The Amazing Race (U.S. TV series)

The Amazing Race is an American reality competition show in which typically eleven teams of two race around the world. The race is split into roughly twelve legs interspersed with physical and mental challenges, and require teams to deduce clues, navigate themselves in foreign areas, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and vie for airplane, boat, taxi, and other public transportation options on a limited budget provided by the show. Teams are progressively eliminated at the end of most legs; with the final leg's grand prize of US$1 million. As the original version of the Amazing Race franchise, the CBS program has been running since 2001. The series was renewed for a 28th season which premiered on February 12, 2016. Numerous international versions have been developed following the same core structure, while the U.S. version is also broadcast to several other markets.

The show was created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, who, along with Jonathan Littman, serve as executive producers. The show is produced by Earthview Inc. (headed by Doganieri and van Munster), Bruckheimer Television for CBS Television Studios and ABC Studios (a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company). The series has been hosted by veteran New Zealand television personality Phil Keoghan since its inception.

The Amazing Race

The Amazing Race is a reality television game show in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. Contestants strive to arrive first at "Pit Stops" at the end of each leg of the race to win prizes and to avoid coming in last, which carries the possibility of elimination or a significant disadvantage in the following leg. Contestants travel to and within multiple countries in a variety of transportation modes, including airplanes, hot air balloons, helicopters, trucks, bicycles, taxicabs, cars, trains, buses, boats, and by foot. Clues provided in each leg lead the teams to the next destination or direct them to perform a task, either together or by a single member. These challenges are related in some manner to the country wherein they are located or its culture. Teams are progressively eliminated until three are left; at that point, the team that arrives first in the final leg is awarded the grand prize.

Created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, the original series has aired in the United States since 2001 and has earned thirteen Primetime Emmy Awards, including every award from 2003 to 2009 for "Outstanding Reality-Competition Program." Emmy-award-winning New Zealand television personality Phil Keoghan has been the host of the U.S. version of the show since its inception. The show has branched out to include a number of international versions following a similar format.

The Amazing Race Asia

The Amazing Race Asia is a reality game show based on the American series The Amazing Race.

On 17 October 2005, CBS gave other countries the chance to franchise The Amazing Race. The Asian cable TV network AXN Asia was among the first to acquire the rights to produce a version for its territories. The show is produced by Australian television production company ActiveTV, for AXN, in association with Buena Vista International Television-Asia Pacific (BVITV-AP). The host for the show is Singapore based Chinese-American actor Allan Wu.

The ultimate prize is US$100,000, whilst the American show gives away US$1,000,000. The general manager of SPE Networks-Asia which runs AXN, Ricky Ow explained the smaller prize, saying, "It is not really about the money but the adventure and opportunity to be in one of the world's greatest reality shows".

The Race

The Amazing Race Asia is a reality television competition between ten teams of two in a race around the world. The race is divided into a number of legs wherein teams travel and complete various tasks to obtain clues to help them progress to a Pit Stop where they are given a chance to rest and recover before starting the next leg twelve hours later. The first team to arrive at a Pit Stop is often awarded a prize while the last team is normally eliminated from the race (except in non-elimination legs, where the last team to arrive may be penalised in the following leg). The final leg of each race is run by the last three remaining teams, and the first to arrive at the final destination wins the US$100,000 cash prize.

The Amazing Race 1

The Amazing Race 1 (originally broadcast under the name The Amazing Race) is the first season of the American reality television series The Amazing Race. It was broadcast for the first time on September 5, 2001, and ended on December 13, 2001, on American television.

Lawyers and best friends Rob Frisbee and Brennan Swain were the winners of the inaugural Race.

The complete season set, featuring commentary from four of the teams, was released on DVD in September 2005.

Production

Development and filming

The first season of The Amazing Race traveled 35,000 miles (56,000 km) in 39 days, spanning 4 continents and 9 different countries. The season was hit with multiple filming delays, including an airport strike in Rome and a sandstorm in Tunisia, the latter of which forced teams to begin leg 6 in Gabès, rather than the original Saharan desert Pit Stop.

Other aspects of filming were unique to the first season of the series. Host Phil Keoghan handed out clues at the beginning of some legs and only greeted the last-place team at each Pit Stop; all other teams were greeted and informed of their placements by local representatives. Each leg's Pit Stop mat featured a localized design; subsequent seasons have used a single mat design throughout the entire race.