‘Amazing Race 5’ and ‘Big Brother 5’ to Be Linked by Air Date and Contestant

One of the most frequently-asked questions we get here at RealityNewsOnline is, “What’s going on with The Amazing Race?!” Now we know! The answer is that CBS is pairing it up with Big Brother 5 to air as a reality block on Tuesdays from 9-11 (8-10 Central) this summer. Both will begin July 6 with 90-minute episodes (thus starting the bloc an hour early), and then BB5 will begin its three-day-a-week schedule of Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays while AR5, of course, will air only on Tuesdays.

But the date is not the only thing that will link the two shows. Variety reports that BB4 runner-up Alison Irwin will pair up with boyfriend Donny to run the Race.

While it will be nice to see Alison not whining about how she misses Donny – while at the same time flirting heavily with other guys, making out with them, etc. – somehow I have a feeling she’ll find other things to whine about. A CBS representative claims that even if the couple had applied for AR5 “the regular way,” they still would have made it because, “they have such a fascinating relationship.” They call it fascinating. I call it vomit-inducing. Your mileage may vary.

Of course, what would BB be without more twists. So far, BB producers are staying quiet about it, which makes sense since BB is a live show and you wouldn’t want the contestants to know the twists coming into it.

However, AR producers have said that the Race will be a bit more difficult on competitors. For example, teams that finish last in the non-elimination legs will still face a penalty – they will be stripped of their cash and not given any money for the next leg. Ouch! In addition, there will be a way for players to force an opponent behind them to “yield” or slow down. Like the Fast Forward, each team will only get to force a yield one time during the entire Race.

In addition to the new twists, CBS says the game overall is more difficult. The players will have less money and thus be forced to make smart use of what they’ve got. Well, Alison is doomed right there.

In addition to these two returning shows, CBS will also be airing The Will over the summer. No word on if Alison is on that one, too, but you can find out more information in this earlier article about the show moving to CBS from ABC.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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