The Amazing Race 31
The Amazing Race 31 is the thirty-first season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured 11 teams of two, each consisting of former contestants from CBS's flagship reality shows, Big Brother, Survivor, and The Amazing Race, 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 in Hermosa Beach, California, racers traveled through Japan, Laos, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Switzerland, Croatia, the Netherlands, and England before returning to the United States and finishing in Detroit. Elements introduced in this season include the U-Turn Vote. Elements of the show that returned for this season include the starting line task. The season premiered on CBS on April 17, 2019, and the season finale aired on June 26, 2019.
All three of the final teams consisted of returning players from previous seasons of The Amazing Race. Life partners Colin Guinn and Christie Woods, who had competed on The Amazing Race 5, were the winners of this season. Best friends Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl, who had competed on The Amazing Race 28, finished in second place; and cousins Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran, who had competed on The Amazing Race 23 and The Amazing Race 24, finished in third place.
Production
Development and filming
On June 10, 2018, Phil Keoghan announced on the show's social media accounts that the season had begun filming and that the teams would be composed of contestants from CBS's reality competition programs. On June 30, teams were spotted at the Nieuwe Toren in Kampen, Netherlands. On July 3, filming ended in Detroit, which featured a performance of The White Stripes' single "Seven Nation Army" that was originally planned to be set in Belle Isle Park. However, the permit was denied as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources had not been informed about the large gathering of musicians needed for filming.The Amazing Race 31 traveled over 25,000 miles across four continents and 10 countries, including first-time visits for the American edition to Uganda and Laos. Laos was previously visited on the fourth season of The Amazing Race Vietnam.
The Head-to-Head returned this season after it was introduced in the previous season. This season is also the first to utilize the U-Turn Vote, which has been previously utilized by the Israeli, Chinese, Australian, and Filipino versions of The Amazing Race.
Casting
On May 4, 2018, a TMZ article reported that former Big Brother HouseGuests had been asked to compete on the upcoming season of The Amazing Race. Later that day, Andy Dehnart posted that former Amazing Race contestants had also been contacted for the same season. Martin Holmes from Inside Survivor then posted that former Survivor contestants were also in the mix.- Eric Sanchez and Jeremy Ryan from season 9 were contacted and agreed to participate, but were ultimately cut when the show decided to include Big Brother and Survivor teams.
- Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly from Survivor: San Juan del Sur were contacted, but ultimately didn't make the final cast.
- Justin and Diana Scheman from season 27 were originally selected, but declined the invitation due to Diana being pregnant.
- Keith and Wes Nale from Survivor: San Juan del Sur were contacted, but ultimately didn't make the final cast.
- Kym Perfetto and Alli Forsythe from season 25 were originally considered, but ultimately cut.
- The Linz family from season 8 were originally considered, but ultimately cut.
- Mark Jansen and Elena Davies from Big Brother 19 were contacted to compete and agreed to participate, but were cut a few days before filming.
- Rob Cesternino from Survivor: The Amazon and Survivor: All-Stars and Stephen Fishbach from Survivor: Tocantins and Survivor: Cambodia were contacted and expressed interest, but declined due to Fishbach's wedding overlapping with filming.
- Will Kirby and Mike "Boogie" Malin, the winners of Big Brother 2 and Big Brother: All-Stars, respectively, were asked to compete, but Kirby declined.
Release
Broadcast
In the lead-in to the 2018-19 television programming season, CBS had scheduled The Amazing Race 31 to begin airing on May 22, 2019. However, in early April 2019, CBS opted to bring the premiere forward to April 17, 2019, slotting the show in Wednesdays after Survivor and replacing the low-rated Million Dollar Mile.Contestants
This season involved eleven teams, three of whom previously competed on Big Brother, three of whom previously competed on Survivor, and five of whom previously competed on The Amazing Race.| Contestants | Age | Relationship | Hometown | Status |
| 49 | Best Friends ' | Temecula, California | Eliminated 1st ' | |
| 49 | Best Friends ' | San Marcos, California | Eliminated 1st ' | |
| 54 | Married ' | Indianapolis, Indiana | Eliminated 2nd ' | |
| 49 | Married ' | Indianapolis, Indiana | Eliminated 2nd ' | |
| 39 | Friends ' | Denver, Colorado | Eliminated 3rd ' | |
| 35 | Friends ' | New York City, New York | Eliminated 3rd ' | |
| 38 | Friends ' | Lakeville, Minnesota | Eliminated 4th ' | |
| 30 | Friends ' | Tulsa, Oklahoma | Eliminated 4th ' | |
| 33 | Sisters ' | Van Nuys, California | Eliminated 5th ' | |
| 32 | Sisters ' | Las Vegas, Nevada | Eliminated 5th ' | |
| 40 | Friends ' | Moore, Oklahoma | Eliminated 6th ' | |
| 44 | Friends ' | Dedham, Massachusetts | Eliminated 6th ' | |
| 28 | Friends ' | Boulder, Colorado | Eliminated 7th ' | |
| 23 | Friends ' | Highlands Ranch, Colorado | Eliminated 7th ' | |
| 25 | Dating ' | Ubly, Michigan | Eliminated 8th ' | |
| 27 | Dating ' | Slidell, Louisiana | Eliminated 8th ' | |
| 31 | Cousins ' | Pasadena, California | Third place | |
| 31 | Cousins ' | Houston, Texas | Third place | |
| 29 | Best Friends ' | Jackson, Michigan | Runners-up | |
| 33 | Best Friends ' | Jackson, Michigan | Runners-up | |
| 38 | Life Partners ' | Austin, Texas | Winners | |
| 40 | Life Partners ' | Austin, Texas | Winners |
From Big Brother:
- Janelle Pierzina competed on Big Brother 6, Big Brother 7, and Big Brother 14.
- Britney Haynes competed on Big Brother 12 and Big Brother 14.
- Nicole Franzel competed on Big Brother 16 and Big Brother 18.
- Victor Arroyo competed on Big Brother 18.
- Rachel Reilly competed on Big Brother 12 and Big Brother 13.
- Elissa Slater competed on Big Brother 15.
- Chris Hammons and Bret LaBelle competed on Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X.
- Corinne Kaplan competed on Survivor: Gabon and Survivor: Caramoan.
- Eliza Orlins competed on Survivor: Vanuatu and Survivor: Micronesia.
- Rupert Boneham competed on Survivor: Pearl Islands, Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and Survivor: Blood vs. Water.
- Laura Boneham competed on Survivor: Blood vs. Water.
- Art Velez and J.J. Carrell competed on The Amazing Race 20.
- Colin Guinn and Christie Woods competed on The Amazing Race 5.
- Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran competed on The Amazing Race 23 and The Amazing Race 24.
- Becca Droz and Floyd Pierce competed on The Amazing Race 29.
- Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl competed on The Amazing Race 28.
Janelle Pierzina and Nicole Franzel returned to Big Brother to compete on the show's second All-Stars season. On September 3, 2020, Bret LaBelle appeared on Revenge Prank. In 2022, Leo Temory competed on the first season of The Challenge: USA. Pierzina and Rachel Reilly competed on the USA Network reality competition series, Snake in the Grass. In 2023, Reilly also competed on the Peacock reality TV series The Traitors. Britney Haynes appeared on the premiere of Big Brother 25. Pierzina competed on the second season of The Traitors. In 2023, Haynes and Franzel competed on Big Brother Reindeer Games. In 2024, Haynes competed on the third season of The Traitors. In 2025, Reilly competed on Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition: Heroes vs. Villains. Later in the year, Reilly competed on Big Brother 27.
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.
- A indicates that the team used the U-Turn and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the U-Turn.