The Amazing Race(American TV series)

For the recently concluded season, seeThe Amazing Race 36.

The Amazing Race
The logo used since Season 23
Genre	Reality competition
Created by	Elise Doganieri Bertram van Munster
Presented by	Phil Keoghan
Theme music composer	John M. Keane
Composers	Lee Sanders Christopher Franke Vaughn Johnson Devin Powers Thomas Morse John M. Keane Nate Fenwick Smith Stu Goldberg Jason Greenberg Eric Hester
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No.of seasons	36
No.of episodes	418(list of episodes)
Production
Executive producers	Jerry Bruckheimer Bertram van Munster Jonathan Littman Elise Doganieri Mark Vertullo
Production location	Seebelow
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	43-86 minutes
Production companies	Jerry Bruckheimer Television Earthview, inc. Worldrace Productions Amazing Race Productions CBS Studios ABC Signature
Original release
Network	CBS
Release	September 5, 2001(2001-09-05)– present(present)
Related
International versions

The Amazing Raceis an Americanreality competitionshow in which teams of tworacearound the world (except theFamily editionwhich featured 10 teams of four and was contested entirely withinNorthandCentral America). Each season is split into legs, with each leg requiring teams to deduce clues, navigate themselves in foreign areas, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel by airplane, boat, taxi, and other public transportation options on a limited budget provided by the show. Teams are progressively eliminated at the end of most legs, while the first team to arrive at the end of the final leg wins the grand prize ofUS$1 million.As the original version of theAmazing Racefranchise,theCBSprogram has been running since September 5, 2001. Numerous international versions have been developed following the same core structure, while the American version is also broadcast to several other countries.

The show was created byElise DoganieriandBertram van Munster,who, along withJonathan Littman,serve asexecutive producers.The show is produced by Earthview Inc. (headed by Doganieri and van Munster),Jerry Bruckheimer TelevisionforCBS StudiosandABC Signature(divisions ofParamount GlobalandThe Walt Disney Company,respectively). The series has been hosted by veteran New Zealand television personalityPhil Keoghansince its premiere.

Since the inception of thePrimetime Emmy AwardforOutstanding Reality-Competition Programin 2003,The Amazing Racehas won ten out of nineteen times; the show has also won other awards and commendations. Although it has moved around severalprime timeslots, the program has averaged about 10 million viewers per season.

In May 2024, the series was renewed for a thirty-seventh season set to air in mid-2025, continuing with 90-minute episodes.

The Race

Main article:Rules and structure ofThe Amazing Race

The Amazing Raceis a reality television competition, typically involving eleven teams of two, in a race around the world. The race cycle is divided into a number of legs, normally twelve; each episode generally covers the events of one leg. Each leg ends with a Pit Stop, where teams are given a chance to rest and recover before starting the next leg twelve hours later. The first team to arrive at a Pit Stop is often awarded a prize such as a trip, while the last team is normally eliminated from the race. Some legs are non-elimination legs, where the last team to arrive may be penalized in the following leg. Some races have featured double-length legs, where the teams meet the host at what appears to be a Pit Stop, only to be told to continue to race. The final leg of each race is run by the last three remaining teams, and the first to arrive at the final destination wins the show's prize,US$1 million.The average length of each race is approximately 21 to 30 days.

Teams follow clues given to them in marked envelopes, including (from left to right) Route Info, Detours, Roadblocks and Fast Forwards.

During each leg, teams follow clues from Route Markers boxes containing clue envelopes marked in the race's red, yellow, and white colors to determine their next destination. Travel between destinations includes commercial and chartered airplanes, boats, trains, taxis, buses, and rented vehicles provided by the show, or the teams may simply travel by foot. Teams are required to pay for all expenses while traveling from a small stipend (on the order of $100) given to them at the start of each leg. Any money left unspent can be used in future legs of the race. The only exception is air travel, where teams are given a credit card to purchase economy-class fares. Some teams have resorted to begging to replenish their funds.

Clues may directly identify locations, contain cryptic riddles such as "Travel to the westernmost point in continental Europe" that teams must figure out, or include physical elements, such as a country's flag, indicating their next destination. Clues may also describe a number of tasks that teams must complete before continuing to race. As such, teams are generally free and sometimes required to engage locals to help in any manner to decipher clues and complete tasks. Tasks are typically designed to highlight the local culture of the country they are in.Such tasks include:

• Route Info: A general clue that may include a task to be completed by the team before they can receive their next clue.
• Detours: A choice of two tasks. Teams are free to choose either task or swap tasks if they find one option too difficult. There is generally one Detour present on each leg.
• Roadblocks: A task only one team member can complete. Teams must choose which member will complete the task based on a brief clue about the task before fully revealing the details of the task. Later editions of the program have limits on the number of Roadblocks one team member can perform and it is generally a requirement that both team members perform the same number of tasks. There is generally one Roadblock present on each leg.
• Fast Forwards: A task that only one team may complete, allowing that team to skip all remaining tasks and head directly for the next Pit Stop. Teams may only claim one Fast Forward during the entire season. Last used in season 29.
• Yields: A station where a team can force another trailing team to wait a predetermined amount of time before continuing the race. Teams may only yield any other team once per race. The Yield was initially used from season 5 through 11, afterwards being supplanted by the U-Turn. However, the Yield was reintroduced in Season 32.
• Intersections: Tasks that require two teams to work together until otherwise instructed. While Intersected, teams may be required to perform Detours, Roadblocks (a two-person task using one person from each team), and Fast Forwards together. First introduced in Season 10.
• U-Turns: A station, located after a Detour, where a team can force another trailing team to return and complete the other Detour option they did not select. Teams may only U-Turn any other team once per race. In season 29, U-Turn stations were moved before the Detour, and the limitation on the number of U-Turns a team could use was lifted.
  • Season 31 introduced the U-Turn Vote, where the teams voted for who they want to U-Turn. The two teams with the most votes were U-Turned. Season 35 was a private U-Turn vote - one team with the most votes was being U-Turned.
• Speed Bumps: A task that only the team that came in last on the previous non-elimination leg must complete before continuing on the race, usually consisting of a small, easy to complete task. First introduced in Season 12, and last seen on Season 32
• Switchbacks: A task that is based on an iconic task performed on an earlier season of the Race, typically at the same location that was previously used. Examples have been a Roadblock that held a team back for several hours, leading to their elimination, and a Fast Forward that presented a difficult choice, but the team that took it ultimately won the race. It was first introduced in Season 15 and used sporadically.

Teams are penalized for failing to complete these tasks as instructed or other rules of the race, generally thirty minutes plus any time gained for the infraction. Such penalties may be enforced while teams are racing when they arrive at the Pit Stop, or at the start of the next leg.

The events of the race are generally edited and shown in chronological order, cutting between the actions of each team as they progress. More recent seasons have been edited to show split-screen footage of simultaneous actions or two or more different teams in the style of24.Footage from the race is interspersed with commentary from the individual teams or members recorded after each leg to give more insight on the events being shown.The show helps track racers' progress through a leg by providing frequent on-screen information identifying teams and their placement.

Series overview

See also:List of The Amazing Race (American TV series) episodes

A total of751 contestantshave competed in the show's 36 seasons.

