, it's "fun." There’s a reason The Amazing Race has won 10 Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program.

Bill Murray isn’t actually the only celebrity to have ever declared an interest in The Amazing Race. A few months ago, Will Forte told a wild story about how he and his pal (and MacGruber co-star) Val Kilmer really wanted to compete on Race. While they’ve been too busy to achieve their goal thus far, a few celebrities have actually been on The Amazing Race. Enlightened’s Mike White, New Kids on the Block’s Jonathan Knight, former NHL player Bates Battaglia and more have appeared on the show in the past. However, if Forte or Murray ever actually appear on the series, that would certainly up the famous factor quite a bit.

While this isn’t an announcement that Murray is actually heading to The Race, you can see him back on TV in December. The actor and comedian has put together a Christmas special for Netflix that is set to hit the schedule on December 4. In addition, you can read more from Murray in his full Reddit AMA.

As far as the reality competition series goes, The Amazing Race is currently airing on CBS and kicked off just a few weeks ago. While the closest thing to fame the show has this season are a couple of paparazzi photographers, we are only a few weeks in, and there is still a little time to catch up and get to know the teams. New episodes of The Amazing Race air on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. ET.

Jessica Rawden
Managing Editor

Jessica Rawden is Managing Editor at CinemaBlend. She’s been kicking out news stories since 2007 and joined the full-time staff in 2014. She oversees news content, hiring and training for the site, and her areas of expertise include theme parks, rom-coms, Hallmark (particularly Christmas movie season), reality TV, celebrity interviews and primetime. She loves a good animated movie. Jessica has a Masters in Library Science degree from Indiana University, and used to be found behind a reference desk most definitely not shushing people. She now uses those skills in researching and tracking down information in very different ways.