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Aired winter–spring 2016 · The social-media casting season

Social Media Stars

Eleven social-media personalities, each paired with a relative or friend, left from their own hometowns into a route that touched three countries the race had never visited.

Filmed
Global route, starting teams' US hometowns, finishing in Santa Barbara County, California
Premiered
Feb 12, 2016
CBS · Friday
Episodes
12
Format
11 teams of 2 · social-media casting
Cast size
22 players
11 teams of 2
Host
Phil Keoghan
On this page6 sections
  1. 01The take
  2. 02The shape of the season
  3. 03Where it sits in the canon
  4. 04What to watch for
  5. 05Adjacent in the canon
  6. 06Also appears in
01The take

A tweak, not a rewrite.

A casting concept that turns the starting line into eleven separate front doors — and the route into a feed.
02The shape of the season

Hometown starts, three first-time stops.

The race stocked its spring outing with social-media personalities, each paired with a relative or friend. Eleven teams started from their own US hometowns — arrivals announced across their feeds — into a twelve-leg route through Mexico, Colombia, Switzerland, France, Armenia, Georgia, the UAE, Indonesia, and China before a Santa Barbara wine-country finish, with first-ever stops in Colombia, Armenia, and Georgia. CBS held the Friday hour, and the casting concept reshapes the on-camera energy from the first front door.

03Where it sits in the canon

The #25 slot.

Slot #25 of 38 in the Amazing Race Editor's Canon. Season 28 stocked its field with social-media personalities, each paired with a relative or friend, and the canon places it where the concept lands. Eleven teams launched from their own US hometowns — arrivals announced across their feeds — into a route through Mexico, Colombia, Switzerland, France, Armenia, Georgia, the UAE, Indonesia, and China before a Santa Barbara finish, with first-ever stops in Colombia, Armenia, and Georgia. CBS held the Friday hour. The casting reshapes the on-camera energy from the first front door. The canon places it twenty-fifth because the concept is a casting tweak rather than a format argument.

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

3 moments, no spoilers.

  • Ep 1 · hometown starts

    Teams launch from their own US hometowns rather than a shared starting line, with arrivals announced via social media.

  • Route · first Colombia stop

    The route reaches Colombia, Armenia, and Georgia for the first time, plus Mexico, Switzerland, the UAE, Indonesia, and China.

  • Casting · the influencer field

    Each racer brings an online following. Watch how that changes the on-camera energy versus a standard field.

06Also appears in

Cross-references.