Season	Winners	Teams	Legs	Episodes		Originally aired
						First aired	Last aired
1	Rob Frisbee & Brennan Swain	11	13	13		September 5, 2001(2001-09-05)	December 13, 2001(2001-12-13)
2	Chris Luca &Alex Boylan			11		March 11, 2002(2002-03-11)	May 15, 2002(2002-05-15)
3	Flo Pesenti & Zach Behr	12		11		October 2, 2002(2002-10-02)	December 18, 2002(2002-12-18)
4	Reichen Lehmkuhl&Chip Arndt			13		May 29, 2003(2003-05-29)	August 21, 2003(2003-08-21)
5	Chip & Kim McAllister	11		12		July 6, 2004(2004-07-06)	September 21, 2004(2004-09-21)
6	Freddy Holliday & Kendra Bentley		12	13		November 16, 2004(2004-11-16)	February 8, 2005(2005-02-08)
7	Uchenna & Joyce Agu			12		March 1, 2005(2005-03-01)	May 10, 2005(2005-05-10)
8	Nick, Alex, Megan, & Tommy Linz	10	11	12		September 27, 2005(2005-09-27)	December 13, 2005(2005-12-13)
9	B. J. Averell&Tyler MacNiven	11	12	12		February 28, 2006(2006-02-28)	May 17, 2006(2006-05-17)
10	Tyler Denk & James Branaman	12		13		September 17, 2006(2006-09-17)	December 10, 2006(2006-12-10)
11	Eric Sanchez & Danielle Turner	11	13	12		February 18, 2007(2007-02-18)	May 6, 2007(2007-05-06)
12	TK Erwin & Rachel Rosales		11	11		November 4, 2007(2007-11-04)	January 20, 2008(2008-01-20)
13	Nick & Starr Spangler			11		September 28, 2008(2008-09-28)	December 7, 2008(2008-12-07)
14	Tammy & Victor Jih			12		February 15, 2009(2009-02-15)	May 10, 2009(2009-05-10)
15	Meghan Rickey & Cheyne Whitney	12	12	11		September 27, 2009(2009-09-27)	December 6, 2009(2009-12-06)
16	Dan & Jordan Pious	11		12		February 14, 2010(2010-02-14)	May 9, 2010(2010-05-09)
17	Nat Strand & Kat Chang			12		September 26, 2010(2010-09-26)	December 12, 2010(2010-12-12)
18	Kisha & Jen Hoffman			11		February 20, 2011(2011-02-20)	May 8, 2011(2011-05-08)
19	Ernie Halvorsen & Cindy Chiang			12		September 25, 2011(2011-09-25)	December 11, 2011(2011-12-11)
20	Rachel & Dave Brown, Jr.			11		February 19, 2012(2012-02-19)	May 6, 2012(2012-05-06)
21	Josh Kilmer-Purcell&Brent Ridge			11		September 30, 2012(2012-09-30)	December 9, 2012(2012-12-09)
22	Bates&Anthony Battaglia			11		February 17, 2013(2013-02-17)	May 5, 2013(2013-05-05)
23	Jason Case &Amy Diaz			11		September 29, 2013(2013-09-29)	December 8, 2013(2013-12-08)
24	Dave & Connor O'Leary			12		February 23, 2014(2014-02-23)	May 18, 2014(2014-05-18)
25	Amy DeJong & Maya Warren			12		September 26, 2014(2014-09-26)	December 19, 2014(2014-12-19)
26	Laura Pierson & Tyler Adams			12		February 25, 2015(2015-02-25)	May 15, 2015(2015-05-15)
27	Kelsey Gerckens & Joey Buttitta			12		September 25, 2015(2015-09-25)	December 18, 2015(2015-12-18)
28	Dana Borriello & Matt Steffanina			12		February 12, 2016(2016-02-12)	May 13, 2016(2016-05-13)
29	Brooke Camhi & Scott Flanary			12		March 30, 2017(2017-03-30)	June 1, 2017(2017-06-01)
30	Cody Nickson&Jessica Graf			8		January 3, 2018(2018-01-03)	February 21, 2018(2018-02-21)
31	Colin Guinn &Christie Woods			11		April 17, 2019(2019-04-17)	June 26, 2019(2019-06-26)
32	Will Jardell & James Wallington		11	12		October 14, 2020(2020-10-14)	December 16, 2020(2020-12-16)
33	Kim & Penn Holderness			11		January 5, 2022(2022-01-05)	March 2, 2022(2022-03-02)
34	Derek Xiao & Claire Rehfuss	12	10	12		September 21, 2022(2022-09-21)	December 7, 2022(2022-12-07)
35	Greg & John Franklin	13	12	12		September 27, 2023(2023-09-27)	December 13, 2023(2023-12-13)
36	Ricky Rotandi & Cesar Aldrete		11	10		March 13, 2024(2024-03-13)	May 15, 2024(2024-05-15)
37	TBC	14	TBC	TBC		TBC	TBC

Production

Concept

Co-creatorElise Doganieri

The original idea forThe Amazing Racecame fromElise DoganieriandBertram van Munster.The two had previously met when Van Munster was producing programs such asCops,and they continued to work together and eventually married. Around 2000, Van Munster was wrapping up production of his nature documentary seriesWild Things,and he was looking for another concept. Doganieri, an advertising executive at that point, had come back from that year'sMIPCOM,and she complained about the lack of good ideas from people working in television. Van Munster jokingly bet her on the spot to come up with an idea herself.Though her by-then husband was only joking, Dogenieri declared him "on," and she recalled her previous experience backpacking across Europe and meeting and interacting with the various local residents, on which basis she offered the idea of several teams of players racing across the world, interspersed with local challenges that would test the team's resolve and relationships, and which teams would be eliminated along the way but not due to someone else doing something against that team.Van Munster was intrigued with the idea, and had already had experience with "reality" television withCops,considered to be the predecessor of reality television during the 1990s.The two approachedJerry BruckheimerandJonathan Littmanwith the idea, and the four refined it into the concept ofThe Amazing Race.Van Munster pitched the idea toLes MoonvesofCBSshortly thereafter, who greenlit the show by June 2000.Initial scouting for locations for the first season started in August 2000.At least one casting call in New York City, at that point calling the show the "CBS Summer Global Adventure Series", took place in December 2000.Filming took place between March and April 2001.

Planning

Most seasons, includingThe Amazing Race 18(shown above), almost fully circumnavigate the globe, starting and ending in the United States and visiting three to six continents.

Prior to each of theRaces,the production team plans out the locations and tasks that the racers will travel, working in conjunction with local representatives, each of whom Van Munster had initially had available for a different show.The staff also consults with ex-military or federal agents that are aware of political matters in foreign areas, who may advise on countries or regions to avoid.Van Munster and others will then travel the proposed course to verify the locations and identify needs for filming for the show.The crew works with local government representatives to assure the safety of the racers while traveling through certain areas of the world.Despite pre-planning, the production crew may be faced with obstacles forcing them to change tasks or even locations. In one situation during planning of thesecond race,the Argentine bank system failed,creating political unrest, and a new country was selected.Similarly, after theEgyptian Revolution of 2011and the sexual assault of South African-American reporterLara Loganwho worked forCBS,the production staff considers Egypt to be "off the map right now."While filming had started on the 33rd season of the race in early February 2020, CBS temporarily stopped production and ordered all teams and staff back to the United States due to theCOVID-19 pandemicout of caution, though stated that the virus had not been contracted by anyone on the show. At the time, three episodes of the season had been filmed and no new production start date for the series had yet been determined.In 2023, van Munster said that they would not be traveling toRussia,China,and certain parts of West Africa for the foreseeable future.It has been estimated, by Van Munster, that over 2,000 people worldwide are involved in the production of any one season of theRace.

Tasks are generally selected to represent the local flavor of the country or region they are in. They typically look for activities that are not often considered something a tourist would do but part of the way of life in a country, as this would generally be a new experience for all the racers.Production relies on their own experiences as well to develop tasks; Van Munster noted that a task in season 21 involving synchronized swimming was based on his own struggles as a teenager to learn how to do a similar routine, thus assuring that if he could do it, racers could do it as well.

ARace'sroute has to be approved by CBS before production can start on their scouting.The specific tasks, clues, and otherRaceelements like the sequence of non-elimination legs, are all set about a month before filming.The production can allow for some flexibility to minimize the difficulties of production. In the first season, one Pit Stop was located and extended to 72 hours instead of the normal 12 due to a sandstorm. Also in that season, two of the four final teams ended up about 24 hours behind the lead teams due to flight and hours-of-operation limitations, creating a production nightmare. In later seasons, production has improvised extended Pit Stops by a day or so to prevent teams from becoming too spread out.In thetenth season,Phil Keoghan, host of theRaces,was detained by officials in Ukraine, where the ninth leg took place, and the local American ambassador, who happened to be a fan of the show, helped to free him.The 33rd seasonhad started filming at the onset of theCOVID-19 pandemic,and production was forced to stop the race after 3 legs; after a year of additional planning and rerouting, the remaining legs were filmed but with a course through countries with low COVID-19 rates and using a charter jet for transport between countries to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on the cast and crew.

The producers review previous seasons and make changes to new seasons as to keep the show fresh and unexpected; Littman stated that with as many season now filmed of theRace,many racers come to know what to expect and as producers, they need a way to shake things up, as "whenever you throw a wrench into [the Race], it completely throws them off."For example, while teams at Pit Stops during the first several seasons were allowed to mingle, the producers have since purposely kept teams apart during this time, as it serves to both keep teams unaware of the finishing order and the fate of an eliminated team, and prevents alliances from forming to keep the teams competitive.They also looked to change the format of the team structure, but found that their first such experiment with the season 8 "Family Edition" was poorly received by American audiences though had a strong reception from overseas broadcasts of that series.

