The Amazing Race

The Amazing Race is a American reality television/game show. It is broadcast on CBS, there is also an Australian version that is broadcast in Australia on Network 10.

The Race

In The Amazing Race, 11 or 12 teams of two people race around the world for $1,000,000, with information provided by "clues", or Route Info. There are certain "legs" of the race, culminated by "Pit Stops". At Pit Stops, teams check in for a mandatory 12 hour rest period, although sometimes the period can be 24 hours, 36 hours, or even once 60.^[1] Usually, the first team to arrive at a Pit Stop will receive a prize, such as a trip to a Caribbean country. On most of the Pit Stops on the race, the last team to arrive is eliminated from the race. However, two or three of those points are non-elimination. In Seasons 1-4, there was no penalty for coming in last in a non-elimination. From Seasons 5-9, teams had to give up all of their money and start the next leg without money. Even stricter, in Seasons 7-9, teams had to turn over all of their luggage. In Seasons 10 and 11, teams would start the next leg "Marked for Elimination". That meant that if they did not come in first at the next Pit Stop, they would have to wait out a 30-minute penalty. Starting from Season 12, teams coming in last on Non-Eliminations have to do a Speed Bump. A Speed Bump is a task that no other teams have to do.

Tasks

The Amazing Race has several different tasks that teams must complete.

Detour

Teams performing a Detour in Brazil.

A Detour is a choice between two tasks. The team can choose which one it wants to complete. Teams are allowed to switch between Detour choices, in the American version there is a harsh 6-hour penalty if you quit a Detour, in the Australian version it is only 1 hour.

Roadbock

A Roadbock is a task where only one member of the team can perform. Teams cannot switch the member performing the task. There is a 4-hour penalty if teams quit.

Fast Forward

A Fast Forward is a task in order for a team to skip tasks and head directly to the Pit Stop.

History

The Amazing Race was created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri in 2001. It has been airing from 2001 to present.

Production

The Amazing Race is seen as hard to produce. Producers need to find places, come up with tasks and pick teams. Cameramen have to keep up with the teams, and people are not allowed to give away the results. However, The Amazing Race has won 6 Emmy awards.

Versions

Besides the original American version, The Amazing Race has generated several versions from around the world.

This map shows the countries that have their own versions of The Amazing Race

Australia (with New Zealand included in 2014 Season)
Asia^[2]
Central Europe (cancelled)
Brazil^[3]
China
France
Israel^[4]
Latin America^[5]
Norway
Philippines
Vietnam
Ukraine

The Amazing Race Media

Top row: best friends Danny Jimenez & Oswald Mendez of season 2 and the first All Stars, and spouses Kim & Chip McAllister of season 5.*Bottom row: dating couple Lori Willems & Dave Spiker of season 9, and brothers Gerard & Ken Duphiney of season 3
A standard Route Marker looks like this.
Route Infos are blue cards.
Amazing Race Detour clue.
TARRoadblockclue
Fast Forwards are green cards.
Amazing Race Yield clue.
Amazing Race U-Turn icon.
Face Offs are orange cards. Some versions use a regular route info clue for a Face Off.