you could also see the new cast in action in an exclusive video above.
PHIL KEOGHAN:Well, we really wanted to get out of L.A. earlier than we did.
So when those protocols eased off, we started looking at different places that we could go to.
Phil Keoghan and the cast of ‘Tough as Nails’ season 5.Matt Barnes/CBS
They were like, “We are a tough country.
We’ve got hardworking men and women, and we want an opportunity to compete!”
So it sort of dovetailed perfectly with us and allowing Canadians to be part ofTough as Nails.
Paul Hamilton from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
Anything you noticed about that in terms of the casting and getting those Canadian competitors into the mix?
Did it feel any different at all in terms of that?
So suddenly it’s all of the United States and Canada.
Carolina Paredes from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
And so the caliber of applications absolutely increased.
The way I would describe this season is it’s much more of a Top Gun season.
The standard of the contestants is next level.
Dustin Bradford from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
There’s a healthy rivalry between Americans and Canadians.
It happens on the ice in hockey, as you know.
The world’s No.
Marcus Jones from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
1 form of entertainment … is sports.
There’s nothing that comes even close.
And we’ve brought it out into the trades.
Jessica Hayes from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
So there’s definitely a good bit of banter between Canadians and Americans.
And what makes it especially unique is considering how physical this show is.
So tell me about your casting philosophy when it comes to age and experience.
Kenji Ngo from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
I love that we can have people who are in their twenties all the way through to their fifties.
We’ve had people in their sixties.
Being the best of the best in your chosen trade is not an age thing.
Cheryl Lieteau from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
That’s one of the things I love about it.
Sometimes being older is actually an asset.
We wanted to do a show where there wasn’t a men’s division and a women’s division.
Ben Dempsey from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
And that was hugely important to us.
What are some of the challenges we can look forward to this season?
The Gauntlet that’s the final challenge with the final three is brutal.
Akeela Al-Hameed from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
We are going to be in a dry dock with these huge ships that get repaired.
We’re going to be doing some sod work and working with soil.
We’ve got access to what I believe is the biggest zinc facility in all of North America.
Todd Anderson from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
They literally shut down the entire zinc factory for us to be able to take it over.
Now we’re talkin'!
So we had the teams running through the aisles.
Yesi Reyes from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
We had drone cameras flying all through the and camera operators on roller blades following them.
The competition was very, very tight all season.
We also get to ignite some explosives in a big quarry.
Carly Steiman from ‘Tough as Nails’.Matt Barnes/CBS
And then we get the final three heading into the Gauntlet, which is absolutely brutal.
Any other new wrinkles this season?
We do have a bit of a shock start with the teams immediately out of the gate.
We’ve never paired them up right out of the gate and we did that this season.
And it definitely got a great reaction.
