The Amazing Race season 33 contestant Ryan Ferguson spent nearly 10 years in prison after being wrongly convicted of a homicide. Now, he is appearing on The Amazing Race season 33, which was halted production temporarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most fans love the series for its unique adventure-style format and enjoy seeing new cast members every season. However, this season of The Amazing Race is completely different due to the obstacles that came with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since The Amazing Race 33 is all about traveling around the world and finding clues, it received a big hit from so many international travel restrictions. Thankfully, the producers handled filming and kept everyone safe. After months of hiatus, the series has finally returned in 2022, and fans are excited.

The Amazing Race season 33 features exciting cast members who are all eyeing the $1 million grand prize. This season has teams of YouTube influencers, police officers, internet personalities, radio hosts, and even best friends. The new contestants include Akbar Cook Sr. and Sheridan Cook, two teachers from New Jersey; 23-year-old childhood friends from Sacramento, Spencer Stone and Anthony Sadler; father-daughter duo Arun Kumar and Natalie Kumar, and various other cast members. Despite 11 teams with different backgrounds, the most special one seems to be a best friends duo.

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Ryan and Dusty Harris are two best friends from Columbia, Missouri. They are noteworthy due to Ryan's tragic history given that the 37-year-old spent 10 years in prison for a crime that he didn't commit. According to News Week, it all started in 2001 when someone murdered a Columbia Daily Tribune editor on Halloween. Two years after the murder, Ryan's friend Charles Erickson admitted to the crime and also implicated Ryan in the incident. After this, the court wrongfully condemned Ryan to 40 years in prison. Thankfully, Making a Murderer attorney Kathleen Zellner saved him after 10 years, even though it was still too late. Now, The Amazing Race cast member Ryan is all about helping others like him who are serving sentences for a crime they didn't commit.

Ryan Ferguson Dusty Harris Kim Penn Holderness Caro Viehweg Ray Gantt Amazing Race 33

Since leaving prison in 2013, Ryan has slowly turned his life around for good. His Instagram bio says, "Lost 10 years of life to a wrongful conviction, making up for it every day." Ryan is doing exactly that by hosting a podcast and living his best life. He usually shares his life updates on Instagram and sounds extremely inspiring in each one. Overall, Ryan loves to travel around and stay in the best physical shape, all of which come in handy on The Amazing Race. In a recent post, Ryan shared a photo of him flying a plane.

Since Ryan's debut on the popular show, he has built a good fanbase. Hopefully, he will be able to rake in the prize at the end of The Amazing Race and make his life even better. After all, he has lost the most important part of his life due to a wrongful conviction. If he can score a victory on the show, he'll become a symbol of inspiration for people with similar experiences. That being said, all the other contestants are worthy of the prize as well, which is exactly what makes The Amazing Race season 33 a must-watch.

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Source: News WeekRyan Ferguson/Instagram