‘The Amazing Race 23’ cast includes NFL players, L.A. Kings ‘ice crew girls,’ ‘bingo queens’

Meet the new cast for “The Amazing Race 23” … same as the old cast? We can’t say that there is really much of anything that has our jaw on the floor about the upcoming season of the show, and this is coming from a guy who has watched 22 seasons of the show, two from Australia, and the current season in Canada.

The biggest issue right now is simply that there is no real twist for this season from the last, at least per the initial release. We still have the same lame double Express Pass twist that we had last season, which we don’t particularly care for since it rewards a weaker team for doing absolutely nothing (in some cases, simply for being terrible). Why do we even need an Express Pass at all? We much prefer it when the teams all have to just compete free from any sort of advantage.

As for the competitors themselves, it’s the same sort of motley crew that we have seen over the years. There is a team of “ice crew girls” for the Los Angeles Kings, two former football players in Chester Pitts and Ephraim Salaam, some hippie-looking guys who are “Duck Dynasty” meets “Sons of Anarchy,” and a guy who is clearly from Boston judging on his shirt alone. We also have a pair of two older guys who identify themselves as “bingo queens.” If you’re good at something that involves just sitting there and putting a dot on numbers on your card, then odds are that you are not a very physical team. Someone give them the second Express Pass!

“The Amazing Race” returns to CBS on Sunday, September 29, and we will of course be here all season long with more scoop. Also, click here if you want to see some of the highlights from last year’s edition of the show.

Photo: CBS