The Amazing Race 28

The Amazing Race 28 is the twenty-eighth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured 11 teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship and including at least one notable social media personality, competing in a race around the world to win US$1,000,000. This season visited four continents and 10 countries and traveled over during 12 legs. Starting from the racers' homes in the United States, racers traveled through Mexico, Colombia, Switzerland, France, Armenia, Georgia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, and China before returning to the United States and finishing in Santa Barbara wine country. A new twist introduced in this season includes having teams start from their homes instead of a centralized location. The season premiered on CBS on February 12, 2016, and the season finale aired on May 13, 2016.
Engaged choreographers Dana Borriello and Matt Steffanina were the winners of this season, while mother and son pair Sheri and Cole LaBrant finished in second place, and best friends Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl finished in third place.

Production

Development and filming

Filming of The Amazing Race 28 began on November 15, 2015, with host Phil Keoghan broadcasting each team's arrival at the first clue location, the Monumento a la Revolución in Mexico City, via social media. Unlike previous seasons, the season began in the teams' hometowns rather than at a traditional starting line.
In total, this season spanned 18 cities and 10 countries over and included first-time visits to Armenia, Colombia, and Georgia. Racers were reported near Cartagena, Colombia on November 19, 2015. Filming of the show was also reported within and near Tbilisi, Georgia at the Narikala fortress, Rustaveli Theatre, the Bridge of Peace, and the Jvari Monastery in Mtskheta on November 27, 2015. Filming ended on December 6, 2015, after 21 days.
Phil Keoghan stated that the use of social media stars was considered a "social experiment" attempting to bridge the gap between long-time fans of the show and younger viewers who may not have been born when the show debuted in 2001. Keoghan stated that bringing in contestants whom younger viewers may be more familiar with, particularly when promoted over social media, generated interest in earlier seasons of the show. Executive producer Bertram van Munster stated that the use of social media stars was also something suggested by CBS, due to the fact that CBS wanted to see the show to gain more involvement with social media.

Contestants

The cast was announced on November 15, 2015, prior to the start of filming, and consisted of Internet celebrities and their relatives and friends. Most of the cast had achieved prior fame through social media platforms, such as YouTube, Vine, and Instagram.

Contestants	Age	Relationship	Hometown	Status
	51	Mother & Daughter	McKinney, Texas	Eliminated 1st '
	22	Mother & Daughter	McKinney, Texas	Eliminated 1st '
	22	Brothers	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	Eliminated 2nd '
	19	Brothers	Memphis, Tennessee	Eliminated 2nd '
	26	Instagram Models	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Eliminated 3rd '
	28	Instagram Models	San Francisco, California	Eliminated 3rd '
	31	Best Friends	Los Angeles, California	Eliminated 4th '
	33	Best Friends	Los Angeles, California	Eliminated 4th '
	58	Father & Daughter	Kingsport, Tennessee	Eliminated 5th '
	22	Father & Daughter	San Diego, California	Eliminated 5th '
	25	Newlyweds	Los Angeles, California	Eliminated 6th '
	25	Newlyweds	Los Angeles, California	Eliminated 6th '
	28	Pro Ultimate Players	Dallas, Texas	Eliminated 7th '
	30	Pro Ultimate Players	Dallas, Texas	Eliminated 7th '
	42	Dating Gamers	Austin, Texas	Eliminated 8th '
	33	Dating Gamers	Austin, Texas	Eliminated 8th '
	26	Best Friends	Jackson, Michigan	Third place
	30	Best Friends	Jackson, Michigan	Third place
	45	Mother & Son	Enterprise, Alabama	Runners-up
	19	Mother & Son	Enterprise, Alabama	Runners-up
	29	Engaged Choreographers	Los Angeles, California	Winners
	30	Engaged Choreographers	Los Angeles, California	Winners

;Future appearances
Tyler & Korey returned to compete on The Amazing Race: Reality Showdown.
On May 25, 2016, Tyler & Korey and Erin & Joslyn appeared on an Amazing Race-themed primetime special episode of The Price Is Right. On August 7, 2018, Tyler & Korey competed together on a social media-themed episode of Fear Factor.

Results

The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order.

A placement with a dagger indicates that the team was eliminated.
An placement with a double-dagger indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg, and had to perform a Speed Bump task in the following leg.
An italicized and underlined placement indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop, but there was no rest period at the Pit Stop and all teams were instructed to continue racing. There was no required Speed Bump task in the next leg.
A indicates that the team used an Express Pass on that leg to bypass one of their tasks.
A indicates that the team used the U-Turn and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the U-Turn.

;Notes

Race summary

Leg 1 (United States → Mexico)

Episode 1: "I Should've Been a Boy Scout"
Prize: each

;Locations

Assorted Cities
Los Angeles, California Dallas, Texas Atlanta, Georgia → Mexico City, Mexico
Mexico City
Mexico City
San Juan Teotihuacán
Mexico City

;Episode summary

Instead of a traditional starting line, teams received a video message from Phil Keoghan at their homes informing them that the season had already begun. Teams had to travel to their nearest airport and fly to Mexico City, Mexico. Once there, teams had to travel to the Monumento a la Revolución in order to find their first clue.
This season's first Detour was a choice between Mariachi Madness or Great Bulls of Fire. In Mariachi Madness, teams had to search among 350 Mariachi performers at Plaza Garibaldi for one who was faking their performance of "Cielito Lindo" and then take the performer to a judge in order to receive their next clue. In Great Bulls of Fire, teams had to properly assemble the frame for a torito, a papier-mâché bull, as part of a fireworks display and then light it up in order to receive their next clue.
After the Detour, teams were instructed to go to the Cuevas de Teotihuacan at the Parque Temático Tlalocan and pick one of three departure times for the next morning.
In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to search through the caves for an archeological site and dig up thirteen pieces of a Teotihuacano mask. The site contained pieces for two masks, so team members had to figure out which pieces they needed to find so they could properly assemble one mask and receive their next clue, which directed them to the Pit Stop: the Museo Soumaya in Mexico City.

;Additional note

This was a non-elimination leg.
Leg 2 (Mexico → Colombia)
Episode 2: "You Look Like Gollum"
Prize: A trip for two to Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Eliminated: Marty & Hagan