The Amazing Race

The Race

Each race depicted in The Amazing Race is broken up into a number of legs. In each leg, teams generally leave the Pit Stop of the previous leg and travel to a different location, where they perform two or more tasks – often including one Detour and one Roadblock – before being given instructions to go to the next pit stop. It is every team's goal to complete each leg as quickly as possible, as the last team to arrive at the pit stop is usually eliminated from the competition.

Teams

Typically, each season features around a dozen or so teams, each composed of two people with a pre-existing relationship. Original show rules required that teammates have a pre-existing relationship of more than three years and no previous acquaintance with other racers during that cycle. Individual racers must be of a specific nationality and meet specific age requirements; this is necessary to allow teams to obtain the necessary passport documentation to travel across the world without incident.

The team format has varied in some seasons. Most notably, the Family Edition featured ten teams of four racers, some of whom were young children. The twenty-sixth and twenty-ninth seasons included teams made up of people who met for the first time just prior to the start of the race - in the former, they were paired by producers based on potential romantic compatibility, while in the latter, teams were determined in a draft based on the outcome of an opening challenge. Occasionally, seasons may be themed around those with some celebrity status, paired with their loved ones- notably, the twenty-eighth season featured social media celebrities and multiple seasons of the Australian edition have featured celebrities and those seasons have been billed as a Celebrity Edition.

Normally unseen, a two-person production crew, one recording audio and the other recording video, accompanies every team. Generally, teams may not travel without their production crew, who are switched among teams after each leg to avoid biases from developing.

Money

At the beginning of each leg, each team receives a cash allowance with their first clue, which they must use to cover all expenses except for airfare, which is covered by a production-provided credit card. In the eighth season, this card could also be used to purchase gasoline. Allowance money is usually given in U.S. dollars regardless of location. The amount of money varies from leg to leg. Teams are allowed to keep any unused money for future legs, barring certain penalties for finishing last or instructions to the contrary.

If team members spend all of their money or have it taken away in a non-elimination leg, they may then attempt to obtain more money in any way that does not violate local laws; this includes borrowing money from other teams, begging from locals, or selling their possessions. Since the seventh season, teams have been prevented from begging at United States airports, and teams may not use their personal possessions to barter payment for services.

Route markers

Route markers are uniquely-colored flags that mark the places where teams must go. Most route markers are attached to the boxes that contain clue envelopes, but some may mark the places where the teams must go in order to complete tasks, or may be used to line courses that the teams must follow.

The route markers used in the first season were yellow and white. They were changed to yellow and red in the second season, and this has remained the standard color scheme since. Occasionally, different color schemes are adopted for certain legs, seasons, or versions of the race.

Production

The production of The Amazing Race is a challenge due to its premise being a race around the world. Among the difficult duties that producers face, scouting out locations, designing tasks, selecting teams, and planning logistics for the entire course are the most important to accomplish in pre-production. During the Race, the camera crews need to keep up with the movement of the teams and the host. And when the footage for the entire season has been recorded and edited, team members, production crew as well as the local staff who hosted or facilitated the tasks are obliged to keep the details of the race confidential and not leak out anything that hints at locations, events, or outcomes of the Race. An exception is the television network that airs the show in a country which hosted one of the legs where they can air teasers such as "Who among the teams will come here to (the network's home country name)?" However, in recent American seasons, CBS had released a map to show the locations that the racers would be visiting.

The show is broadcast on CBS in the United States and simulcast via satellite in various networks around the world.

Through its efforts, the American version has received many accolades, including Primetime Emmy Awards and nominations in categories for audio and video production and editing. In 2010, CBS announced that season 18 of the show would be broadcast in high definition.

International versions

The original version of The Amazing Race is the American version, which debuted on CBS on September 5, 2001, with Phil Keoghan as the host. In October 2005, CBS optioned The Amazing Race for franchising to other countries.

Asia and Oceania

The Amazing Race Asia was the first Asian version of the show. The regional version was bought by Buena Vista International Television – Asia Pacific (BVITV–AP) and Sony Pictures Television International in October 2005. Auditions were then announced that took place in February to March 2006. The show first aired on November 9, 2006, on AXN Asia and was hosted by Allan Wu. The show aired for three more seasons, with the last season having ended in 2010. After a six-year hiatus, the series was announced to be returning for a 5th season to air in late 2016.

