Reality Panel Discussion - Moderated by Michael Schneider
Tom Campbell - Executive Producer, "RuPaul's Drag Race"
Phil Keoghan - Executive Producer, "The Amazing Race"
Sam Rees - Jones - Executive Producer, "The Traitors"
Tom Campbell - Executive Producer, "RuPaul's Drag Race"
Phil Keoghan - Executive Producer, "The Amazing Race"
Sam Rees - Jones - Executive Producer, "The Traitors"
Category
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PeopleTranscript
00:00Hello, everybody. I'm Variety TV editor Michael Schneider, and welcome to Variety's virtual
00:11FYC Fest, The Nominees, and in particular, my favorite kind of nominees, the unscripted,
00:18the reality folks, the people who really give us the dish on what's going on, and we're
00:23going to talk to them right now. First up, he was just spotted with Kamala Harris, so
00:29I want to hear all about it. The executive producer of RuPaul's Drag Race, Tom Campbell.
00:34Hello.
00:35Hello.
00:36Standing in front of a screensaver, it looks like.
00:39It's my, it's my, it's New Hampshire. It's where I grew up. God's country.
00:43This is the home away from home. It is beautiful. That may be the best backdrop. That is a 10
00:47out of 10, Tom, right there.
00:49Thank you. Thank you.
00:51Next up, sometimes he says, ticket before you kick it. He says, no opportunity wasted.
00:56He's tough as nails. He's the one and only Phil Kogan, the executive producer and host
01:01of The Amazing Race. Phil, about to go on a bike ride.
01:05Yes, it's just hanging there, literally waiting for me to go, but I have to agree with you.
01:12I think Tom does take out the award for the best background. I was hoping the bike might
01:15do it, but Tom, you're beautifully lit, and I wish I was where you are right now.
01:22Well, we are going to vote one of you off later for who had the least exciting backdrop.
01:27So I'm not sure, but Sam Reese Jones, I'm worried it might be you. I'm not sure. But
01:34Sam, of course, he just shot season three of The Traitors with Tom Sandoval, by the
01:39way, which I'm sorry. I hope you're okay. But I think at this point, you also know the
01:46difference between Trishel and Chrishell, which I also want to get your take. He is
01:51the executive producer of The Traitors, Sam Reese Jones. Sam, where are you calling in
01:56from right now?
01:57Yeah, I apologize. We've got a mirror and a blue wall. It's not as exciting. I am in
02:02post for season three, so I need to realign my brain for 30 minutes back to season two.
02:08Like I said, if you want to give us any scoop for season three, always open for that. Okay,
02:17before we begin this panel, I want to throw it to Phil, because Phil, let's consider this
02:22the amazing panel. And I want you to kick off this panel only the way that you can.
02:28So please set the stage. We're about to go grab our backpacks and go on this journey
02:33for the next 30 minutes to talk about reality. Why don't you set us off as we're about to
02:38go race off to this panel?
02:40Is everybody ready to discuss?
02:43Yes.
02:45This is where you say, yes, Tom, I can't hear you.
02:48Yes.
02:49Okay. All right. The discussion is waiting for you. Good luck. Discuss well. Go. Okay.
02:57Here we are.
03:01And just so everybody knows, that was not rehearsed, obviously. So anyway, Phil is amazing
03:09with the improv. So I gave him a challenge and he succeeded. So Phil, I think you're
03:15front of the pack right now. So Tom and Sam, time to catch up. Well, Tom, I mentioned the
03:21Kamala cameo, or more than a cameo, her appearance on Drag Race. So kind of tell us a little
03:28bit about how that all happened.
03:30This week's winner will receive immunity. Also, I will not be judging you. Instead,
03:39you'll be judging each other.
03:44And that's the tea.
03:45And that's the motherf***ing tea.
03:47Well, it's crazy. We've been privileged to have Nancy Pelosi drop by RuPaul's Drag Race
03:52in the past. Cory Booker, AOC, was the judge. I do welcome any Republican politician who'd
03:58like to join us. You have a standing invitation. But earlier this spring, we were circling
04:04around with her office and she's a busy person. And so we found this one day, this one hour
04:10when she could converge upon the studio and do a little, you know, don't forget to vote,
04:15vote.gov thing, which we, it's messaging we do every election year, whether it's midterms
04:20or presidential. And just so happens in the time we shot it in June to the time that it
04:24aired at the top of our all-star season grand finale, she became the presidential, the presumptive
04:30presidential candidate, which is mind blowing. But drag gods always watch over us. So they
04:37did once again.
