The Amazing Race is gearing up to return for Season 34 in September, but when the show does, it’ll be with a key change to its rules. Every season there is a team that is saved by a surprise elimination leg. Well, that’s gone. Every leg, at least for this season will feature an elimination.
The announcement was slipped into the press release touting the beloved reality show’s return, which will feature some reality stars. Twelve teams will race around world starting in Munich. But, at the end of each leg, a pair is being given the big ugly knife. It’ll mark the first time in the show’s history there hasn’t been at least one non-elimination leg, and it’ll likely both add and reduce tension. Let’s talk out why.
One side is that this change will increase the tension and pressure in every leg. There’s always that thought in the back of every team’s mind that maybe, just maybe if they’re last, there’s a chance they’ll be saved by a non-elimination leg. I don’t have the exact data, but it feels like it happens like three times a season. Sometimes contestants will even say something to Phil Keoghan directly. “Please tell me this is a non-elimination.” I’m not saying teams aren’t always racing hard, but we’ll probably see some teams pushing a little harder since they know there’s not a chance they can get lucky.
However, the elimination of non-elimination leg is going to greatly relieve tension from at least some legs. There are some legs that can be a real pain every season. Perhaps a team gets lost driving somewhere. Sometimes a team misses an opportunity to fly. Maybe a team just cannot execute a roadblock no matter how long they’re there. There are always times when one team is hours ahead of the others. The lingering possibility of a non-elimination leg always kept a little bit of drama, and that’s now going to be eliminated.
My feelings are mixed on this, but I’m going to go into the new season positive because change, in general, is good. The reality competition is not the same as it was during the first season because it’s a constant evolution. They didn’t mandate a more equitable split on roadblocks until Season 6. U-Turns weren’t introduced until Season 12. They didn’t tell teams to slow down on helping each other until last year. All of these alterations were good for the show. Every wrinkle, of course, hasn’t been great, but some new wrinkles (as well as competitors) always help the show eventually find great new things. So, let’s cross our fingers and hope for the best.
The Amazing RaceThe program will be back on Wednesday, September 21st at 10 pm ET/ 10 pm PT. There’s no word on whether some of the other pandemic-related changes will return, but it’ll broadcast on CBS and also be available on Paramount+ for those who would prefer a streaming option. Announced the locations of contestants, who were All of them have been shownThe countries that he will be visiting include Germany, Austria and Spain, France, Iceland, Jordan, France, Spain, France, Spain, France, Iceland, Jordan, and Nashville, the United States.