The Amazing Race 17 Preview: Meet The Contestants

News
By Kelly West
published

This month the seventeenth season of The Amazing Race will premiere on CBS. We have some information on the eleven teams who will be competing in the race around the world, as well as a video to introduce them to you.

The Amazing Race may have not have won the Outstanding Reality Competition Emmy this year (for the first time in the category’s history), but the series is still going strong. Below is a video featuring the teams for Season 17. Among the racers are a set of singing college kids, a daughter and her birth-mother, and a tattooed couple.

And here’s CBS’ series description, as well as the specifics on the contestants.

THE AMAZING RACE sends 11 teams on a trek around the world. Each Team is comprised of two people who have a pre-existing relationship with one another. At every destination, each Team competes in a series of challenges - some mental and some physical - and when the tasks have been completed, they learn their next destination. Teams who are farthest behind will gradually be eliminated as the contest progresses, with the first team to arrive at the final destination winning $1 million.

Home Shopping Hosts

Brook Roberts

Age: 27

Hometown: San Diego, Calif.

Occupation: Home Shopping Host

Claire Champlin

Age: 30

Hometown: Reno, Nev.

Occupation: Home Shopping Host

Dating

Nick DeCarlo

Age: 26

Hometown: Henderson, Nev.

Occupation: Bartender

Vicki Casciola

Age: 26

Hometown: Henderson, Nev.

Occupation: Hair Stylist

Best Friends

Ron Kellum

Age: 45

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

Occupation: Director/Choreographer

Tony Stovall

Age: 42

Hometown: Tucson, Ariz.

Occupation: Doctoral Student (University of Arizona)

Father/Son

Michael Wu

Age: 58

Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas

Occupation: Software Consultant and Content Creator

Kevin Wu

Age: 20

Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas

Occupation: Student/Internet Entertainer

Newly Dating

Chad Waltrip

Age: 26

Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Occupation: Operations Manager

Stephanie Smith

Age: 23

Hometown: Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Occupation: Hair Stylist

Doctors/Friends

Nat Strand

Age: 31

Hometown: Scottsdale, Ariz.

Occupation: Doctor

Kat Chang

Age: 35

Hometown: Santa Monica, Calif.

Occupation: Doctor

Father/Daughter

Gary Ervin

Age: 53

Hometown: Morganfield, Ky.

Occupation: Entrepreneur

Mallory Ervin

Age: 24

Hometown: Lexington, Ky.

Occupation: Miss Kentucky 2009

Ivy League A Cappella Singers

Connor Diemand-Yauman

Age: 22

Hometown: Chesterland, Ohio

Occupation: Student (Princeton)

Jonathan Schwartz

Age: 22

Hometown: Cranford, N.J.

Occupation: Student (Princeton)

Dating

Jill Haney

Age: 27

Hometown: Marina Del Ray, Calif.

Occupation: Hair Stylist

Thomas Wolfard

Age: 30

Hometown: Marina Del Ray, Calif.

Occupation: Ad Sales Director

Birth Mother/Daughter

Andie DeKroon

Age: 43

Hometown: Atlanta, Ga.

Occupation: Stay-at-Home Mom

Jenna Sykes

Age: 21

Hometown: Athens, Ga.

Occupation: Student (University of Georgia)

Beach Volleyball Partners

Katie Seamon

Age: 23

Hometown: Rahway, N.J.

Occupation: Beach Volleyball Player

Rachel Johnston

Age: 24

Hometown: Moorestown, N.J

Occupation: Beach Volleyball Player

The Amazing Race 17 premieres Sunday, Sept. 26 (8:30-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on CBS.

CLICK HERE to view the 2010 Fall TV Premiere Schedule.

Kelly West
Kelly West
Assistant Managing Editor

Kelly joined CinemaBlend as a freelance TV news writer in 2006 and went on to serve as the site’s TV Editor before moving over to other roles on the site. At present, she’s an Assistant Managing Editor who spends much of her time brainstorming and editing feature content on the site. She an expert in all things Harry Potter, books from a variety of genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror, YA, drama, romance -- anything with a great story and interesting characters.), watching Big Brother, frequently rewatching The Office, listening to Taylor Swift, and playing The Sims.