ThoughThe Amazing Raceinvolves significant amounts of travel across the world for around a hundred people, Doganieri has published her own estimates that their production costs are in line with, if not less than, those of other reality television shows, which estimates she bases in part on the fact that most of the production staff have been with the show for a long period and work efficiently to help move the competition.The cost of the show has been subsidized by its sponsors, who provide trips and other prizes to teams that arrive first on certain legs, or have their products featured as a task. For example, more recent seasons have been sponsored byTravelocity,and typically one leg per season will involve a task that includes the Travelocity "Roaming Gnome;"trip prizes for first-place finishes on many legs are funded by Travelocity and the local hotel at the trip destination.Ford Motor Companyis also a major sponsor in later seasons of the show, and typically teams will be given Ford vehicles to drive for various legs and as prizes for finishing first on a leg.In another example, a tea-themed leg in the18th seasonwas sponsored bySnappleBeverages, which had developed a new limited edition flavor specifically for the show.The Amazing Racehas been considered to be a show that incorporates a large number ofproduct placementsas tracked byACNeilsen,often being one of the top shows for product placement each year.

Casting

Phil Keoghan,the host ofThe Amazing Race

The Amazing Racehas been hosted by New ZealanderPhil Keoghansince its 2001 debut. Keoghan initiates the start of the race, introduces each new area and describes each task for the viewers, and meets each team at the Pit Stops along with a local greeter informing the teams of their placement or their elimination followed by a short interview, as well as announcing the winners at the finish line. Keoghan was a television host in New Zealand prior toThe Amazing Race,and had traveled the world and performed adventurous feats for these shows.His background led him to apply for the hosting duties ofSurvivor.Though Keoghan was on the shortlist, the producers ofSurvivorchoseJeff Probst,while Keoghan was found to be a better fit forThe Amazing Race.Keoghan's performance as a host has been highlighted by his ability to arch his eyebrows to the arriving teams to increase suspense before revealing their position,and racers and fans of the show often refer to the progressive elimination of teams as "Philimination".Keoghan signed an extended contract with CBS to continue hostingThe Amazing Racefor "several years", according toTV Guide,shortly after the conclusion ofThe Amazing Race 18.The contract will also allow Keoghan to develop ideas into shows for the network.

Four teams from four different seasons. Clockwise from top left: best friends Danny & Oswald ofSeason 2,married parents Kim & Chip ofSeason 5,brothers Gerard & Ken ofSeason 3,and dating couple Lori & David ofSeason 9.

Prior to each race,CBSand World Race Productions hold casting auditions around the country and accept submissions through postal mail. More recent seasons have included recruited contestants.According to casting director Lynne Spillman, they look to cast a diverse array of teams to appeal to a wide range of audience members. Spillman notes they put more value on contestants that are "great talkers" as well as racers, and see those that have deep knowledge of the Race as a plus over other factors like looks and strength.The casting process takes about four months to complete.All teams are compensated for the time missed from their jobs, though the amount is undisclosed and confidential; one racer claimed that most people would lose money from theirAmazing Racestipend compared to their typical salaries.While the producers prefer to use teams that have never been on the show before or celebrities, they are at times pressured by CBS to include known people.

See also:List of The Amazing Race (American TV series) contestants

Each member of the two-person teams is required to be adult American citizen with an existing relationship with their teammate; according to Keoghan, in contrast to other reality television shows that pit individuals against each other, "it's more interesting to see how an experience like [The Amazing Race] affects an existing relationship ".Teams are primarily married and dating couples (regardless of sexual orientation), near and distant relatives, co-workers, and friends. Most teams that participate are average Americans, butThe Amazing Racehas included teams or team members with some celebrity status. This has included contestants from other reality TV shows, including Alison Irwin,Jordan Lloyd,Jeff Schroeder,Rachel Reilly,Brendon Villegas,Cody Nickson,Jessica Graf,Janelle Pierzina,Britney Haynes, Elissa Slater,Nicole Franzel,Victor Arroyo, Derek Xiao, and Claire Rehfuss fromBig Brother;Rob Mariano,Amber Mariano (née Brkich),Ethan Zohn,Jenna Morasca,Keith Tollefson,Whitney Duncan,Rupertand Laura Boneham, Corinne Kaplan,Eliza Orlins,Chris Hammons,and Bret LaBelle fromSurvivor;The Fabulous Beekman BoysstarsJosh Kilmer-PurcellandBrent Ridge;and Caro Viehweg and Ray Gantt fromLove Island.Several professional athletes have also participated, including theHarlem GlobetrottersHerbert "Flight Time" LangandNathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton;formerNFLplayersKen Greene,Marcus Pollard,Chester Pitts,Ephraim Salaam,DeAngelo Williams,andGary Barnidge;professional bull and bronco riderCord McCoy;professional snowboardersAndy Finch,Tommy Czeschin,andAmy Purdy;Ironman TriathloncompetitorSarah Reinertsen;Major League SoccergoalkeeperAndrew Weber;professional hockey playersBates BattagliaandAnthony Battaglia;professional surfer and survivor of a shark attackBethany Hamilton,former NBA All-StarShawn MarionandCedric Ceballos,IndyCar racersAlexander RossiandConor Daly,and professional skiers & X-Games championsKristi LeskinenandJen Hudak.Numerousbeauty pageantparticipants and winners have raced on the show, including Nicole O'Brian,Christie Lee Woods,Dustin-Leigh Konzelman,Kandice Pelletier,Ericka Dunlap,Caitlin Upton,Mallory Ervin,Stephanie Murray Smith,Brook Roberts,andAmy Diaz.Other celebrities include father and son screenwriters and actorsMikeandMel White,professional poker playersMaria HoandTiffany Michelle,formerprisoner of warfrom theIraq warRon Young,professional sailorZac Sunderland,YouTubestarsKevin "KevJumba" Wu,Meghan Camarena,andJoey Graceffa.The show's28th seasonwas primarily made up ofsocial mediacelebrities and their partners, friends, or relatives as a means to capture a younger audience demographic. The show's29th seasonfeatured 22 strangers who met for the first time at the starting line. Three special seasons ofThe Amazing Racehave featured returning teams or racers, and the31st seasonfeatured 11 teams, each representing 3 different reality shows:Big Brother,The Amazing Race,andSurvivor.

Racers have found fame in part due to their appearance onThe Amazing Race.Chip Arndt,who had raced with his civil partnerReichen Lehmkuhl,has become an activist forlesbian and gay community.Blake Mycoskie,based on his experiences traveling to Argentina after the show, later foundedTOMS Shoeswith the concept to donate one pair of shoes to poor children in countries like Argentina for each one sold.Datinggothcouple Kent "Kynt" Kaliber and Vyxsin Fiala became models for theHot Topicchain of punk/rock culture clothing stores after their appearance on the show.Jet and Cord McCoy used their celebrity status from their appearances to run for separate positions in the56th Oklahoma Legislature.

Filming

Through the17th seasonof theRace,the show usedstandard-definition televisioncameras despite the move of most other primetime shows, including reality television shows likeSurvivor,tohigh-definition television(HD) cameras prior to 2010. Worldrace Productions cited the cost and fragility of HD equipment as a barrier to its use for theRace.While other scripted or reality shows that film in one location have the ability to replace equipment quickly from a nearby facility, the mobile nature of theRacemade the prospect of using HD difficult.The18th seasonof theRace,filmed in late 2010, was the first to be filmed in HD.The production team uses SonyXDCAMs,allowing the filming to be transferred directly to digital format and couriered to the editors.

Prior to the filming of the race, selected teams are given a list of countries – including additional countries that are not planned for the race – for which they will need to apply for visas.Teams prepare backpacks for clothing, hygiene, and other personal items; the racers are given a list of items that are forbidden from taking. Electronics like laptops, cell phones, andGPSdevices are banned from the race, and racers are asked to avoid clothing with brand logos.Travelers can not bring maps ahead of time, although they can buy maps during the competition if they choose.A few days before the race, teams are sequestered at a hotel for a final review of the rules, before they are finally taken to the race starting line.Several takes of the start of the Race are recorded for production of the show and to go over any final rules clarifications with the racers, before the Race is officially started.