04:38That is, that's called a coup in television. You must have just been, the moment that that
04:44happened, thinking, I've got this in my back pocket. This is about to happen. This is pretty
04:49amazing to have.
04:50Exciting. It was even more exciting to meet her. And I'm not, but she was warm and informative
04:54and she took the time. And it's like, it's, you know, prior to that, we, you know, there
04:58was a lot of negative stuff and now we're seeing a different side of her, but she was,
05:01she was very impressive to me in person, I must say.
05:04Yeah. No. And you have a great photo actually on your Instagram of, of you sort of giving
05:08her some notes at the same time, which I'm sure that's a photo that, uh,
05:11You know, she's got to stop calling me, you know, like the rest is on, you know,
05:14you got to take this calmly. You got to take it from here. You know, I can't, I can't help
05:17you every step of the way.
05:18Yeah. Well, if things go well, hopefully there will be some sort of a drag ball at the
05:22inauguration. So Tom,
05:24Secretary of drag. Don't you think that would be, that's too much, that's going to make
05:27bad headlines. Nevermind. Erase that, erase that.
05:30Exactly. Exactly. But, uh, well, that, that was fantastic. And, uh, you know, uh, we were
05:35just talking, Phil, that, uh, you just, uh, shot a season 37, your beer back from that.
05:40So, uh, you know, this must be sort of at this point, so ingrained in, in how you handle
05:47that, how you come down from it, but, uh, what can you sort of tell us so far in, uh,
05:53season 37, what, uh, sort of scoop maybe, or a little tidbits you might want to be able
05:58to share?
05:58All aboard the amazing race charter.
06:05You're going to the kingdom of Jordan.
06:13For the first time in amazing race history.
06:18Well, as, as Sam was saying, it can get confusing when the, when, when you're talking about
06:23one season, having worked on another. And then as you know, we flipped third season,
06:2735 and 36 on air. And, uh, a lot of times I'm doing press and talking about seasons
06:33like 21 and 22 that are airing in different countries. So, uh, and, and with the hundreds
06:39and hundreds of contestants, it does get confusing. So I want to be careful also that I don't
06:44spill the beans on anything for 37, which we just shot. And, um, it was, it was a, it
06:49was a tough one. I mean, it was, uh, it was brutal, but a lot of times shooting 12 shows
06:54in 21 days and, uh, sometimes, uh, traveling the equivalent of going around the equator
07:00twice in that amount of time and sitting on planes. Um, when it's had on us as production,
07:06there's generally a, a direct correlation between how hard it is, uh, in the foot for
07:12the contestants, obviously, but also just, uh, the quality of the content. So if it's,
07:19if it feels easy for us, which it never does, but, um, then we worry a wee bit. Um, there's,
07:26there's a lot of great content that comes out of it being, being tough. So this season, um,
07:32I would describe it as a season of, of surprises. Um, we just tried to, uh, we just tried to mix
07:40things up a little bit in terms of keeping everybody on edge means 37 seasons in, I think,
07:47you know, that's our challenge constantly is to be consistently good and, and also trying to do
07:52things, but not deviating away, deviating away from the format, which at its core works.
07:59Well, you guys, you know, obviously during the pandemic had to pivot a bit and, you know,
08:03you had to do certain things that you wouldn't normally do like the chartered planes. So you're
08:07able to go back now to the, you know, the classic commercial flights and do a lot of things you
08:11weren't able to do for a couple of seasons. Was there anything though, that you learned during
08:15those pandemic years that actually worked out and maybe you incorporated now into the show?
