It's amazing! Yes, it really is!
Although never a top show in the ratings arena, The Amazing Race has been chalking up the Emmy awards season after season. In this day of reality television overload, TAR shines through the pack. CBS recently announced that The Amazing Race has been renewed for an 11th season, delighting the show's many diehard fans.
The change to Sunday nights with the "Race, Case, Trace" CBS line-up — (Amazing Race, Cold Case, Without a Trace) — has improved the ratings for The Amazing Race, while perhaps not working as well on the latter two shows. Despite football games delaying its start on the East Coast, the CBS Sunday evening line-up performed well on October 1, leading with a 9.5 rating and 15 share of the audience.
What sets TAR apart from the many reality shows on television? The premise is only a bit of the distinction — each season has 10 to 12 teams of two contestants, each with an existing relationship (family, friends, dating, etc.), running a whirlwind race around the globe, with the winning team bringing home one million dollars. Viewers of the show get glimpses of various customs, cultures, and historical places, along with breathtaking scenery of wondrous countries as they watch the teams sometimes implode, but more often, grow closer through the race.
I'm a fan of the show and I don't believe I've ever missed an episode. On a personal level, one of the things I love about the show is it often inspires me to find out more about an area through which the race was run. For example, this past week, the racers were in Hanoi, Vietnam. One of the clues led them to find John McCain's flight suit at the "Hanoi Hilton." I had some recollection of this, but watching the show made me go online and learn more about it. Other episodes find me searching for more information on religious and cultural rites. The Amazing Race touches on numerous topics, and makes me think, research, and learn. No other reality television show does that for me. (Okay, I'll admit Survivor had me looking up howling monkeys last season.)
Article comments
1 - Brent McKee
The gold standard for what a reality-competition show should be.
2 - Ty
I watch it because my wife really likes it, but one thing I hate is when people say it's good/popular because it is "wholesome."
Let's not kid ourselves here: their pairings, for the most part, tend to have some issues, and they play it up.
There is no need to say "Recently Dating" or "Dating for 12 years, virgins" EVERY time you see a team, but they do that to inflict the typical reality crap into the show.
If they cut that out, I might think more of the show.
3 - Joan Hunt
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