Once the Race starts, each team is accompanied by a two-person audio/video crew that films and records the team, alongsidebody micsworn by the racers.Unless otherwise indicated, the crew must be able to accompany the team through all travels; for example, teams must be able to acquire four tickets on a single flight or otherwise cannot take that flight. Four tickets are usually purchased off-camera using a credit card supplied by World Race Productions.The crews rotate between teams at Pit Stops to avoid any possible favoritism that may develop between a team and its crew, and to avoid giving the appearance of collusion.At Pit Stops, a team of captains that accurately record arrival times, amounts of money teams have remaining, and other factors to make sure that racers have properly completed each leg, assuring that theRaceis run in a fair manner.The production team will remind players about critical local rules and laws they must follow to avoid any legal conflicts, but otherwise try to avoid giving too many instructions to players; Littman stated they chose not to interfere too much as "that's when you get the best material. They're wild cards."van Munster stated: "...when Phil yells 'Go,' it's 'Action' until three weeks later when we say 'Cut.'"

The production crew, including Keoghan, Doganieri, and van Munster, all typically travel to the next destination of the race ahead of the teams. In planning the race, the production team develops what Doganieri calls a Fast/Slow document, outlining what they believe is the fastest and slowest times that a team may take to complete all tasks on a leg based on test runs, from which they use to plan their travel ahead of the teams. According to Doganieri, this Fast/Slow document has been about 98% accurate through all seasons through 2014.Productions work with local agents, representatives, and film crews to prepare for the tasks before the racers arrive, and are in coordination with the audio/video crews to track racers during a leg.For example, to prevent clue boxes from being interfered with by locals, they are covered with garbage bags and monitored by production staff, and only when teams are about five minutes out are the bags removed.At times, the production team has been only minutes ahead of teams before they check into the Pit Stop, forcing production to restage the teams' arrival there once they are ready.Since the 25th season, Keoghan has been featured filming explanations for tasks as racers ran about behind him.

Most eliminated teams are sent to a resort destination informally dubbed "Sequesterville", where they will wait until the end of the race to be flown into the final destination city so they can be present at the Finish Line.In later seasons, short web videos hosted by CBS titled "Elimination Station" show the events at this location as new teams arrive and the events that occur during the teams' stay. Other teams, generally the last few eliminated before the final three, are used as "decoy teams", and run the race's final leg ahead of the actual final teams, in hopes of confusing possiblespoilersabout the race's outcome from locals.Keoghan has also recorded his own videos during the show's filming, used to show what happens behind the scenes to viewers.

Countries and locales visited

Countries thatThe Amazing Racevisited are shown in color.

U. S. states and territories thatThe Amazing Racevisited are shown in color.

Most routes inThe Amazing Racecircumnavigate the globe, starting from one American city and ending in another. There are several exceptions:

• In three seasons,The Amazing Racebegan and ended in the same city:Season one(New York City),season six(Chicago), andseason nine(Denver); only in Season nine was the Starting Line and Finish Line in the same place:Red Rocks Amphitheater.
• Season sevencrossed through Argentina, South Africa, and India before returningwestwardto the U.S. via the United Kingdom and the Caribbean.
• Season eight(also known asFamily Edition) stayed entirely within North America.
• Season twenty-eightandseason thirty-threebegan in the contestants' homes – scattered across the United States – viavideo chatwith Phil Keoghan. Teams were instructed to travel to season twenty-eight's first destination city,Mexico Cityand season thirty-three's first destination city,London.
• Three seasons produced between after 2019 and 2022, were all impacted by special protocols regarding travel due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.As such, they did not circumnavigate the globe:
  • Season thirty-three was held entirely in Europe, with two separate filming periods. The first 3 legs held in London andGlasgow,both in the United Kingdom, filmed in February 2020 as normal held before the race was suspended due to the emergence of COVID-19.Following a 19-month suspension, the race was restarted, with another seven legs filmed in September 2021 across Europe. The contestants and production crew traveled on a charter plane between these legs. The initially planned route would have involved circumnavigation of the globe on an eastward route from the United Kingdom, continuing to Sweden, Austria, Italy, Nepal (first time), Vietnam, Thailand, Australia andSouth Americabefore due to return to the United States.
  • Season thirty-fourbegan in Munich, Germany, and traveled withinContinental Europe,Jordan and Iceland before concluding inNashville.The season also used charter plane travel between legs.
  • Season thirty-six(which was filmed beforeSeason thirty-five) began in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico,and traveled across South America and the Caribbean before concluding inPhiladelphia.The season also used charter plane travel between legs.

Country counts

As of Season 36,The Amazing Racehas visited 96 countries.The most visited country in the original American series is China, with 21 Pit Stops in 10 different cities among 14 seasons, followed by France with 20 Pit Stops having also visited 14 times.

North America

Rank	Country	Seasons visited	Pit Stops
1	United States	All	49
2	Mexico	3 (3,28,36)	5
	Panama	3 (8,19,29)	3
4	Canada	2 (5,8)	0
5	Barbados	1 (36)	1
	Costa Rica	1 (8)	1
	Dominican Republic	1 (36)	2
	Jamaica	1 (7)	1
	Trinidad and Tobago	1 (32)	1

South America

Rank	Country	Seasons visited	Pit Stops
1	Argentina	7 (5,7,11,16,20,27,36)	11
	Brazil	7 (2,9,13,18,27,29,32)	10
3	Chile	5 (7,11,16,23,36)	8
4	Colombia	3 (28,32,36)	5
5	Paraguay	2 (20,32)	2
	Peru	2 (7,26)	3
	Uruguay	2 (5,36)	2
7	Bolivia	1 (13)	1
	Ecuador	1 (11)	1

Europe

Rank	Country	Seasons visited	Pit Stops
1	France	14 (1,4,6,10,16,21,22,26,27,28,30,32,33,34)	20
2	Germany	12 (3,6,9,14,16,19,20,22,26,32,34,35)	10
3	Italy	9 (1,4,9,12,20,24,25,29,34)	13
4	Switzerland	8 (3,14,18,22,24,28,31,33)	11
	United Kingdom	8 (3,7,17,22,24,25,31,33)	12
6	Netherlands	7 (4,12,15,21,26,27,31)	7
7	Austria	6 (3,4,14,18,23,34)	5
	Russia	6 (5,9,13,14,17,21)	10
9	Spain	5 (3,10,21,24,34)	4
	Sweden	5 (6,15,17,25,35)	4
11	Norway	4 (6,17,23,29)	4
12	Greece	3 (9,29,33)	4
	Iceland	3 (6,30,34)	3
	Poland	3 (11,23,27)	4
	Portugal	3 (3,23,33)	3
16	Belgium	2 (19,30)	3
	Croatia	2 (12,31)	2
	Czech Republic	2 (15,30)	3
	Denmark	2 (19,25)	2
	Ireland	2 (12,35)	2
	Turkey	2 (7,21)	2
22	Estonia	1 (15)	1
	Finland	1 (10)	0
	Hungary	1 (6)	1
	Lithuania	1 (12)	1
	Liechtenstein	1 (18)	0
	Malta	1 (25)	1
	Monaco	1 (26)	0
	Romania	1 (14)	1
	Slovenia	1 (35)	2
	Ukraine	1 (10)	1

Africa

Rank	Country	Seasons visited	Pit Stops
1	Morocco	4 (3,10,25,30)	6
	Tanzania	4 (5,11,20,29)	6
3	South Africa	3 (1,2,7)	2
4	Botswana	2 (7,22)	4
	Namibia	2 (2,26)	3
	Zambia	2 (1,27)	1
	Zimbabwe	2 (27,30)	4
8	Burkina Faso	1 (12)	2
	Egypt	1 (5)	2
	Ethiopia	1 (6)	1
	Ghana	1 (17)	2
	Kenya	1 (5)	0
	Madagascar	1 (10)	1
	Malawi	1 (19)	2
	Mauritius	1 (10)	1
	Mozambique	1 (11)	1
	Senegal	1 (6)	1
	Seychelles	1 (16)	1
	Tunisia	1 (1)	2
	Uganda	1 (31)	1

