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Aired spring 2017 · The total-strangers experiment

Season 29
(Strangers)

Twenty-two individuals met for the first time and chose their racing partners at the starting line — the boldest casting reset the format had attempted in years.

Filmed
Global route, starting Los Angeles, California, finishing in Chicago, Illinois
Premiered
Mar 30, 2017
CBS · Friday
Episodes
12
Format
11 teams of 2 · total strangers
Cast size
22 players
22 individuals paired at the start
Host
Phil Keoghan
01The take

Season 29.

Twenty-two individuals met for the first time and chose their racing partners at the starting line — the boldest casting reset the format had attempted in years.

No shared history, no warm-up — partnerships built on a hunch and tested against a global route from the first plane.
02The shape of the season

A rhythm worth tracking.

The race ran its boldest casting reset: twenty-two strangers met and chose their racing partners at the starting line. Eleven new teams left Los Angeles into a twelve-leg spring route through Panama, Brazil, Tanzania, Norway, Italy, Greece, Vietnam, and South Korea before a Chicago finish. CBS held the Friday hour and added a pre-starting-line task, a reusable U-Turn, and a Roadblock cap that lifts before leg nine — partnerships built on a hunch and tested from the first plane.

03Where it sits in the canon

The #19 slot.

Slot #19 of 33 in the The Amazing Race Editor's Canon. The neighbors below frame what we ranked above and below it.

No spoilers. Every page is reviewed before it goes live.
04What to watch for

3 moments, no spoilers.

  • Ep 1 · partner selection

    Twenty-two strangers meet and pair into teams at the starting line after a pre-starting-line task. The pairings are the whole gamble.

  • Format · reusable U-Turn

    A reusable U-Turn and a Roadblock cap that lifts before leg nine change how strategy compounds across the route.

  • Route · Tanzania leg

    The route runs through Panama, Brazil, Tanzania, Norway, Italy, Greece, Vietnam, and South Korea before Chicago.

06Also appears in

Cross-references.

Also appears in
The Amazing Race S29 — Season 29 — tiered.tv