The Amazing Race has been going strong for 31 seasons, with at least two more seasons coming. Every year, fans get to see contestants race around the world in teams of two, participating in the ultimate scavenger hunt/race where they have to find landmarks and pit stops, complete challenges or collect certain items, and race to the final pit stop in each leg, hoping they aren't the last to arrive.
While you might think you know everything there is to know about the show, here are a few interesting facts you might not have known.
The 32nd Season Has Already Filmed
The show has aired 31 seasons to date and has been renewed for a season 32 and 33. The 32nd season was actually already filmed back in 2018 and is supposed to air some time this year.
Production for season 33, however, was delated due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was supposed to begin filming in February 2020.
It Has Won 10 Out Of 15 Emmys
The Amazing Race is a frequent nominee for the category of Outstanding Reality-Competition Program every year during the Emmy Awards. And it has actually won 10 times. The show was nominated for the first seven years since the award's creation in 2003. Top Chef won in 2010, ending the show's 7-year winning streak.
The show won so many times, in fact, that some industry folks from competing shows, like Jeff Probst, suggesting maybe the show drop out of the running to give another series a chance.
China Is The Most Visited Country
The show has visited 91 different countries around the world. Aside from the U.S., which always serves as the beginning and end-point of each season, the most visited country over the 31 seasons thus far of the show is China.
Teams have made 21 pit stops there in 10 different cities. Other countries that have been visited many times include Argentina (10), France (15), Italy (12), India (17), and Thailand (12).
Team Members Really Have To Be Teams
Partners who are competing together don't have to work really closely together to get through challenges, but they also have to physically stay close together, too. They need to remain less than 20 feet away from one another at all times.
This is partly to ensure that each person isn't off doing their own thing (unless it is part of the challenge, of course, where one person might be bungee jumping while another watches from afar) but also because it would be a logistical nightmare for the cameraperson to keep filming them if they were too far apart from one another.
The Crew Needs Plane Seats Too
You know how sometimes you see pairs racing to talk to an agent at the airport or travel agency to get tickets for a flight to the next pitstop location, trying every which way to be able to arrive first? And sometimes they are told the flight is full? They aren't just looking for two tickets but they actually need four.
They have to get tickets for themselves as well as their two-person camera crew. That means even if there might be two seats left on a flight, they are out of luck and have to find another one.
Filming Is Done Over 21 Days
While you'd like to think the teams have days in between to explore the city or country they're in and get some R&R in between legs, that isn't really the case. Filming takes place over 21 days – less than a month.
While even that might seem like a lot, consider that they often travel clear across the world which means they also spend much of that time in the air. All of that travel is edited and turned into 12 intense episodes of an exciting race around the world.
Sequesterville
What is Sequesterville? It is the nickname fans have given to the mysterious resort that contestants go once they're voted off. They can't go home because that would tip people off to the fact that they didn't win, leading to Spoilerville.
During that time, they can sometimes go on chaperoned trips. It's unclear if Sequesterville is a different place every time or the same location. Nonetheless, it remains one of the great mysteries of the show.
Phil Keoghan Almost Didn't Host
Phil Keoghan, the totally likable host of the show, almost didn’t get the job. That's because he had auditioned for the hosting gig on another massively successful reality TV series: Survivor. He was a frontrunner alongside Jeff Probst who, of course, ended up securing the gig.
It all worked out for the best because we can't imagine The Amazing Race without Keoghan. And both have gone on to be lauded for the way they bring their respective shows together.
All Contestants Make Money
While everyone on the show is competing for the big prize of one million dollars, everyone does get paid something for being on the show and taking a good month off work. The team that comes in second place reportedly takes home $25,000 while coming in third will net you $10,000.
Even if you're eliminated first, you still go home with something for all your efforts to audition for the series: about $1,500.
A U.S. Ambassador Once Helped Phil
While the cast and crew are traveling all over the world together that doesn't mean they have any special privileges. They still have to have all of the proper documentation. And that goes for the host Phil Keoghan as well.
One time, he got detained in the Ukraine because immigration didn't believe he had the right papers. After spending the night in a holding room while the teams were racing, the U.S. ambassador helped get him released in time to make it to the pit stop mat. Thankfully, she just so happened to be a huge fan of the show!