08:21Well, I think it did just prove that having a, an amazing cast and amazing destinations is what
08:29makes the show work. And we, I'd feel a part of, of, of our ability to be fresh every season is
08:36that we're not going back to a sound stage or going back to the same location. I really admire
08:43shows that have that ability to keep their shows fresh. And yet they have to go back to the same
08:48location. We do have that privilege of being able to make sure that what we see in the background,
08:53like this beautiful, fresh background that Tom has given us today that you can keep that fresh,
09:00that background that, you know, where you are and what you're doing at the same time,
09:04changing the people who are in front of the camera. So I think in, during the pandemic,
09:10when we were restricted with what we could do, the format at its core continued to work and
09:16we were still able to entertain. So as, as everybody here will agree, coming up with a
09:22format and you know, traders is such a refreshing format. It's such something that's really original,
09:28which I've really enjoyed watching. It's tough. It's so tough. It's tough to,
09:33it's like lining up planets. And if you look at the, uh, the success rate of, of new formats
09:39that come out, I think it's, what is it? One in 10 work, the ones that go to air. I mean,
09:45it's crazy hard. So, um, yeah, we all know just how hard it is to get something to work. And when
09:51you get it to work, you want to stick with it and try to just continue to, to refine it and make it
09:57better and better every season. Yeah, no, absolutely. And Sam is sort of the, the young
10:01show on the block, you know, now heading into season three, what are you finding in terms of
10:06your, uh, especially your reality show contestants in that now that they sort of know how the game
10:11is played, how is that changing things? How are they strategizing? What did you notice this,
10:16this upcoming season? Maybe that people learn from the first two seasons, especially season two
10:21that they're now employing or even adding to. Um, I mean, there's something really brilliant
10:30about the players knowing more about the game because their strategies get more complicated,
10:36more complex, um, which is really exciting to watch. So you have better faithful strategies,
10:42better traitor strategies. So it's a joy to watch as they sort of come into the game,
10:46knowing a little bit more and trying to push the needle a little bit.
10:50Well, Lord helped me get through this game. Everyone's a liar. I can't be trusted. I'm
10:56trying to win. She's a stone cold killer. It's just gossip. I think she could be banished.
11:02This is some bull. This is getting intense.
11:06Listen, whenever anyone walks into the castle, the game changes, um, as the other people will
11:11contest the cast, you know, is the, is the most important thing in the, in the building block. So,
11:17and the thing that we love about our formula is when those castle gates open,
11:21the game changes. So season three's journey was completely different to season two's different
11:27to season one. So, um, you know, it was really, it's been exciting to watch how
11:33different people take on the, uh, the challenge in different ways.
11:38Yeah. And speaking of sort of watching shows grow and evolve over time, I mean,
11:42Tom, this is a, you know, drag race has, has not only sort of expanded from being on a much
11:48smaller network in the beginning, and then eventually making all its way to MTV, but also
11:52just its importance in not only pop culture, but now just in culture in general has really
11:57developed to threefold. How have you sort of handled that evolution to the point now where
12:04your show is, is an important show, just in the culture.
12:09Thank you for saying that. I mean, I do again, thank the drag Gods, but I still have PTSD
12:14because 17 years ago, when we pitched this show to all of our friends at all the cable networks,
12:19who are, you know, our, our besties, they were like, Oh, we love this show. And we love you.
12:23We love Rue, but you know, we can't get this past our ad sales team, you know? And it was like,
12:28and it was logo who was a, was a fledgling, you know, gay and lesbian network that took us. And
12:33at the time we were like, we're on logo, you know, it seemed like the smallest, like a step back from
12:37RuPaul's nineties days, but it ended up being the perfect place to be. They let queer voices tell
12:42queer stories about queer people. And, you know, pop culture, queer culture and pop culture, aren't
12:49that different. They bubble up, right. Queer culture kind of bubbles up and whether it was
12:52disco or all kinds of different things throughout culture. So drag race had that time to kind of,
12:57I think it was eight seasons before we were ever even nominated for an Emmy. And so we, it's,
13:04it's not our goal, but it's an awfully lovely thing for the people that work so hard for the
13:09Queens who aren't just contestants, but they're performers. So being on the show gives them this
13:13world platform. And, you know, you didn't say the dreaded mainstream word, but people say,
13:17oh, drag now is mainstream. It's like, well, did you see the Olympics opening ceremony?
13:22There's a lot of controversy. It's an old playbook. It's old and tired, but it's still effective to
13:27sort of attack drag Queens. And, you know, and all they're trying to do is to sort of express
13:33themselves and, and, and shouldn't we all be able to express ourselves? So, I mean, it's just,
13:37it's been a pleasure to, to year after year to reinvent the show and for people to find it. And
13:42I think people are still finding it. And that's the exciting thing.
13:45Yeah. And, and to talk to sort of coda on that, Tom, RuPaul has something that he says often about
13:51how, you know, drag race is not a political show, but just the, the, the, the fact that it exists
13:57is sort of a political statement.