Asia

Rank	Country	Seasons visited	Pit Stops
1	China	15 (1,2,6,10,11,14,16,17,18,21,24,27,28,30,37)	22
2	India	13 (1,4,5,7,10,12,13,14,18,20,27,32,35)	20
3	Japan	9 (9,12,15,18,20,23,26,31,37)	11
4	Thailand	8 (1,2,9,14,19,26,30,35)	14
5	Vietnam	7 (3,10,15,22,29,31,35)	13
6	Indonesia	5 (19,21,22,23,28)	9
	Malaysia	5 (3,4,11,16,24)	6
	United Arab Emirates	5 (5,15,23,28,31)	7
9	Cambodia	3 (13,15,32)	3
	Philippines	3 (5,25,32)	5
	Singapore	3 (3,16,25)	3
	South Korea	3 (4,17,29)	3
13	Bangladesh	2 (17,21)	3
	Kazakhstan	2 (13,32)	2
	Oman	2 (9,17)	2
	Sri Lanka	2 (6,24)	3
	Taiwan	2 (12,19)	2
18	Armenia	1 (28)	1
	Azerbaijan	1 (20)	1
	Bahrain	1 (30)	1
	Georgia	1 (28)	1
	Jordan	1 (34)	2
	Kuwait	1 (10)	1
	Laos	1 (31)	1
	Mongolia	1 (10)	1

Oceania

Rank	Country	Seasons visited	Pit Stops
1	Australia	4 (2,4,9,18)	8
	New Zealand	4 (2,5,13,22)	5

United States counts

As of Season 36,The Amazing Racehas visited 26 states and 1 federal district. The following list of visits by the show to eachU.S. state,overseas territories are not included.The most visited state in the original American series is California in 28 seasons, followed by Hawaii and New York.

West

Rank	State	Seasons visited	Pit Stops
1	California	28 (2,4,5,7,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32,33,35)	8
2	Hawaii	7 (2,3,4,6,11,14,20)	3
3	Alaska	5 (1,2,9,12,23)	3
4	Nevada	3 (2,15,24)	2
	Washington	3 (3,10,35)	2
6	Arizona	2 (4,8)	3
7	Colorado	1 (9)	1
	Montana	1 (8)	1
	Oregon	1 (13)	1
	Utah	1 (8)	1
	Wyoming	1 (8)	1

Midwest

Rank	State	Seasons visited	Pit Stops
1	Illinois	2 (6,29)	2
2	Michigan	1 (31)	1

Northeast

Rank	State	Seasons visited	Pit Stops
1	New York	7 (1,8,10,21,25,27,30)	5
2	Pennsylvania	2 (8,36)	2
3	Massachusetts	1 (17)	0
	New Jersey	1 (8)	0

South

Rank	State	Seasons visited	Pit Stops
1	Florida	4 (3,7,11,18)	2
2	Louisiana	2 (8,32)	2
	Texas	2 (5,26)	2
	Virginia	2 (8,22)	2
	Washington, D.C.	2 (8,22)	0
6	Alabama	1 (8)	1
	Georgia	1 (19)	1
	Mississippi	1 (8)	0
	South Carolina	1 (8)	0
	Tennessee	1 (34)	1

Continent counts

Thefirst seasonofThe Amazing Racevisited four continents in total (three if excluding the United States).Season twoextended the racecourse to South America and Oceania, andseason threewas the first time having route markers in North America outside the United States.The Amazing Racehas yet to visitAntarctica.

Rank	Continent	Seasons visited
1	North America	All
2	Asia	33 (1–7,9–32,34–35,37)
	Europe	33 (1,3–7,9–35)
4	Africa	20 (1–3,5–7,10–12,16,17,19,20,22,25–27,29–31)
5	South America	16 (2,5,7,9,11,13,16,18,20,23,26–29,32,36)
6	Oceania	8 (2,4,5,9,11,13,18,22)

Impact and reception

U.S. broadcast and ratings

Seasonal rankings (based on average total viewers per episode) ofThe Amazing RaceonCBS.

Season	Timeslot (ET)	Season premiere	Premiere viewers (millions)	Season finale	Finale viewers (millions)	TV season	Rank	Average viewers (millions)
1	Wednesday 9:00 pm(September 5, 2001 – December 18, 2002) Thursday 9:00 pm(December 13, 2001) Monday 9:00 pm(March 11, 2002)	September 5, 2001(2001-09-05)	11.83	December 13, 2001(2001-12-13)	13.65	2001–02	73	8.80
2		March 11, 2002(2002-03-11)	8.95	May 15, 2002(2002-05-15)	11.25		49	10.30
3		October 2, 2002(2002-10-02)	9.49	December 18, 2002(2002-12-18)	11.00	2002–03	71	8.98
4	Thursday 8:00 pm	May 29, 2003(2003-05-29)	9.94	August 21, 2003(2003-08-21)	9.88		N/A	8.32
5	Tuesday 10:00 pm	July 6, 2004(2004-07-06)	10.30	September 21, 2004(2004-09-21)	12.85	2003–04	N/A	10.73
6	Tuesday 9:00 pm	November 16, 2004(2004-11-16)	11.79	February 8, 2005(2005-02-08)	12.62	2004–05	31	11.54
7		March 1, 2005(2005-03-01)	11.76	May 10, 2005(2005-05-10)	16.01		25	13.05
8		September 27, 2005(2005-09-27)	10.64	December 13, 2005(2005-12-13)	11.51	2005–06	42	10.80
9	Tuesday 9:00 pm(February 28, 2006) Tuesday 10:00 pm(March 7–28, 2006) Wednesday 8:00 pm(April 5, 2006 – May 17, 2006)	February 28, 2006(2006-02-28)	10.40	May 17, 2006(2006-05-17)	8.99		56	9.10
10	Sunday 8:00 pm	September 17, 2006(2006-09-17)	10.12	December 10, 2006(2006-12-10)	12.73	2006–07	31	11.50
11		February 18, 2007(2007-02-18)	10.29	May 6, 2007(2007-05-06)	10.31		44	10.10
12		November 4, 2007(2007-11-04)	13.82	January 20, 2008(2008-01-20)	9.75	2007–08	25	11.84
13		September 28, 2008(2008-09-28)	10.03	December 7, 2008(2008-12-07)	10.57	2008–09	27	11.14
14		February 15, 2009(2009-02-15)	9.20	May 10, 2009(2009-05-10)	12.49		29	10.91
15		September 27, 2009(2009-09-27)	10.40	December 6, 2009(2009-12-06)	12.32	2009–10	28	11.14
16		February 14, 2010(2010-02-14)	9.07	May 9, 2010(2010-05-09)	10.63		29	10.40
17		September 26, 2010(2010-09-26)	11.54	December 12, 2010(2010-12-12)	12.12	2010–11	22	11.93
18		February 20, 2011(2011-02-20)	9.15	May 8, 2011(2011-05-08)	8.97		39	10.35
19		September 25, 2011(2011-09-25)	10.18	December 11, 2011(2011-12-11)	11.72	2011–12	34	11.13
20		February 19, 2012(2012-02-19)	10.34	May 6, 2012(2012-05-06)	9.40		37	10.30
21		September 30, 2012(2012-09-30)	9.40	December 9, 2012(2012-12-09)	9.35	2012–13	29	10.68
22		February 17, 2013(2013-02-17)	9.57	May 5, 2013(2013-05-05)	9.10		36	10.17
23		September 29, 2013(2013-09-29)	8.62	December 8, 2013(2013-12-08)	9.21	2013–14	34	9.49
24		February 23, 2014(2014-02-23)	6.71	May 18, 2014(2014-05-18)	8.22
25	Friday 8:00 pm	September 26, 2014(2014-09-26)	5.48	December 19, 2014(2014-12-19)	6.59	2014–15	69	7.49
26	Wednesday 9:30 pm(February 25, 2015) Friday 8:00 pm(February 27, 2015 – May 15, 2015)	February 25, 2015(2015-02-25)	6.16	May 15, 2015(2015-05-15)	5.72
27	Friday 8:00 pm	September 25, 2015(2015-09-25)	5.79	December 11, 2015(2015-12-11)	6.16	2015–16	58	7.56
28		February 12, 2016(2016-02-12)	6.09	May 13, 2016(2016-05-13)	5.93
29	Thursday 10:00 pm	March 30, 2017(2017-03-30)	4.30	June 1, 2017(2017-06-01)	3.91	2016–17	64	6.33
30	Wednesday 8:00 pm(January 3–31, 2018) Wednesday 9:00 pm(February 7–21, 2018)	January 3, 2018(2018-01-03)	7.33	February 21, 2018(2018-02-21)	4.34	2017–18	50	7.70
31	Wednesday 9:00 pm(April 17, 2019 – May 8, 2019 and June 26, 2019) Wednesday 8:00 pm(May 22, 2019– June 19, 2019)	April 17, 2019(2019-04-17)	5.74	June 26, 2019(2019-06-26)	3.82	2018–19	57	6.86
32	Wednesday 9:00 pm(October 14–21, 2020) Wednesday 8:00 pm(October 28, 2020 – December 16, 2020)	October 14, 2020(2020-10-14)	3.58	December 16, 2020(2020-12-16)	4.46	2020–21	59	5.41
33	Wednesday 8:00 pm(January 5, 2022 and March 2, 2022) Wednesday 9:00 pm(January 12, 2022 – February 23, 2022)	January 5, 2022(2022-01-05)	4.40	March 2, 2022(2022-03-02)	3.97	2021–22	49	5.50
34	Wednesday 10:00 pm(September 21, 2022 and October 5–26, 2022) Wednesday 9:00 pm(November 2, 2022 – December 7, 2022)	September 21, 2022(2022-09-21)	3.07	December 7, 2022(2022-12-07)	3.67	2022–23	54	4.65
35	Wednesday 9:30 pm	September 27, 2023(2023-09-27)	2.70	December 13, 2023(2023-12-13)	3.31	2023–24	47	4.55
36		March 13, 2024(2024-03-13)	2.89	May 15, 2024(2024-05-15)	2.86

