The Amazing Race 29
The Amazing Race 29 is the twenty-ninth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Unlike previous seasons, which almost exclusively featured teams with pre-existing relationships, this season, hosted by Phil Keoghan, featured 22 contestants who were all complete strangers who met for the first time and formed 11 teams of two at the starting line before competing in a race around the world. This season visited five continents and nine countries, traveling approximately during 12 legs. Filming took place between June 10 and July 2, 2016. Starting in Los Angeles, California, racers traveled through Panama, Brazil, Tanzania, Norway, Italy, Greece, Vietnam, and South Korea before returning to the United States and finishing in Chicago, Illinois. New elements introduced in this season include a pre-starting line task and allowing teams to use the U-Turn more than once. Elements of the show that returned for this season include an Express Pass hidden on the racecourse and the Blind Double U-Turn. The season premiered on CBS on March 30, 2017, and the season finale aired on June 1, 2017.
Brooke Camhi and Scott Flanary won this season, while Tara Carr and Joey Covino finished in second place, and London Kaye and Logan Bauer finished in third place.
Overview
The Amazing Race is a reality television show created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri, and hosted by Phil Keoghan. The series follows teams of two competing in a race around the world. Each leg of the race requires teams to deduce clues, navigate foreign environments, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel on a limited budget provided by the show. At each stop during the leg, teams receive clues inside sealed envelopes, which fall into one of these categories:- Route Info: These are simple instructions that teams must follow before they can receive their next clue.
- Detour: A Detour is a choice between two tasks. Teams may choose either task and switch tasks if they find one option too difficult. There is usually one Detour present on each leg.
- Roadblock: A Roadblock is a task that only one team member can complete. Teams must choose which member will complete the task based on a brief clue they receive before fully learning the details of the task. There is usually one Roadblock present on each leg.
- Fast Forward: A Fast Forward is a task that only one team may complete, which allows that team to skip all remaining tasks on the leg and go directly to the next Pit Stop. Teams may only claim one Fast Forward during the entire race.
- U-Turn: The U-Turn allows a team to force another team to backtrack and perform both tasks from the Detour.
Production
Development and filming
Filming began on June 10, 2016, in Los Angeles. By June 12, the show had traveled to Brazil. Filming ended on July 2, 2016, in Chicago. The season included visits to 17 cities across five continents and nine countries over.Host Phil Keoghan stated that the twist of casting 22 individuals rather than 11 pairs was an idea that the production crew had talked about for some time. They had heard from fans who wanted to apply for the show but were unable to find a partner who could also take time off from work, and the format allowed them to cast 22 standout individuals. Despite the similarities of the twenty-sixth season having team members meeting for the first time at the starting line, Keoghan said that the season was not a testing ground for this season.
This season also introduced a few alterations to the show's rules. While the traditional limit on Roadblock performances was still enforced, there was an additional requirement for this season wherein team members could not perform more than four Roadblocks before the ninth leg. Additionally, there was no limit on how many times a team could use the U-Turn this season.
Casting
Unlike previous seasons, casting calls for this season sought single applicants to apply in addition to pairs of applicants.Release
Broadcast
In March 2016, CBS renewed The Amazing Race for the 2016–17 season, but it was left off the fall schedule for the first time since season 12. It was announced in November 2016 that the season would premiere on Friday, April 21, 2017, in its regular Friday time slot after MacGyver finished its season run. On March 10, 2017, CBS announced that it was moving its low-rated new drama Training Day to Saturdays and would move the season premiere up to March 30.Contestants
The contestants were all strangers to each other who met for the first time at the starting line where they paired up into impromptu teams. Winter X Games snowboarder Matt Ladley was one of the 22 individuals included in this season's cast.| Contestants | Age | Team Name | Hometown | Status |
| 31 | Long Hair, Don't Care | San Diego, California | Eliminated 1st ' | |
| 25 | Long Hair, Don't Care | Palos Verdes, California | Eliminated 1st ' | |
| 28 | Swole Sisters | Howland, Ohio | Eliminated 2nd ' | |
| 33 | Swole Sisters | Banning, California | Eliminated 2nd ' | |
| 37 | Team America | Seattle, Washington | Eliminated 3rd ' | |
| 24 | Team America | Providence, Rhode Island | Eliminated 3rd ' | |
| 28 | The S and S Express | Bronx, New York | Eliminated 4th ' | |
| 27 | The S and S Express | Baltimore, Maryland | Eliminated 4th ' | |
| 28 | Team Vanck and Ashton | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Eliminated 5th ' | |
| 25 | Team Vanck and Ashton | Fort Worth, Texas | Eliminated 5th ' | |
| 24 | Team Liz and Mike | Maryville, Missouri | Eliminated 6th ' | |
| 37 | Team Liz and Mike | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Eliminated 6th ' | |
| 26 | Team Fun | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Eliminated 7th ' | |
| 21 | Team Fun | Highlands Ranch, Colorado | Eliminated 7th ' | |
| 25 | The Boys | Steamboat Springs, Colorado | Eliminated 8th ' | |
| 28 | The Boys | Fremont, California | Eliminated 8th ' | |
| 27 | Team LoLo | New York City, New York | Third place | |
| 27 | Team LoLo | Navarre, Florida | Third place | |
| 38 | Team Mom and Dad | Alexandria, Virginia | Runners-up | |
| 46 | Team Mom and Dad | Boston, Massachusetts | Runners-up | |
| 36 | Team Brooke and Scott | Lynbrook, New York | Winners | |
| 34 | Team Brooke and Scott | Charlotte, North Carolina | Winners |
;Future appearances
Becca and Floyd returned to compete on The Amazing Race: Reality Showdown. In 2020, Jenn Lee appeared on the thirty-fifth season of The Challenge.
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 won the Fast Forward.
- A indicates that the team used the U-Turn and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the U-Turn.
Race summary
Leg 1 (United States → Panama)
- Episode 1: "We're Coming For You, Phil!"
- Eliminated: Kevin and Jenn
- Los Angeles, California
- Los Angeles
- Los Angeles → Panama City, Panama
- Panama City
- Soberanía National Park
- Gamboa
- Panama City
- Twenty-two contestants, all of whom were total strangers to each other, assembled at Grand Hope Park. Phil Keoghan gave them a series of cardinal directions with distances and instructions to find a nearby luggage shop, where they had to retrieve a suitcase tagged with the flag of Panama and return to the park. The contestants were ranked in the order in which they completed this task. Teams were then formed by having the highest-ranked contestant choose their teammate from among the remaining unpaired contestants, and so on. Furthermore, one of the 22 suitcases contained an Express Pass. Becca and Floyd found the Express Pass in one of their suitcases.
- After the teams were formed, they began the race, traveled by taxi to Los Angeles International Airport, and booked one of two flights to Panama City, Panama. As a consolation prize for being the last team formed by default, Jessie and Francesca were driven to the airport by Keoghan himself. Once in Panama City, teams had to drive to the Miraflores Locks and find their next clue, which sent them to the canopy tower of the Panama Rainforest Discovery Center.
- This season's first Detour was a choice between Shoot or Scoot. Both options required teams to paddle a cayuco canoe. In Shoot, teams had to row to a marshy area and use a bow and arrow to shoot down two wooden silver fish hanging on a cluster of bamboo poles before receiving their next clue. In Scoot, teams had to beat a pair of professional canoers in a regatta before receiving their next clue. Teams received a 50-meter head start for their second attempt and a 100-meter head start for their third attempt.
- After the Detour, teams had to check in at the Pit Stop: Cinta Costera III in Panama City.