13:59He says, I make a political statement every time I bat my false eyelashes,
14:02because Ru has an expression for everything. And it's very true. So it is just by existing,
14:06we try, believe it or not, not to make it not political and to make it fun and stupid and full
14:11of puns. And, you know, it's that inner language. It's, it's, it's I'll show my age, not that my
14:17beard doesn't already, but you know, growing up, it was like the match game would play in
14:21the afternoons. And that was like some gay people, the Hollywood squares, Paul in, that was kind of
14:25like the closest thing to like a queer cocktail party you're invited to. And now we have drag
14:30race. So if anybody wants to come to the, a fun party, it's a come over to drag race.
14:34Absolutely. Well, let's, let's, let's switch gears now. And let's talk hot takes,
14:40because I got some hot takes for all of you. And I want to hear your hot takes for your shows as
14:45well. Phil, I'm going to start with you because I got two hot takes for you. A, you still haven't
14:49aged. I've known you for a long time, and I don't know how this has happened. I do love that in the
14:55promos for tough as nails, you always have like a little bit of a stubble, but you're clean shaven
15:00for the amazing race. I love that. That's when I know which show you're talking about,
15:04but two different budgets. One has the budget for razors. Yeah. Oh, you're tough as nails.
15:11I get it. I get it. It's like the way you said, change gears. The bike must have triggered that
15:17in you, Mike, I think completely also the puns. I like me a good RuPaul pine. And that also
15:23reminded me that we got to stick with the puns. Oh, and I, and I'm, I'm totally with you on that.
15:28I think puns are hugely important. Um, yeah, just pun, pun the hell out of TV. It's just,
15:34you know, we need more, we need more pun for fun because, uh, God knows there's too much serious
15:40stuff going on in the world. So yeah, the more we can, uh, with our shows, make people laugh
15:45and escape a little bit while they're sitting there and just have fun, uh, and, and see that,
15:51you know, we, we, we've got to stop taking ourselves too seriously. Stop worrying about
15:55how other people are and what they think and what they believe in. And just get back to,
16:00can't we all just have some fun? You know, I, I, I just think that's the whole point of
16:05what we do. And it's the best thing about what we do, which is we allow people to escape some
16:10of the horribleness in the world and just have some fun. Well, that's, what's great about this
16:14genre too. But so my, my hot take specifically about amazing races, I miss the money. I want
16:19to see people lose money, be desperate for money. I kind of missed that. What is Phil,
16:25what is your hot take about the amazing race at this point? Well, it did money thing, but you'd
16:30like, you'd like when we used to take their money away or, you know, when suddenly they had run out
16:35of money and they, they couldn't like spend the night anywhere or, you know, they, they,
16:40they were desperate for, uh, to, to figure out how to make money. Yeah. I have to say this.
16:44I am kind of pleased it's gone. And one of the reasons is I don't like that. You know, we are,
16:51we do live in a privileged society and I just don't like the idea that amazing races are going
16:56out into the world where there's a lot of people who just don't have resources. And we've had
17:02before we've had seasons where people have asked for money and I'm just really uncomfortable with
17:06that. So I kind of like that. That's not a part of the, of the mix anymore. I mean, we do make
17:14tight for people to have to try to get things done with a limited amount of money,
17:18but, um, I like the people have to be resourceful, but it's not about trying to like get money from
17:23other people, getting help from other people, I think is cool. And, and one of the great things
17:28about our show, I think is that we've shown that there are amazing people all over the planet.
17:35So many times when you see other countries in primetime television or up on the news,
17:43you know, that saying, if it bleeds, it leads a lot of times you see the worst of what is
17:49outside America. You see the worst in people. It's what makes good news for people. We're trying to
17:56show what is the best of those people who are outside America. And, and, and that America,
18:03while it's safe is not the safest country in the world and doesn't necessarily have everything
18:09that the world has to offer. So I really love that we have the chance to be able to maybe
18:15change people's perceptions about different people who believe in different things,
18:19who love different people, who, who are a different, who are different groups, um,
18:24that we can show the kind of side of humanity and that it doesn't necessarily have to
18:30bleed to lead, so to speak. Sam, on the other hand, maybe not the most kindness of humanity,
18:37but, but nonetheless, uh, you know, so my, my hot take for you is justice for MJ.
