The Amazing Race 34 is the thirty-fourth season of the reality television show, The Amazing Race. It premiered on September 21, 2022 and ended on December 7, 2022 on CBS. The entire season was released on DVD on March 21, 2023.
Production[]
Applications were due in October 2021. Casting for this season began in November 2021, with applicants required to be fully vaccinated from COVID-19.[2] Casting closed on March 29, 2022.[3] In addition, in response to criticism over lack of racial diversity in its reality programming, CBS announced in November 2020 that The Amazing Race and its other reality shows must cast at least 50% persons of color beginning with the 2021-2022 television season. This season was the first to be cast after CBS announced this mandate.[4][5][6]
Filming began on May 25, 2022 and concluded on June 16, 2022. This season traveled a total of 10,300 miles (16,500 km), across eight countries on three continents. Like in the preceding season, production rented a chartered Titan Airways Boeing 757 for the entire Race instead of traveling on commercial flights to reduce personal interactions due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The protocols enacted by production as a response to the pandemic in the previous season were still in place.
This season saw a pair of series firsts. For the first time, the Starting Line was situated outside the United States — in Munich, Germany — due to the continued use of charted flights to travel, rendering any initial flight from the United States moot. Meanwhile, in a first for the franchise, it was announced that the show would be doing away with traditional Non-Elimination Legs beginning with this season.[7] However, due to the removal of one team due to a positive COVID-19 test, one leg became a de facto Non-Elimination Leg, albeit one that teams knew about in advance.
Long-time sponsor Travelocity was replaced by parent company Expedia as the main sponsor of the show. Expedia was the only official sponsor of the season and would provide the prizes awarded to first place teams on certain legs.
Twists/Changes[]
- Expanded Cast: For the first time since The Amazing Race 15, the Race featured 12 teams.
- 12 Legs: After The Amazing Race 33 was truncated to just 11 legs each upon resumption of its production, this season returned to the standard 12 single-length legs.
- Roadblock Limits: This season featured 12 Roadblocks, leaving for a maximum Roadblock split of 6-6.
- No Non-Elimination Legs: Beginning with this season, traditional Non-Elimination Legs would be removed. However, after one team was medically removed prior to the fifth leg due to a positive COVID-19 test, that leg became a de facto Non-Elimination Leg, albeit one that teams knew about in advance. The last team to check in at the Pit Stop would incur a Departure Time Penalty, in which they would start the following leg in the last departure group on their own.
- Scramble: The first leg featured the first ever Scramble. Teams are given the locations of three tasks, information on which they would be given upon arrival at each location, and were free to complete the tasks in any order. For each task a team completes, they would receive a portion of a clue. By completing all three tasks, teams would be able to put together all the portions to complete their next clue.
- COVID Protocols: The Race retained the safety protocols put in place the previous season as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
- Chartered Flights: Teams would be transported by production on charter flights instead of traveling on commercial flights.
- Departure Groups: To account for the lack of commercial travel, teams were released from the Pit Start in a location in the general area of the upcoming leg in staggered groups of one to four teams — depending on the number of teams racing in that leg — 15 minutes apart in the order they placed in the previous leg. In the final leg, the final three teams would be released from the Pit Start simultaneously.
- Rules and Penalties: The following rules were revealed on this season:
- If teams are required to wear production-provided attire for the duration of the leg, a team that attempts to check in at a Pit Stop without both members wearing the complete attire would be turned away and required to retrieve any missing article of clothing before being allowed to check in.
- If a team is eliminated for whatever reason in between legs, the remaining teams would begin the next leg at the same time instead of departing in the order they finished the previous leg.
Teams[]
Derek & Claire
Reality Romance |
Emily & Molly
Long-Lost Twins |
Luis & Michelle
Married |
Aubrey & David
Ballroom Dancers |
Marcus & Michael
Military Brothers |
Quinton & Mattie
Former Rams Cheerleaders |
Glenda & Lumumba
Newlyweds |
Abby & Will
Childhood Sweethearts |
Linton & Sharik
Father/Daughter |
Rich & Dom
Motivational Speakers |
Tim & Rex
Golf Buddies |
Aastha & Nina
Engaged |
Episodes[]
| Episode | Air Date | Leg | Destination | First Place | Last Place | Finish | Viewership (millions) |
Ratings/Share (18-49) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Many Firsts But Don't Be Last" | September 21, 2022 | 1 | Germany | Derek & Claire | Aastha & Nina | 1st Eliminated 12th place |
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| 2 | "Patience, is the New Me" | September 28, 2022 | 2 | Germany → Austria | Marcus & Michael | Tim & Rex | 2nd Eliminated 11th place |
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| 3 | "It's All in the Details" | October 5, 2022 | 3 | Austria → Italy | Marcus & Michael | Glenda & Lumumba | Ordered to Continue Racing |
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| 4 | "Everyone's an Artist" | October 12, 2022 | Italy | Emily & Molly | Rich & Dom | 3rd Eliminated 10th place |
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| 5 | "The Amazing Race of Arabia" | October 19, 2022 | 4 | Italy → Jordan | Luis & Michelle | Linton & Sharik | 4th Eliminated 9th place |