Notes

During its first four seasons, even with extensive critical praise, the show garnered lowNielsen ratings,facing cancellation a number of times. The premiere of the show aired six days before theSeptember 11 attacks,leaving the fate of the show in doubt. Producer van Munster stated that "Once we saw our billboards covered in dust from the 9/11 tragedy, we knew we had a problem".Low viewership of the show was also attributed to it being lost among all other reality television shows at the time and unable to garner similar numbers asSurvivor.The Amazing Racepremiered against a similarly themed reality show,Loston NBC (unrelated to theABC series of the same name),Lostfeatured teams of two stranded in a remote area of the world and forced to find their way back to the United States.A vice president of programming at CBS consideredThe Amazing Raceto be "a show that was always on the bubble" of being canceled.

The show was considered to be saved due to several factors: the show was well received by critics, winning theEmmy for Outstanding Reality-Competition Programmingin 2003 and 2004; consistent viewership numbers, and feedback from the large number of fans representing the young target demographic, includingSarah Jessica Parker,who had called in directly toCBSPresidentLes Moonvesasking to save the show.Thefifth seasonof the series, which aired from July to September 2004, had very high viewership numbers for that time of the year, averaging 10.7 million with a finale of nearly 13 million, doubling the viewership in the 18-to-34 demographic and won its time slot for every episode.The improved ratings are credited to the particular teams selected for that season.As a result, CBS began airing the sixth season during the "high-profile heart" of the November 2004sweeps.TheNew York Times's Kate Aurthur suggests that ratings increases for the fifth, sixth, and seven season were a direct result of the show having racers that were portrayed as "villain" characters (specifically, Colin from season 5, Jonathan from season 6, and Rob and Amber from season 7) that created more tension between teams than previous seasons, and gave viewers teams to root for or against.

A temporary setback struckThe Amazing Raceafter aFamily Editionthat aired in the fall of 2005 was not received warmly by viewers, which resulted in lowered viewership.The change in format, with teams of four and allowing for young children to race alongside their parents, hampered the travel ability of the show.Keoghan, though pleased they had tried something different with the show, attributed the poor response to the Family Edition due to too many people to follow and lack of exotic locations.This spilled over toSeason 9where it experienced dismaying ratings of only an average of 9.1 million viewers per episode, a drop from 13 million just 2 seasons ago inSeason 7.The timeslot changing for Season 9 was also attributed to the drop in ratings.

From thetenth seasonto thetwenty-fourth season,the show was moved to Sunday nights, as a result,The Amazing Racehas seen further increases in its numbers. It is believed that part of this increase is due to "sports overruns" (football, basketball, or golf) that resulted from games played earlier on Sunday pushing the airtime forThe Amazing Raceback by some amount on the East Coast along with other CBS programming.In the Sunday timeslot,The Amazing Racefollows60 Minutes,Varietystates that, while both shows have different target demographics, the crossover audience between the shows is very high based on the average household income of its viewers, and is part of theRace's success.In the 2010 season, another reality television show,Undercover Boss,was scheduled followingThe Amazing Race,the overall impact of these three shows have helped CBS to regain viewership on Sunday nights.According toVariety,the average age ofAmazing Raceviewers that watch the show live in 2009 was 51.9 years, while for those that time-shifted the show, the average age was 39.2 years.In a 2010 survey byExperian Simmons,The Amazing Racewas found to be the second-highest show proportion of viewers that identify themselves asRepublicans,followingGlenn Beck.Theseason 16finale, however, was the lowest-rated finale sinceseason 4.

Althoughseason 18averaged over 10 million viewers and finished in top 40 most watched shows of the2010–2011 television season,the ratings dropped and the season 18 finale was the second-lowest-rated Sunday night finale.The season 21 finale was down 31% from theseason 19finale on December 11, 2011. It tied as the show's lowest rated finale ever.Ratings also dropped during theseason 24finale, which was down 33% from theseason 15finale on May 18, 2014. As a result of decreasing ratings, starting with the twenty-fifth season, the show moved to Fridays at 8:00 p.m., where it had its lowest viewership ever in this series.Ratings for the show since the move to Friday have remained steady, with seasons premieres maintaining around 6 million viewers and only small drops over the course of a given season.With the show's age, some of its current fans were not born when the show had first aired in 2001, and the production team used a concept likeseason 28,aired in 2016, where the use ofYouTubeand other Internet celebrities was intended to help bridge the gap between long-time and new fans.

Starting aroundseason 29,CBS has only ordered one series of the show per broadcast year, keeping the show as a mid-season replacement to fill it for any failing shows on the network's schedule, or otherwise broadcasting towards the latter part of the season.This has led the show to have various time slots depending on the situation. The 30th season of the show was moved by CBS to a Wednesday night slot, and resulted in an improvement in viewership from previous seasons. van Munster and Doganieri credit this new timeslot to help boost ratings, as it is more amenable for family viewing than previous timeslots.Similarly, whenseason 31,which featured former contestants fromRace,SurvivorandBig Brother,premiered afterSurvivor: Edge of Extinctionin the Wednesday night slot, the show saw a ratings boost.

The success ofThe Amazing Racehas led other networks to attempt to develop reality shows in a similar vein; CBS Vice President for alternative programming Jennifer Bresnan stated that many of these shows pose themselves as "The Amazing Racemixed with 'X' "to try to vary the format.Such shows includeTreasure Hunters(NBC, 2006),Expedition Impossible(ABC, 2011),Around the World in 80 Plates(Bravo, 2012)andThe Pack(Amazon, 2020).The Great Escape(TNT, 2012) brought van Munster and Doganieri to help with production, and was considered by critics as a "lite" version ofThe Amazing Race.

International broadcast and versions

The United States version ofThe Amazing Raceis rebroadcast in several countries around the world. Airings in both Canada and Australia are very popular. The Canadian showing onCTVis commonly one of the top ten most watched shows each week, according toBBM Canada,Australian broadcasts of the episodes on theSeven Networkoften fall into the top 20 programs for the week.Episodes ofThe Amazing Racealso air in several other countries shortly after the American broadcast, includingIsrael,Latin America, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Main article:The Amazing Race § International versions

AXN AsiabroadcastsThe Amazing Raceacross southeast Asia. The popularity of the show through the service led to CBS allowing for the option of creating international versions of the show in October 2005.The Amazing Race Asiawas one of the first versions created, following essentially the same format as the United States version.

Other international versions of the show have been produced out of Latin America, Europe,Israel,Australia, and Canada.

