The Emmy Award-winning and recently nominated The Amazing Race will begins its milestone 35th season starting at the iconic Hollywood Sign, celebrating the famous landmark’s 100th anniversary, on the 90-minute season premiere of the CBS Original series in its new time period, Wednesday, Sept. 27 (9:30-11:00 PM, ET/PT).
The new season will stream on Paramount+ (live and on demand for Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers, or on demand for Paramount+ Essential subscribers the day after the episode airs). Phil Keoghan is the host.
In its biggest season yet, the race ups the ante, by starting with an unprecedented 13 new globetrotting teams who will set off on a 23,800-mile adventure around the world and visit a new country, Slovenia, known for its beautiful landscape and dramatic scenery.
Here, teams will fly in a gravity defying glider, 2,000 feet over Lake Bled, cross-country ski indoors and climb 1,110 steps to the top of Planica’s tallest ski jump, among other once-in-a-lifetime challenges.
“We start this season of The Amazing Race with an international flight to Asia, bringing back the thrill of traveling around the globe to exotic places. And on top of that, our cast is fantastic! Their energy is palpable and their enthusiasm even greater!” said co-creators and executive producers Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri.
“This season’s big, 90-minute episodes allow us to show more of each city we travel to, especially the people and the culture, plus we get to know our contestants on a deeper level and their relationships with each other. You will laugh, you will cry, you will shout at the TV in frustration and also scream with joy, but best of all you will feel the highs and lows on this journey of the human spirit with the majestic backdrop of the world.”
In the premiere episode, for the first time, a former team surprises racers as judges at the end of the first Roadblock, where one team member must traverse a perilous tightrope stretched from one roof top to another at the historic Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. Also this season, the show returns to commercial travel and will bring back no non-elimination legs, the race-changing Express Pass and a twist on the infamous U-Turn, making this season one of the most competitive.
This season on The Amazing Race, one of the 13 teams trekking around the world will be eliminated at the end of every leg. Each team is comprised of two people who have a pre-existing relationship with one another. At every destination, each team competes in a series of challenges – some mental and some physical – and when the tasks have been completed, they learn their next destination.
The locations that teams will travel to include Thailand, India, Germany, Sweden, Ireland and Washington state, where the first team to cross the final finish line will be crowned the winner of The Amazing Race and win the $1 million prize.
Jerry Bruckheimer, Bertram van Munster, Jonathan Littman, Elise Doganieri, Mark Vertullo, Phil Keoghan and Patrick Cariaga are the executive producers for Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Earthview Inc. in association with ABC Studios and Amazing Race Productions. The Amazing Race was created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri.
THE AMAZING RACE SEASON 35 TEAMS
Jocelyn Chao (49, Grocery Store Manager) and Victor Limary (49, Grocery Store Manager)
Married from Albuquerque, N.M.
Liam Hykel (23, Navy Veteran) and Yeremi Hykel (24, Marine Corps Veteran)
Brothers from Cheyenne, Wyo., and San Marcos, Texas
Malaina Hatcher (45, Tax Examiner Technician) and Andrea Simpson (44, Director of Credit Management)
Best friends from Philadelphia, Pa.
Joe Moskowitz (35, Head of Business Development for a Commercial Real Estate Tech Platform) and Ian Todd (40, Sr. Director of New Business for a Marketing Tech Start-Up)
Engaged from New York, N.Y.
Steve Cargile (54, Residential/Commercial Paint Contractor) and Anna Leigh Wilson (28, Speech Pathologist, Private Flight Attendant, Influencer)
Father and daughter from Petty, Texas, and Royse City, Texas
Morgan Franklin (31, Marketing Executive) and Lena Franklin (29, Marketing Executive)
Sisters from Brooklyn, N.Y., and Los Angeles, Calif.
Ashlie Martin (38, Hospitality Account Manager) and Todd Martin (38, Special Education Teacher)
Married from Chino, Calif.
Robbin Tomich (41, Stay-at-Home Mom) and Chelsea Day (41, Stay-at-Home Mom)
Childhood best friends from Kirkland, Wash., and Shoreline, Wash.
Greg Franklin (25, Software Developer) and John Franklin (27, Product Manager)
Brothers from New York, N.Y., and Mountain View, Calif.
Rob McArthur (48, Teaching Assistant and Assistant Football Coach) and Corey McArthur (25, Senior Manager of Client Strategy and Analytics)
Father and son from Riverside, Calif., and New York, N.Y.
Joel Strasser (42, Auto Claims Training Specialist) and Garrett Smith (43, Delivery Driver)
Best Friends from Kuna, Idaho, and Meridian, Idaho
Elizabeth Rivera (52, Retired Lieutenant) and Iliana Rivera (27, Entrepreneur)
Mother and daughter from Tampa, Fla.
Alexandra Lichtor (34, Consultant) and Sheridan Lichtor (29, Consultant)
Siblings from Chicago, Ill.
Mirko Parlevliet has been reporting on the entertainment industry since 1998 and founded Vital Thrills in 2018 to cover the latest news on streaming, movies, TV, and video games.