18:42I will say it again. I think MJ was robbed at the end of season two. I think, uh, if,
18:49if they had just admitted that they didn't want to split the money three ways, if they just said,
18:53you know what, this is a strategy, this is a game. We want to split the money two ways. Sorry, MJ,
18:58if they had just been honest about their strategy, but Michael, you're, you're forgetting MJ could
19:02have won the money because Trishelle tried to vote CT out in the first round. So she could
19:07have won the money if she'd also voted for CT. Um, so, uh, yeah, I mean, justice for MJ, I mean,
19:13it's sort of caused quite a buzz on the internet, but I mean, I guess you want to, it's good to make
19:19some people unhappy, right? Cause you're telling a story, uh, and if, you know, some people are
19:25going to be unhappy, some people are going to be happy and it's at least it's a conversation,
19:29uh, and, you know, and creating a buzz, which is what we try to do as storytellers, right? We try
19:35to make people talk and, you know, uh, have different opinions. And that's, what's exciting.
19:40I mean, it's so exciting watching, you know, social media into react interaction, um, a bit
19:45of a community forming online to dissect people's strategies, dissect people's, you know, uh, what
19:52would I do in that, in that position? You know, I'd absolutely spot who a liar was, wouldn't I?
19:57Or I can't believe that they're doing that. Um, so to allow, you know, the viewer to try and put
20:02themselves in that position, you know, or have a bird's eye view of what's going on. It's much
20:07easier, isn't it? You know? Um, so, you know, uh, could you spot a liar when you're in that situation
20:13is quite a fun thing to, to play on. Yeah. Yeah. And do you have a hot take, uh, about, uh, the
20:20traders or about any of the contestants? You're going to have to, my British, uh, my British ways
20:25doesn't actually have hot take in my urban dictionary. What is, what is it?
20:31He wants dish. He wants dish. Exactly. Some dish on season two, uh,
20:38as in some gossip on it. Do you mean? So whatever you have, whatever you have.
20:43I mean, listen, the, uh, it was a ride season two. Uh, there were some ups and there were some downs.
20:50The players kept us on our toes, which is, you know, as program makers is a joy. Uh, you know,
20:56I think the thing with traders is there's a secret at the heart of it. Um, and, um, which is quite
21:04stressful to make when, you know, there's a secret that if it gets, you know, let out the game is
21:09ruined. Um, so it's quite a stressful show to make, um, and even more stressful as the players get
21:15better at it, but that's, what's fun to make. You know, we don't, um, we don't produce our show at
21:20all. We're really hands off as producers. We've sort of, we hand over the castle to the players,
21:25give them a rule book, give them a set of rules and the game is theirs to play. So, um, to watch
21:32that is terrifying, um, because we're completely out of control, but that's what's so thrilling as
21:38well. Um, and, uh, and, you know, and that's what I think hopefully makes, you know, authentic,
21:44uh, an authentic end product. I don't think that's a hot take, is it? But, uh,
21:48it's just a good take. I talked to my, my hot take is very specific to, uh, you know,
21:54what are your judges? Michelle Visage. I am, I love me some seduction. Oh my God. It is like
22:01this album was one of my favorites in high school. And I still listen to this often and
22:07guilty pleasure. Maybe I think it's just good music to, to make it right with you. I agree
22:12with you. Can this be love? I mean, the, the hits go on and on. So that's, that's, that's my hot
22:17take. Uh, it reminds me every time I play or reference it takes two to make a thing go right,
22:24which was her number two song in 19 that she doesn't get a cent whenever that's played.
22:29So she gets a little grumpy about it, but we, we, uh, you know, it was seduction and she had a,
22:34you know, it's a major storyline or thing, but she had, uh, we did a documentary about it too,
22:37but she had a big, uh, augmented breast that she had taken down. So she's no longer a star
22:42of seduction. She's the star of reduction. Thank you very much. Back to the puns. Thank you. That's
22:48what gets us through a day. That's a good day. Exactly. Do you have a, do you have a hot take
22:53about the Queens or about anything, Tom? I, I, I, this hot take thing is tough. It's tough.
23:00Listen, you've had, you've had longer to think about the hot. I'm trying to think of something
23:04for a trader season to tell you what, Tom, why don't we switch gears and we play truth or dare?
23:09Oh, about that. Okay. So Tom truth or dare is the dare to jump in the lake. Go ahead.
23:15Maybe which one pick, pick truth or dare. I got one for either. Okay. I'll take truth.
