CBS’s The Amazing Race Season 35 feels like a return to the show’s golden years. While the competition series continued throughout the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the show had to operate much differently to keep the cast, crew, and residents of other countries safe. Now, in season 35, we’re seeing significant changes. And one of the permanent changes moving forward has to do with non-elimination legs. Here’s why they’re never returning, according to showrunners.
The premise of The Amazing Race has always been simple: Contestants race in teams around the world until they hit the final stop, where they win $1 million for coming in first place. Along the way, they face challenges and potential sabotage from other teams. And, of course, traveling quickly around the world is no easy feat — especially with multiple personalities in tow.
In the past, the show featured the occasional non-elimination leg. Downtrodden teams fearing that they were heading to host Phil Keoghan only for him to send them back home were elated when Phil told them that they’d have the chance to continue in the game, as they were lucky enough to stumble upon a non-elimination leg of the race. However, we shouldn’t expect to see non-elimination legs anymore. While they added a particular spice to the show, the showrunners clarified that the non-elimination legs were over for good.
So, why are The Amazing Race‘s non-elimination legs never returning? Co-creator Elise Doganieri told PaleyFest 2023 that viewers have more fun without them.
“People really wanted to see that elimination at the end of an episode,” she said. “The non-elimination is wonderful for the contestant because they’re safe, but, for the viewer, everyone’s racing to get to Phil, and the fear of being eliminated is there every single time. It really keeps the energy up in every episode. Even though, in the past, with the non-eliminations, people didn’t know, but, they’d kind of guess where there would be a safe episode. But, every episode, there’s the jeopardy of going home. It keeps the energy up, it keeps the gameplay up, and it’s just kind of fun to wrap up the episode with an elimination. You kind of want it.”
As viewers of The Amazing Race Season 35, we wouldn’t have minded if the non-elimination legs returned. However, it would’ve extended the season by a few episodes. And with 90-minute episodes, maybe we don’t need them after all.
The Amazing Race Season 35 doesn’t have non-elimination legs — and they also don’t have chartered flights. We love this change, as it brings us back to how it felt when watching the shoe pre-pandemic. Showrunners included chartered flights at the height of the pandemic for contestant safety. But cast members are back to booking their own flights in season 35, which means we see all the chaos and competition at the airport.
We’re already seeing flights impact the contestants this season. Joel Strasser and Garrett Smith caught a lucky break with their flights in episode 3, as did Steve Cargile and Anna Leigh Wilson. This is the excitement we missed with the chartered flights, and we’re so glad it’s back.
The Amazing Race Season 35 airs Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
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