The Amazing Race 34

The Amazing Race 34 is the thirty-fourth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured 12 teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the Euro-Mediterranean region to win US$1,000,000. This season visited three continents and eight countries and traveled over during 10 legs. Starting in Munich, racers traveled through Germany, Austria, Italy, Jordan, France, Spain, and Iceland before returning to the United States and finishing in Nashville. Much like the previous season, this season also used a chartered plane rather than commercial airlines to facilitate travel between countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New elements introduced in this season include an international starting line during the first leg, the Scramble, where teams could perform the first leg's tasks in any order, and eliminating a team in every leg. The season premiered on CBS on September 21, 2022, and concluded on December 7, 2022.
Dating couple Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss were the winners of this season, while long-lost twins Emily Bushnell and Molly Sinert finished in second place, and married couple Luis Colon and Michelle Burgos finished in third place.

Production

Development and filming

Production began on May 22, 2022, with the teams and filming crew departing from Los Angeles International Airport on a chartered Titan Airways Boeing 757, so as to reduce prolonged personal interactions associated with COVID-19 infections much like in the previous season. Filming began on May 25, in Munich, Germany, making it the first time the American version started outside the United States. On May 30, photographs were posted online of sightings in Bologna and Florence, Italy. Jordan was visited for the first time in the entire franchise, with teams racing through Petra on June 2. On June 12, racers were spotted in Ronda, Spain, and the city's tourism office announced that the show had filmed there a day later. Filming concluded in Nashville in mid-June.
This season originally planned to exclude non-elimination legs for the first time in franchise history. However, after one team received a positive COVID-19 test and was removed from the race, the last team to arrive in the leg received the final departure time as a penalty at the beginning of the next leg. The first leg of the season, announced as the series' 400th leg, featured "a game-changing element" called the Scramble, where teams were told the locations of all of the tasks that they had to complete at the start of the leg and could complete them in any order.

Casting

Casting opened in mid-November 2021. Contestants were required to be fully vaccinated.

Release

Broadcast

On March 9, 2022, CBS renewed The Amazing Race for a thirty-fourth season set to air during the 2022–23 television season. On June 23, 2022, CBS announced that the season would premiere on September 28, following the premiere of Survivor 43. On October 5, the season began airing in the Wednesday 10:00 pm time slot, following Survivor and The Real Love Boat. Starting on November 2, The Amazing Race was moved forward to the 9:00 pm time slot when The Real Love Boat was shifted onto Paramount+.
Prior to the premiere, CBS News Sunday Morning aired a segment with correspondent Tracy Smith competing on the first leg with her husband.

Marketing

replaced Travelocity as the series' main sponsor. With the change in sponsors, the season featured one Expedia-focused leg that included a local tourism-inspired task called an Expedia Experience.

Contestants

The cast included Big Brother 23 HouseGuests Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss, former Los Angeles Rams cheerleader Quinton Peron, and former New York Jets and Buffalo Bills head coach Rex Ryan. Rex Ryan was originally asked to compete with his twin brother, Rob Ryan, but the latter was unable to compete due to his work obligations with the Las Vegas Raiders. Aubrey Ares and David Hernandez were not initially selected for the final cast, but were called to compete two hours before The Amazing Race started production.

Contestants	Age	Relationship	Hometown	Status
	33	Engaged	Marina del Rey, California	Eliminated 1st '
	34	Engaged	Marina del Rey, California	Eliminated 1st '
	40	Golf Buddies	Brentwood, Tennessee	Eliminated 2nd '
	59	Golf Buddies	Brentwood, Tennessee	Eliminated 2nd '
	32	Motivational Speakers	Huntington Beach, California	Eliminated 3rd '
	35	Motivational Speakers	Huntington Beach, California	Eliminated 3rd '
	50	Father & Daughter	Brooklyn, New York	Eliminated 4th '
	23	Father & Daughter	Brooklyn, New York	Eliminated 4th '
	24	Childhood Sweethearts	Birmingham, Alabama	Medically removed '
	25	Childhood Sweethearts	Birmingham, Alabama	Medically removed '
	41	Newlyweds	Norcross, Georgia	Eliminated 6th '
	41	Newlyweds	Norcross, Georgia	Eliminated 6th '
	29	Former Rams Cheerleaders	Pasadena, California	Eliminated 7th '
	27	Former Rams Cheerleaders	Vista, California	Eliminated 7th '
	38	Military Brothers	Richmond Hill, Georgia	Eliminated 8th '
	30	Military Brothers	Alamogordo, New Mexico	Eliminated 8th '
	29	Ballroom Dancers	Los Angeles, California	Eliminated 9th '
	29	Ballroom Dancers	Los Angeles, California	Eliminated 9th '
	34	Married	Miami, Florida	Third place
	34	Married	Miami, Florida	Third place
	36	Long-Lost Twins	Ardmore, Pennsylvania	Runners-up
	36	Long-Lost Twins	Palm Beach Gardens, Florida	Runners-up
	25	Reality Romance	Los Angeles, California	Winners
	26	Reality Romance	Los Angeles, California	Winners

;Future appearances
Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss appeared as clue givers during the first Roadblock of season 35.
In 2023, Luis Colon competed on the second season of The Challenge: USA.

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 italicized placement indicates a team's placement at the midpoint of a Mega Leg.

;Notes

Race summary

Leg 1 (Germany)

Episode 1: "Many Firsts But Don't Be Last"
Prize: US$2,500 each
Eliminated: Aastha & Nina

;Locations

Munich, Germany
*Munich
*Munich
*Munich
Munich

;Episode summary

Teams set off from the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Germany, and encountered the series' first Scramble, where they had to complete each of the following Oktoberfest tasks in any order so as to get three parts of a clue which, when assembled, directed them to the Pit Stop.
*For the task at Luitpoldpark entitled Roll, teams had to roll a beer keg through an obstacle course within 55 seconds in order to receive a puzzle piece. If teams were unsuccessful, they had to wait out a two-minute penalty before making another attempt.
*For the task at the Seehaus Biergarten entitled Saw, teams had to use a two-man saw to saw completely through a log to the beat of Bavarian music in order to receive a puzzle piece.
* For the season's first Roadblock at the Augustiner-Keller Biergarten entitled Smash, one team member had to use provided tools to free a puzzle piece from an ice block.
The three puzzle pieces fit together to form the shape of the Friedensengel and the written instructions directed teams to the Pit Stop there.

;Additional note

This leg was announced as The Amazing Races 400th leg.
Leg 2 (Germany → Austria)
Episode 2: "Patience, Is the New Me"
Prize: Reward points for a five-night trip for two to Lima, Peru, and Machu Picchu
Eliminated: Tim & Rex