23:21Okay. Truth. Uh, let's see. What is your go-to lip sync song?
23:26Oh, um, oh, um, I, I've got this one in my head, but greedy was, uh, a song from, uh, Ariana Grande
23:36when the album came out, we shoot a year ahead and I thought it was gonna be a big hit. And
23:40she ended up not releasing a single, but it ended up being the one where Valentina years ago
23:44kept her mask on. May I keep it on? Cause she's done the words and RuPaul had to stop for the
23:48first time and drag her city and, and schooled lovingly, uh, uh, Valentina, one of the great
23:53Queens and say, what part of lip sync for your life? Don't you understand? And so I was just,
23:59I was just watching some, uh, tick tocky things and that came up. So greedy by Ariana Grande
24:04is on my mind. All right. And then, uh, dare. All right. Do you have a celebrity impression?
24:12Oh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, raspberries. That's my Carol Channing. Thank you.
24:20Corn. I don't remember eating corn. Okay. Thanks.
24:25All right, Phil, truth or dare? Uh, truth. All right. Uh, who disappointed you? Which,
24:34which team did you over the years think was going to go all the way and then just sort of
24:42sort of whiffed it? Hmm. Well, actually there's a few over the years that have kind of, um,
24:50thrown in the towel. I remember in season three flow and Zach, um, flow and Zach gave up on the
24:58penultimate episode. Uh, they didn't want to carry on and we were on the beach like, Hey, you know,
25:03you're in the final three. How could you be wanting to stop right now? And, uh, it was a big
25:09conversation and they went on to win. So I was just disappointed that they didn't want to go
25:14after going all the way to the end of the show is probably the biggest disappointment. Um, she did
25:22redeem herself flow, but, uh, I felt bad for Zach. You know, he's, he's there, he's put in all the
25:27work that worked really well together. Well, it was a little dysfunctional along the way, but
25:32anyway, here, here you have this opportunity to go win the amazing race and now you want to quit.
25:37So yeah, yeah, no, I remember that. So now that was one that came to mind. Actually,
25:42I thought there would be a little disappointed in, so yeah. And I show my disappointment. Um,
25:48you know, I have that disappointed face. Uh, obviously I'm unshaven. So you can actually
25:53see the disappointment even more when I'm on the amazing race. It's hard. I can disguise it more
25:58on top of his nails with the stubble. Let's, let's see the, let's see the disappointed face.
26:03Um, yeah. Um, I'm not fully shaven, so maybe it didn't come across.
26:11Oh, it was good. It was good. Yeah. I felt like it really let you down.
26:16Half, half tough as nails basically. So, uh, and then the, the, the dare, how many winners do you
26:23think you could name at this point after 37 seasons? Are they, do you still have them in
26:27your brain? Uh, yeah, probably at least half just, you know, standing here, uh, off, off the
26:33top of my head. Um, I were to give you a random, you're talking about, you're talking about going
26:39back, you know, 20, what is it? 24 years, like almost a quarter century, Mike. And, uh, I do
26:47have Amiga threes every day. Uh, and, and specifically for this reason, because every now
26:53and again, I get a random question like, Hey, uh, you know, who are the winners all the way going
26:58back 24 years? So, um, you know, Robin Brennan season number one and, and, uh, go all the way
27:05through, you know, to our, well, see, I have to be careful now because I, I'm going to start naming
27:11winners of this last season. So don't do that. CBS is on the phone and I don't think they want
27:18you to name it. So, but do you think if I gave you a random season, like season 17,
27:23do you remember who, who won? Season 17, uh, were, uh, that was our, they were our first
27:30all female winners. Um, and they were the two doctors and, um, um, oh gosh, Nate and Kat and,
27:40and Nat, I think. Yes. Good job. That was like half a lifetime ago. So, uh, yeah, I,
27:48it was a half a lifetime. What year was that? That was probably, uh, 16, 17, 15, 14, somewhere
27:55around 2000 and, um, uh, 10 or 11, something, uh, uh, 10. Yeah. There's a lot going on in your
28:04brain. I'm sure. Try trying to remember all of these winners and now mixing tough as nail
28:09seasons on top of that. Okay. And then you understand where my brain is. It's pretty good.
28:14You have a lot of time on that bike to think about it and to process what you've, you've gone on.