Critical reception

Part of the show's success is considered to be the relatively simple formula of following several teams on a race around the world. Because of this, viewers can live "vicariously through the people on the screen", according toAndy Dehnartof the RealityBlurred.com website.The show is often considered to be "travel porn", offering locations that most people would never get to see in their lifetimes.Keoghan offers that:

"[The Amazing Race] exposes particular Americans to a world they don't see in primetime TV. Most of what they see is a war here, a person killed there, a natural disaster over here. We present a world that seems inviting, with people who are warm and helpful, not this big scary place that if you get in a plane you're going to be killed by traveling to some foreign land. "

The show is also considered to be successful in that it does not rely on the typical tropes of reality television, where players are trying to avoid becoming too much of a target to be voted off by their fellow contestants; inThe Amazing Race,a team's success is primarily based on their own performance.At the same time, the reality show setting can bring out unbecoming behavior, often leading to the stereotypical idea ofugly Americantourists.

Latter seasons of theRacehave been more critically panned. One factor is the predictability of the show, with little variety in the construction of specific legs and foregone outcomes of which team would be eliminated. The media siteThe A.V. Club,which had covered theRacefor several seasons, opted to end itsRacerecaps mid-Season 21, with editor Scott Von Doviak stating that the show "has become so stale and predictable".Though Denhert was a supporter of the show in its earlier seasons, he has criticized latter seasons for becoming too predictable, as "failed to grow and evolve, it seems stale".Denhert does acknowledge that budget cuts for all CBS programming, including theRace,are likely causes for simple tasks and lackluster legs;Keoghan does state that the reduced budgets has made the timetable for filming "really brutal", but also considers that the difficulty of filming also reflects on the difficulty of theRacefor the teams as well.Denhert further points to the lack of time given for the viewer to learn about the individuals on each team, and instead has added elements like the U-Turn and the Yield to create inter-team drama.

The show is known for a dedicated fan base that keeps in touch with the show's producers and contestants.While a race is being run and filmed, fans of the show watch for news or spotting of the racers and attempt to track their progress in real time, enhanced by recent social media tools, leading production to figure out ways to masquerade their presence in any city such as through the use of decoy teams.Despite this, fans readily track the Race as it is being run across the globe. In the19th season,one contestant had lost her passport at a gas station while getting directions toLos Angeles International Airport.Though spotted by their A/V crew, they could not intervene, but instead alerted production, who prepared for an early elimination of the team at LAX. A bystander found the passport, and after he posted about it onTwitter,he was directed by a fan tracking the Race's progress to take the passport to the airport, returning it before the scheduled flight and keeping the team in the race.Subsequent seasons have had publicly attended live starts such as starting inTimes Squareforseason 25,and frequent use of live social media updates by the racers by permission of production duringseason 28.

Coinciding with the broadcast finale for each season through about the 22nd season, fans from the websiteTelevision Without Pityarranged for a "TARCon" event in New York City along with the season's teams and other former racers.

Awards and nominations

The Amazing Racewon thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Competition Programfor the first seven years after the creation of the award in2003,and ten of the twelve years since its creation, against other, more popular reality TV shows such asSurvivor,Dancing with the Stars,andAmerican Idol.Its streak was ended in 2010 whenTop Chefwon the Emmy for this category.Host Phil Keoghan revealed in an interview that the show's loss that year made him and the producers realize that they will have to try harder to win the Emmy again.In 2011, the show won in the category again for the eighth time.After its seventh consecutive win, some in the media, includingSurvivorhostJeff Probstsuggested thatThe Amazing Racewillingly drop out from the competition in future years, similar toCandice Bergendeclining any further nominations after her fifth Emmy win for her role inMurphy Brown.van Munster has stated that it is "not likely" he will pull the show from future Emmy awards, considering that it reflects on his and his crew's hard work and high standards.The show has also been nominated and won several times for technical production (Creative Arts) Emmy awards, for Cinematography and Picture Editing for Non-Fiction programs, whereas it has only been nominated for Sound Mixing and Sound Editing for Non-Fiction programs. The show has been nominated in the same five categories for three years consecutively, a trend which continued with the2007 Primetime Emmy Awards.

Summary of Emmy Awards and nominations

Year	Type	Category	Result	Record
2003	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Won	1 for 1
2004	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Won	2 for 2
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Could Never Have Been Prepared For What I'm Looking At Right Now"	Nominated	0 for 1
		Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Could Never Have Been Prepared For What I'm Looking At Right Now"	Nominated	0 for 1
		Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Could Never Have Been Prepared For What I'm Looking At Right Now"	Nominated	0 for 1
2005	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Won	3 for 3
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "We're Moving Up the Food Chain"	Won	1 for 2
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "We're Moving Up the Food Chain"	Nominated	0 for 2
		Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "We're Moving Up the Food Chain"	Nominated	0 for 2
		Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "We're Moving Up the Food Chain"	Nominated	0 for 1
2006	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Won	4 for 4
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Here Comes The Bedouin!"	Won	2 for 3
		Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Here Comes The Bedouin!"	Won	1 for 3
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Here Comes The Bedouin!"	Nominated	0 for 3
		Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Here Comes The Bedouin!"	Nominated	0 for 2
2007	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Won	5 for 5
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Know Phil, Little Ol' Gorgeous Thing!"	Won	3 for 4
		Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Know Phil, Little Ol' Gorgeous Thing!"	Won	2 for 4
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Know Phil, Little Ol' Gorgeous Thing!"	Nominated	0 for 4
		Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Know Phil, Little Ol' Gorgeous Thing!"	Nominated	0 for 3
2008	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Won	6 for 6
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Honestly, They Have Witch Powers Or Something"	Nominated	3 for 5
		Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming for the episode "Honestly, They Have Witch Powers Or Something"	Nominated	0 for 1
		Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Honestly, They Have Witch Powers Or Something"	Nominated	2 for 5
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Honestly, They Have Witch Powers Or Something"	Nominated	0 for 5
		Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Honestly, They Have Witch Powers Or Something"	Nominated	0 for 4
2009	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Won	7 for 7
		Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program Phil Keoghan	Nominated	0 for 1
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Don't Let A Cheese Hit Me"	Nominated	3 for 6
		Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming for the episode "Don't Let A Cheese Hit Me"	Nominated	0 for 2
		Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Don't Let A Cheese Hit Me"	Nominated	2 for 6
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Don't Let A Cheese Hit Me"	Nominated	0 for 6
		Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Don't Let A Cheese Hit Me"	Nominated	0 for 5
2010	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Nominated	7 for 8
		Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program Phil Keoghan	Nominated	0 for 2
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Think We're Fighting the Germans. Right?"	Nominated	3 for 7
		Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming for the episode "I Think We're Fighting the Germans. Right?"	Nominated	0 for 3
		Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Think We're Fighting the Germans. Right?"	Nominated	2 for 7
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Think We're Fighting the Germans. Right?"	Nominated	0 for 7
		Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "I Think We're Fighting the Germans. Right?"	Nominated	0 for 6
2011	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Won	8 for 9
		Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program Phil Keoghan	Nominated	0 for 3
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming for the episode "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win"	Nominated	3 for 8
		Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming for the episode "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win"	Nominated	0 for 4
		Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win"	Nominated	2 for 8
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win"	Nominated	0 for 8
		Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win"	Nominated	0 for 7
2012	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Won	9 for 10
		Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program Phil Keoghan	Nominated	0 for 4
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming for the episode "Let Them Drink Their Haterade"	Nominated	3 for 9
		Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming for the episode "Let Them Drink Their Haterade"	Nominated	0 for 5
		Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Let Them Drink Their Haterade"	Nominated	2 for 9
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Let Them Drink Their Haterade"	Nominated	0 for 9
		Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Let Them Drink Their Haterade"	Nominated	0 for 8
2013	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Nominated	9 for 11
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming for the episode "Be Safe and Don't Hit a Cow"	Nominated	3 for 10
		Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Be Safe and Don't Hit a Cow"	Nominated	2 for 10
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Be Safe and Don't Hit a Cow"	Nominated	0 for 10
		Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Be Safe and Don't Hit a Cow"	Nominated	0 for 9
2014	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Won	10 for 12
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming for the episode "Part Like the Red Sea"	Nominated	0 for 6
		Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming for the episode "Part Like the Red Sea"	Nominated	2 for 11
		Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming for the episode "Part Like the Red Sea"	Nominated	3 for 11
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Part Like the Red Sea"	Nominated	0 for 11
		Outstanding Sound Editing for Nonfiction Programming (Single or Multi-Camera) for the episode "Part Like the Red Sea"	Nominated	0 for 10
2015	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Nominated	10 for 13
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming for the episode "Morocc'and Roll"	Nominated	2 for 12
		Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming for the episode "Morocc'and Roll"	Nominated	3 for 12
2016	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Nominated	10 for 14
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming for the episode "We're Only Doing Freaky Stuff Today"	Nominated	2 for 13
		Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming for the episode "We're Only Doing Freaky Stuff Today"	Nominated	3 for 12
2017	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Nominated	10 for 15
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming for the episode "Bucket List Type Stuff"	Nominated	2 for 14
		Outstanding Picture Editing For A Structured Or Competition Reality Program for the episode "Bucket List Type Stuff"	Nominated	3 for 14
2018	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Nominated	10 for 16
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program Bertram van Munster, for the episode "It's Just A Million Dollars, No Pressure"	Nominated	0 for 7
		Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming for the episode "It's Just A Million Dollars, No Pressure"	Nominated	2 for 15
		Outstanding Picture Editing For A Structured Or Competition Reality Program for the episode "It's Just A Million Dollars, No Pressure"	Nominated	3 for 16
2019	Primetime	Outstanding Competition Program	Nominated	10 for 17
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program Bertram van Munster, for the episode "Who Wants a Rolex?"	Nominated	0 for 8
		Outstanding Picture Editing For A Structured Reality or Competition Program for the episode "Who Wants a Rolex?"	Nominated	3 for 17
2021	Primetime	Outstanding Reality-Competition Program	Nominated	10 of 18
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program Bertram van Munster, for the episode "Give Me A Beard Bump"	Nominated	0 for 9
		Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming for the episode "Give Me A Beard Bump"	Nominated	2 for 16
		Outstanding Picture Editing For A Structured Or Competition Reality Program for the series body of work	Nominated	3 for 18
2022	Primetime	Outstanding Competition Program	Nominated	10 of 19
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming for the series body of work	Nominated	2 for 17
2023	Primetime	Outstanding Reality Competition Program	Nominated	10 of 20
	Creative Arts	Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program Bertram van Munster, for the episode "Patience, Is The New Me"	Nominated	0 for 10
		Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming for the series body of work	Nominated	2 for 18
		Outstanding Picture Editing For A Structured Or Competition Reality Program for the series body of work	Nominated	3 for 19
		Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera) for the series body of work	Nominated	0 for 12
Total: 15 wins, 92 nominations

