CBS might have decided to delay The Amazing Race 6's premiere until later this fall, but apparently the last-minute cancellation came too late to prevent the publication of a TV Guide article introducing its contestants.
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Featuring commentary from former TAR5 contestant Charla Faddoul, TAR3 co-winner Flo Pesenti, and original Race edition teams Kevin O'Connor and Drew Feinberg ("The Festers"), and Joe Baldassare and Bill Bartek ("Team Guido"), TV Guide discloses that similar to The Amazing Race 5, the competition will feature only eleven teams (a drop from the twelve teams featured in both The Amazing Race 3 and The Amazing Race 4).
Presumptably taking its cue from TAR5's "the young and attractive" casting approach that the network no doubt at least partially credits for the long-running reality series finally achieving big ratings success, The Amazing Race 6 cast will include five models (two male, three female), two professional wrestlers (one male, one female), two spinning instructors (one male, one female), an ex-Playboy Playmate, and a former striptease aerobics instructor.
The ages of the twenty-two racers vary between 23 and 69, although only five of the racers are reported to be older than 35 years of age. As usual, the cast features the token "old couple" -- in this case a retired married couple that dubbed themselves "Team Medicare" -- but despite The Amazing Race 5's record finish of "bowling moms" Linda Ruiz and Karen Heins, another team of mothers is not among the cast.
The eleven couples competing in The Amazing Race 6 will be:
• Jonathan Baker, age 42 and Victoria Fuller, age 31, a married couple that bill themselves as "Team Hollywood." Victoria is a former Playboy Playmate while Jonathan is "an entrepreneur." In an apparent effort to keep the cameramen from focusing on his wife's chest, Jonathan died his hair blue for the race.
• Lori Chestnut Harvey, age 32, and Bolo Dar'tainian, age 38, a male/female team of professional wrestlers from Molino, Florida.
• Rebecca Cardon, age 29 and Adam Malis, age 27. Billing themselves as "The Wierd Ex-Dating Couple," the two are spinning instructors from Los Angeles, California.
• Kris Perkins, age 30, and Jon Buehler, age 29. Long-distance daters, Kris is a UCLA student while her boyfriend Jon owns a bar in Scottsdale, Arizona.
• Freddy Holliday, age 35, and Kendra Bentley, age 25. Engaged models, the couple currently resides in Miami, Florida.
• Lena Jensen, age 23, and Kristy Jensen, her 26-year-old sister. TV Guide lists Kristy as a "devout Mormon mother-model-student" while Lena is "her carefree sister and a former striptease aerobics instructor" (no word on what her occupation is now.)
• Aaron Crumbaugh, age 25 and Hayden Kristianson, age 25, a dating couple from Los Angeles, California. TV Guide lists both as models, however, while fit, the balding Aaron doesn't appear to exactly have traditional "young hottie" looks.
• Hera McLeod, age 23, and her father, Gustavus McLeod, age 49. Billing themselves as "The Silent Assassins," Hera is a special education teacher while her dad is an ex-CIA operative and "adventure pilot."
• Maria Sampogna, age 26 and her best friend, Meredith Tufaro, also age 26. From Queens, New York, the two plan to "kill 'em with kindness."
• Donald St. Claire, age 69, and his wife, Mary Jean St. Claire, age 65. Married for 23 years and the only team of racers featuring two contestants older than 40 years of age, the couple has dubbed themselves "Team Medicare."
• Avi Schneier, age 32, and his best friend, Joe Rashbaum, also age 32. Avi is a high school teacher while Joe is an advertising executive. High school buddies from Brooklyn, New York, they joke that they hope to play the show's "the Every Jew" role.