28:19All right, Sam, truth or dare, what's first? Uh, can my Debbie name the previous winners
28:25of the traitors? Is that, that's, that's a little too easy. That's a compound. We
28:32allow that. Okay. I'm going to start with, I'm going to start with the, I'm just going to decide
28:37for you. I want to hear your best Alan Cumming impression. I want to hear you say, are you a
28:43faithful or are you a traitor? But in that Alan Cumming brogue, I can do murder. I can do, uh,
28:52what else can I do? Michael, you have been banished from my castle.
28:57Please step forward to the circle of truth. How's that? Pretty good. Pretty good. And then of course
29:04the, are you a faithful or are you a traitor? Are you a faithful or are you a traitor? Nice.
29:13I taught, I talk in Alan's ear. So I'm the one that's sort of feeding him. I don't think he does
29:18know those lines, but, um, I do sometimes get carried away with, I go, I start impersonating
29:25Alan to Alan, which isn't the best thing to do. Uh, it doesn't help the performance. Yeah. You
29:30know, when you get too into it. No, absolutely. And I, and I know, uh, Alan, uh, I interviewed
29:36him earlier this year and now he's frustrated with everyone coming up to him and giving him
29:41their worst, including me, Scottish accent. And I'm sure it's, yeah, we never, we never thought
29:48him saying dollars and murder would sort of catch on to be a thing, but, um, it seems to have done.
29:53It's pretty good. It's pretty good. So now the truth, you are a traitor. You have to murder one
29:59of your competitors in this category, but it can't be Tom or Phil, it can't be a drag racer or amazing
30:05race since they're here. Who else do you murder? Now he's going to have to look up who else was
30:12nominated. Uh, that's really unfair. Never easy. I'm trying to think of what I'm trying to think
30:25of what won't come back to me. Cause it's all about, you know, it's all about not, not coming
30:29back to me. Right. You're over there in the UK. You're okay. No, no one's going to come after you.
30:33Yeah. Uh, okay, Sam, I won't put you. Why can't I murder one of these guys? I don't feel like
30:41Honestly, you know, you've got the two biggest winning shows like on this call. So you would
30:48want to murder one of them. So, um, drag races won quite a few years now. So if you need to
30:55murder a show, amazing race, one 10. So that was me. That was, I was diplomatically hinting at that.
31:04So if you could do a double murder, take both of these
31:08dominant shows out then. Oh, I feel like we're on an episode of traders right now. Like we,
31:15we all came onto this, Michael, with the understanding that we were going to have a
31:18pleasant conversation and you've turned this into like a, a trade is in a faithful thing.
31:23I think I've just made life on this call. This is reality TV. You are, you are banishing people
31:32every week on your show. Then I challenge you all to lip sync for your life. I'm ready to,
31:36I'm ready to go. Let's do it. Let's do it. Play some seduction songs for you guys to lip sync.
31:43I've got a ha take on me. I got that down. And if I've had like a couple of beers,
31:50I can hit those falsettos. Oh, I'm going to, I'm going to put you to that one of these days.
31:54Just, I just need two beers. Yeah. Not elephant beers or anything. Even a light beer is fine.
32:00And boom, I'm hitting those falsettos. There's a season of drag race global coming and stay tuned
32:05because your favorite lip sync song might be featured. I know I'll be fired for that, but
32:10we can maybe have you do a rematch with the winner of that.
32:17Well, guys, we're going to have to leave it there. Unfortunately, we're just getting good.
32:20I had more games to play. Eventually it was, we were going to eliminate one of you,
32:25but we didn't have time. So we're going to have to just leave it there. Congratulations. As always,
32:31uh, the, the, the fact that, uh, you know, Tom and Phil, your shows are so dominant and Sam,
32:36this has been the year of the traitors. So, uh, you all, uh, can't wait for the new seasons of
32:42your shows. And, uh, again, congrats on your success. I'm out alone and saying, thank God
32:46we're working. It's a crazy time. We're very lucky to be working and have our staffs, you know,
32:51busily employed. Yeah. I'd like to add my congratulations to you guys for producing two
32:58great shows. And, um, you know, we're, we're honored to still be in the mix with the reality
33:03shows that are there. And so congratulations to both you for, we, we know how hard it is
33:07to get something to work. So congratulations to both of you. Yeah. Likewise. Absolutely.
33:13All right. Well, thanks guys. And stick around. We've got more of the FYC virtual fest going on
33:18right now.