The production staff ofThe Amazing Racehas been nominated each year since 2004 for theProducers Guild of America's Golden Laurel award for Television Producer of a Non-Fiction Program, and won this award in 2005.

Bertram van Munster has been nominated six times for theDirectors Guild of AmericaOutstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs award forThe Amazing Raceeach year between 2005 and 2010, and winning the award in 2007.

Due to its favorable portrayal of gay couples,The Amazing Racehas been nominated in 2004 and 2006 for, but not won, theGLAAD Media Awardfor Outstanding Reality Program.It has received a similar nomination for 2009,and won in 2012.

Home media

Seasons 1 and 7 were released in stores, while other seasons have been released exclusively onAmazon.comthrough its CreateSpace manufacture on demand program. Only region 1 is available. Select seasons have also been released onBlu-ray.

DVD name	Release date
The First Season	September 27, 2005
The Second Season	January 24, 2011
The Third Season	November 22, 2011
The Fourth Season	November 29, 2011
The Fifth Season	April 24, 2012
The Sixth Season	April 24, 2012
The Seventh Season	December 20, 2005
The Eighth Season: Family Edition	October 23, 2012
The Ninth Season	October 23, 2012
The Tenth Season	May 1, 2013
The Eleventh Season: All-Stars	May 1, 2013
The Twelfth Season	March 24, 2014
The Thirteenth Season	April 8, 2014
The Fourteenth Season	May 21, 2014
The Fifteenth Season	May 21, 2014
The Sixteenth Season	November 4, 2014
The Seventeenth Season	November 4, 2014
The Eighteenth Season: Unfinished Business	October 7, 2015
The Nineteenth Season	October 7, 2015
The Twentieth Season	February 13, 2017
The Twenty-First Season	December 9, 2016
The Twenty-Second Season	November 28, 2017
The Twenty-Third Season	November 21, 2017
The Twenty-Fourth Season: All-Stars	November 19, 2017
The Twenty-Fifth Season	November 21, 2017
The Twenty-Sixth Season	November 21, 2017
The Twenty-Seventh Season	November 21, 2017
The Twenty-Eighth Season	October 25, 2018
The Twenty-Ninth Season	October 23, 2018
The Thirtieth Season	May 10, 2019
The Thirty-First Season: Reality Showdown	December 5, 2019
The Thirty-Second Season	June 29, 2021
The Thirty-Third Season	June 14, 2022
The Thirty-Fourth Season	March 21, 2023

The Amazing Racewas also added toPluto TV,ViacomCBS's free Internet television service, as a standalone channel on September 1, 2020.

The fifth and seventh seasons ofThe Amazing Racewere added toNetflixin November 2022.They would later be removed in 2023, being replaced by the seventeenth and thirty-first seasons.

All seasons are available to stream onParamount+andAmazon Prime Video.

Other media

A slot machine based onThe Amazing Racethat was first installed in casinos in 2010.

Two board games have been made based onThe Amazing Race:a DVD Board Gameand a traditional board game. A video game for theWiihome game console has been also been produced as well as an iOS version. Both versions were developed byLudiaand published byUbisoft.

In 2010,International Game Technology (IGT)developed aprogressiveslot machinegame based onThe Amazing Raceand was installed in casinos across the United States.Phil Keoghan featured prominently in the game and served as host of various bonus rounds, inspired by travel and destinations seen on the show, during play. The slot machines were phased out of casinos a couple of years later.

Two books have been written by fans of the show; the first is written byAdam-Troy Castro,titled "My Ox Is Broken!": Detours, Roadblocks, Fast Forwards and Other Great Moments from TV's The Amazing Race ", which features an introduction fromSeason 8racers Billy and Carissa Gaghan.The second book is "Circumnavigating the Globe: Amazing Race 10 to 14 and Amazing Race Asia 1 to 3" written by Arthur E. Perkins Jr.

Legacy

"The Amazing Alphabet Race", a segment shown duringSesame Street's 38th season as previewed onNBC'sToday Show,is played byElmoand hosted by "Amazing Al", themuppetversion of Phil Keoghan.

• The format ofThe Amazing Racehas led to much smaller scale events for local cities and towns, having teams race through the area with clues and tasks.
• Countries and cities that are featured on the show often see the exposure as a boon. A member of theIcelandicTourist Board noted that after their country shown as one of the locations inThe Amazing Race 6,their website saw an increase in information requests, and they worked to develop a "Trace the Race" travel package to allow visitors to see the same locations shown on the show.
• "Competitours" was created by Steve Belkin to create 8 to 14-days European tours in the style ofThe Amazing Race;the tourists are only given instructions each night on where they will be traveling next with aRace-like task to do the next day (such as encouraging locals to dance with them at a tourist location), to be demonstrated by recording themselves with a video camera.
• The Amazing Racehas inspiredpopular culture,with notable references to it in shows and films such asGlee,Robot Chicken,Mad TV(in which Charla & Mirna of Season 5 participated),30 Rock,American Dad(in which host Phil Keoghan guest starred in the episode),The Simpsons(in the episode "Heartbreak Hotel",where Marge Simpson is shown to be a super-fan of a competition showThe Amazing Place),The Lovebirds(which concluded with the protagonists competing onThe Amazing Racewith a cameo voiceover from Phil Keoghan),iCarly(which referenced the infamous watermelon misfire fromSeason 17),Better Call Saul(in the episode "Waterworks"),and evenSesame Street.The Canadian cartoon/reality showTotal Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Raceis a direct parody ofThe Amazing Race.Additionally, an episode titled "The Amazing Model Race" of thetwelfth cycleofAmerica's Next Top Model,featured a race-themed challenge.
• EdutainmentYouTuberSam Denby,co-creator of YouTube/Nebulagame showJet Lag: The Game,citesThe Amazing Raceas a substantial inspiration for his show, although he has stated that his show differs in that it incorporates travel into the gameplay more directly, and that due to being shotvlog-style by the players themselves (rather than with TV film crews), it is able to more accurately capture the spontaneity real-life travel experience.

References

General

Specific

External links

• Official website
• The Amazing RaceatIMDb