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| 6 | "Step By Step" | October 26, 2022 | 5 | Jordan | Luis & Michelle | Abby & Will | Evacuated 8th Place |
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| Glenda & Lumumba | Departure Time Penalty for the next leg | ||||||||
| 7 | "It's Simply Medieval" | November 2, 2022 | 6 | Jordan → France | Marcus & Michael | Glenda & Lumumba | 5th Eliminated 7th place |
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| 8 | "La Ville Rose" | November 9, 2022 | 7 | France | Derek & Claire | Quinton & Mattie | 6th Eliminated 6th place |
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| 9 | "Vamos a la Playa" | November 16, 2022 | 8 | France → Spain | Derek & Claire | Marcus & Michael | Ordered to Continue Racing |
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| 10 | "Don't Look Down" | November 23, 2022 | Spain | Luis & Michelle | Marcus & Michael | 7th Eliminated 5th place |
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| 11 | "How Am I Going to Survive This?" | November 30, 2022 | 9 | Spain → Iceland | Derek & Claire | Aubrey & David | 8th Eliminated 4th place |
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| 12 | "The Only Leg That Matters" | December 7, 2022 | 10 | Iceland → United States | Derek & Claire | Luis & Michelle | 3rd place | ||
| Emily & Molly | 2nd place | ||||||||
Leaderboard[]
| Place | Team | Leg 1 | Leg 2 | Leg 3 | Leg 4 | Leg 5 | Leg 6 | Leg 7 | Leg 8 | Leg 9 | Leg 10 | Average | 
| |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st Half | 2nd Half | 1st Half | 2nd Half | |||||||||||||||
| 1 | Derek & Claire | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2.70 | 6-6 | |||
| 2 | Emily & Molly | 5 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 3.80 | 6-6 | |||
| 3 | Luis & Michelle | 10 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3.30 | 6-6 | |||
| 4 | Aubrey & David | 11 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5.78 | 5-6 | ||||
| 5 | Marcus & Michael | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 3.36 | 5-5 | |||||
| 6 | Quinton & Mattie | 3 | 10 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5.43 | 5-3 | |||||||
| 7 | Glenda & Lumumba | 2 | 2 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 5.50 | 3-4 | ||||||||
| 8 | Abby & Will | 8 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 6.00 | 3-2 | |||||||||
| 9 | Linton & Sharik | 4 | 3 | 5 | 9 | 9 | 6.25 | 4-1 | ||||||||||
| 10 | Rich & Dom | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 9.33 | 2-2 | |||||||||||
| 11 | Tim & Rex | 7 | 11 | 9.00 | 1-1 | |||||||||||||
| 12 | Aastha & Nina | 12 | 12.00 | 0-1 | ||||||||||||||
| Notes: | [1] | [2] | [3] | [4] | [5] | |||||||||||||
Legend:
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Notes:
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Trivia[]
Franchise[]
- First season to visit Jordan.[1]
- First season not to feature Non-Elimination Legs.
- First season to feature the Scramble.
- First season to feature two Megalegs.
US[]
- First season since The Amazing Race 15 to have 12 teams.
- First season where the Starting Line is not located in the United States.
- First season to begin in Europe and the first to begin outside of the Western Hemisphere.
- Leg 1 was promoted as the 400th leg in the US version of The Amazing Race.
- First season where a team is medically removed from the Race.
- First season not to feature a Speed Bump since its introduction in The Amazing Race 12.
- First season to enact the CBS diversity initiative where at least 50% of the cast was BIPOC.
- Three-fourths of the 24 contestants are persons of color.
- This season holds the record for most Asian-Americans contestants in a season, with 6 (tied with The Amazing Race 32).
- It also holds the record for most African-Americans contestants with 8 (tied with The Amazing Race 33).
- First season since The Amazing Race 10 to not either start or finish in California.
- First season to start and finish in two different countries.
- First season to visit the state of Tennessee.
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Reception[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Andy Dehnart (June 1, 2022). Amazing Race 34 is filming now. Here's where the teams have been so far.. reality blurred.
- ↑ Casting is now open!!!! | Alex Stern (AlexSternGirl) Twitter
- ↑ Casting for TAR season 34 is closed (Reddit)
- ↑ Hibberd, James (November 9, 2020). CBS pledges Survivor, Big Brother casts will now be 50 percent people of color. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved on September 27, 2022.
- ↑ Whitten, Sarah (November 9, 2020). CBS reality shows must now have 50% non-White casts, network says. CNBC. Retrieved on September 27, 2022.
- ↑ Garvey, Marianne (November 9, 2020). CBS commits to more inclusive reality show casts. CNN Entertainment. Retrieved on September 27, 2022.
- ↑ Bloom, Mike (September 21, 2022). Phil Keoghan Previews the Changes for 'The Amazing Race 34' and Which Team Could Take the Win. Parade. Retrieved on January 8, 2025.
| The Amazing Race Season Index | |
|---|---|
| United States | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 · 11 · 12 · 13 · 14 · 15 · 16 · 17 · 18 · 19 · 20 · 21 · 22 · 23 · 24 · 25 · 26 · 27 · 28 · 29 · 30 · 31 · 32 · 33 · 34 · 35 · 36 · 37 |
| Asia | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 |
| Australia | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 |
| Brazil | 1 |
| Canada | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 · 9 · 10 |
| Central Europe | Cancelled |
| China | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 |
| China Rush | 1 · 2 · 3 |
| Finland | 1 · 2 |
| France | 1 |
| Israel | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 · 7 · 8 |
| Latin America | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 |
| Norway | 1 · 2 |
| Philippines | 1 · 2 |
| Ukraine | 1 |
| Vietnam | 1 · 2 · 3 · 4 · 5 · 6 |