Amazing Race mega fans probably remember the last couple of seasons, and how wonky they were. I’m not talking about the million dollar prize winners, but rather how the show went from the Covid era where people were masked and precautions like chartering flights for contestants were taken in Season 34 to a totally normal Season 35 and then back to Covid masks and precautions in Season 36. No, this wasn’t a continuity error. In fact, longtime host Phil Keoghan is calling it a “risk that paid off.”
Why The Amazing Race Aired A Couple Of Seasons Out Of Order
Ahead of Season 37 finally heading to the TV schedule, what had actually happened was The Amazing Race aired a couple of seasons out of order. This was precipitated by a change on CBS that went down with The Amazing Race and Survivor, its unofficial “sister” reality series at the Eye Network. I had no idea, but apparently what ended up being Season 36 of The Amazing Race had already been edited and put together when CBS made the sudden decision to begin airing 90-minute episodes of both shows.
Obviously, adding 30 minutes to every. single. episode was a huge change for the show, and given what ended up being Season 35 of The Amazing Race was filming when the news came down the pipeline, what the creative team ultimately did was filmed and edited Season 35 with 90 minutes in mind. They then had more time to go back to the Covid-filmed season (which ultimately went to couple winners teacher Ricky Rotandi and chef Cesar Aldrete) and put together a much more comprehensive 90-minute edit that ended up becoming Season 36.
I honestly had no idea, but it’s wild to think about editing an entire season twice. Phil Keoghan told Gold Derby “it was a risk that paid off,” also explaining why the longer-episode format has been great for Race.
It was a risk that paid off. And for us, I think it’s helped the show a lot because a lot of times, we’re really having to go and having to trim out stuff that we really would love to keep. We hear a lot from viewers that they want to see more of the world. A lot of the times, I feel like we’ve had to shortchange them on being able to sit on shots or to give real context to where we are.
It’s a sentiment that’s been shared by Survivor’s Jeff Probst, who loves that fans are able to see 4-5 minutes of an idol hunt instead of a quick 30-second soundbite with the longer episodes. The same thing is true for challenges on Race. Keoghan admits the coolest thing about the re-edit and other future edits is that fans now have a way bigger picture regarding what’s going on with teams, as well as the challenge choices the show is making.
I write with one of the producers and the thing we’re trying to do constantly is give the viewer context as to why are we in, say, in Thailand doing what we we’re doing. What’s the reason for us being there and having them do this challenge? That context is hugely important and I think becoming more and more important as viewers become more discerning.
Context is important, and we’ll be getting a whole more of it when The Amazing Race hits the 2025 TV schedule for Season 37 on CBS (or with a Paramount Plus subscription). Those episodes start airing on Wednesday, March 5th, and Phil is also teasing a few "surprise elements." Though this time I'm assuming these surprises won't be as over-the-top as entire seasons airing out of order.