On April 8, 2008, Israeli television network Reshet announced their own their version of the show, HaMerotz LaMillion ('The Race to the Million'). Its first season premiered on February 5, 2009, on Channel 2. The host for the first season was Raz Meirman, and Ron Shahar hosted from 2011 to 2020. The first four seasons of the show was a co-production by Reshet and activeTV, an Australian production company that had also produced the Asian version of the race. Another four seasons were produced in-house by Reshet. The series moved to Channel 13 in late 2017. After the eighth season, the show went on hiatus for two years until October 2022, when it was announced that the ninth season would be produced by Keshet Media Group and broadcast on Channel 12, with Yehuda Levi serving as the new host. The season was broadcast during the Gaza War from July to September 2024. A tenth season was announced in October 2024.

In March 2010, a Chinese version of the show, The Amazing Race: China Rush, was announced by the Disney–ABC International Television Asia Pacific. The show was produced by Shanghai-based international production company Fly Films; the company had previously produced Shanghai Rush in 2009, a show heavily influenced by The Amazing Race. The first season was filmed between March and April 2010 and aired in August 2010 by International Channel of Shanghai and was hosted by Allan Wu, who had also previously hosted the Asian version. The Chinese version ran for three seasons, with the last season having ended in 2012. In 2014, Shenzhen Media Group announced they had bought the rights to The Amazing Race and would be producing a new Chinese version of the program, unrelated to Shanghai Media Group's China Rush.

On July 19, 2010, Australian channel Seven Network purchased the format rights to produce the Australian series. The Amazing Race Australia was produced by activeTV in association with ABC Studios and was distributed by Disney Media Distribution Asia Pacific. The host for the first 3 series was New Zealand-born actor Grant Bowler. Two series were produced in 2011 and 2012 and after a brief hiatus in 2013, a third season was produced in-house and without activeTV in 2014. This series also included teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Following another hiatus for five years, the show was revived by Network 10 in 2019. This new series was produced by Eureka Productions and hosted by former rugby league footballer Beau Ryan. The first season of 10's iteration – and the fourth season overall – premiered on October 28, 2019. The seventh through ninth seasons were celebrity editions.

Europe

During 2005, AXN Central Europe announced a version of the show to be called The Amazing Race Central Europe. Applications were closed with the submission of 2,500 applicants, with filming expected to have occurred in 2006 and broadcast from September 2006. The show was cast but was never filmed.

By October 2011, a Norwegian version of the show titled The Amazing Race Norge was announced by TV 2. Applications were open from October 11, 2011, to October 31, 2011. Filming took place in January 2012. Ex-football player Freddy dos Santos hosted the show. The first season premiered on April 11, 2012. The second and latest season ended on May 29, 2013.

On March 23, 2012, a French version of the show was announced. It was produced by Shine France for D8 with filming having occurred between June and July 2012. It premiered on October 22 of the same year. The finale aired on December 24.

On July 23, 2012, a Ukrainian version of the show was announced, called Velyki Perehony. It premiered on April 13, 2013, at 20:00, and concluded on June 29, 2013.

On April 12, 2023, Iltalehti revealed that a Finnish version of The Amazing Race was being made. Filmed from July 24 to August 16, 2023, and premiered on September 30 on Nelonen, the Finnish Amazing Race features celebrity contestants in a race around the world. After a successful adaption of the format, the Finnish version was renewed for a second season, which premiered in 2024.

The Americas

In late 2006, a South-American independent production company announced that it would produce a Brazilian version in 2007, to be called The Amazing Race: A Corrida Milionária, and to be aired in a purchased time slot in the Brazilian network RedeTV!. Applications were open from January until July, and filming occurred during August and September. The first and only season premiered on October 13, 2007, and concluded on January 5, 2008.

On October 15, 2008, a Latin American version of the show was announced by Discovery Latin America in association with Disney and Harris Whitbeck presented the show. The first season was filmed in early 2009 and broadcast late in that year across Latin America and the Caribbean and the second season aired in late 2010. In January 2011 it was announced that Space acquired the rights to produce the third season of the show. The fourth season also aired on Space in September 2012, but solely composed of Brazilian teams with Paulo Zulu as the host, replacing Whitbeck. In the fifth season, María Victoria "Toya" Montoya, a former contestant from the third season, replaced Whitbeck as regular host of the series.

On November 30, 2012, it was revealed that CTV would produce a Canadian version of The Amazing Race. An announcement made by Phil Keoghan aired on this channel during the December 2, 2012, episode of the American version of the show. The show premiered on July 15, 2013, with Olympic gold medalist Jon Montgomery as host and has since aired eleven seasons.

List of international versions

As of September 18, 2026, there have been 105 winning teams in over 15 franchises of The Amazing Race and 103 seasons. The most recent winners are twin sisters Tina and Liz Liao from The Amazing Race Canada 12.

Currently airing (0)

An upcoming season (4)

No longer airing (10)

Status unknown (1)

Other media

Video games

A video game based on this reality show was developed by Ludia and published by Ubisoft for the Wii. It was released on November 2, 2010, in North America.

The game features many countries previously visited on real races, as well as some new ones like Venezuela. Host Phil Keoghan provided voice-acting throughout the entire game.

Players customize their own characters and can race against other, pre-made characters. These existing teams are showcased in the opening, which closely mirrors the actual show's opening (including the use of the same music). However, when playing the actual game, no-one, not even the player, is referred to by name. Instead, teams are differentiated by color (ex. team yellow).

The rules of the race are fairly similar to the actual race. Teams receive money, fly to a location and complete various tasks (which were represented by a large collection of minigames). The last team to arrive is eliminated, unless they are saved by a non-elimination leg, in which the penalty is the team loses all their money they saved up to that point (unlike the show during seasons 5–9, the teams are still given money at the start of the next leg). However, all teams leave the Pit Stop at the same time.

Some clues had changes to their rules: while the Detour and Roadblock retain their rules, there is no limit on individual Roadblocks. Fast Forwards appear in the race, but they are not optional, and the team that completes it the fastest gets a two-hour time credit. The Intersection marker was also present, however, the rules were changed to a task that all teams complete, similar to an additional task on the real race. The Yield, U-Turn, Speed Bump, and Express Pass are not featured in this game.

As an added bonus, completing various tasks and doing certain objectives in the game will unlock "video files." These are selected clips from the actual American TV show; usually featuring notable clips selected from the first 15 seasons, such as extremely dramatic moments (examples are Uchenna & Joyce could not pay their taxi driver at the final Pit Stop and Chris & Alex making the closest finish in The Amazing Race 2) or funny moments (such as when Fran & Barry kept walking past a clue that was within arm's length). The clips appear exactly as they did on TV, except that all logos are pixelated, even those that went uncensored on TV.

Parodies

In 2015, a Canadian animated Amazing Race parody program titled The Ridonculous Race aired on Teletoon and Cartoon Network. The show itself is a spin-off the Total Drama series (which is, in turn, a parody of other reality shows, predominantly Survivor). The animated show features 18 teams of two who will compete in a race around the world for C$1,000,000. The show is hosted by Don, who is modelled after The Amazing Race US host, Phil Keoghan. The teams race to "Don Boxes" to receive their next "travel tip", which will instruct the teams to complete challenges and go to other locations. Like The Amazing Race, there are a variety of challenge types. There are "either or"; in which the teams are given a choice of two choices (like a Detour), a "botch or watch"; which only one member of the team can complete the task (like a Roadblock), and "all-ins"; in which both members must complete the given task. At the end of each episode, there is a "Chill Zone" which the teams may rest until the next episode. Teams check into the "chill zones" by stepping on the "carpet of completion". The last team to set foot on the carpet may be eliminated from the race. The first team to reach the final "chill zone" will win C$1,000,000.

In the adult sitcom show American Dad, there is an episode called "The Bitchin Race", where the show's characters compete in a reality show that resembles The Amazing Race. The episode also featured Phil Keoghan portraying the host of the show himself.