The season premiere of The Amazing Race airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
This season of The Amazing Race will have a new twist every leg. There will be some familiar twists like the U-Turn and Fast Forward, but there will be some new twists too. All the teams greet Phil at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. We get to hear from some of the teams. Nick & Mike are brothers who applied for several years. Carson & Jack are gamers. Pops & Jeff are father and son lumberjacks. Scott & Lori are married with eight children.
Jeff introduces the Fork in the Road twist. There will be two simultaneous races and two eliminations. Phil tells them to travel safe and begin the race. They all race to their backpacks and read their first clue. They must travel to Hong Kong, China for the first leg of the race.
Jonathan & Ana got on the first flight, and so do Carson & Jack, Melinda & Erika, and Courtney & Jasmin. The rest of the teams will be on the second flight. The teams land in Hong Kong, and they must proceed to Tian Tan Buddha to find their next clue. Jonathan & Ana and Carson & Jack are the first to get there. Their next clue tells them to proceed to Cheung Chau Island.
Melinda & Erika and Courtney & Jasmin are the next teams to arrive at Tian Tan Buddha while the second flight lands. Jonathan & Ana manage to get on the first ferry right before it leaves. They are half hour ahead of the next team. We also learn that Jonathan & Ana have been married for almost fifteen years. They were separated for a year, but watching The Amazing Race brought them back together.
The rest of the teams get tickets for the next ferry except for Jackye & Lauren. They will be on the last ferry by themselves. Meanwhile, Jonathan & Ana are the first to arrive at the Roadblock. One team member must clim up a bamboo tower and retrieve a clue. Ana chooses to do the Roadblock. She’s struggling because it’s raining, but she completes it before any other teams arrive.
Jonathan & Ana learn they must proceed to Lok Kwan Street Park. Once there, they will be faced with the Fork in the Road twist. They can choose the Sing route or the Dance route. There will be seven teams for each route. While Jonathan & Ana get directions to Lok Kwan Street Park, the other teams arrive and make their way to the Roadblock. Completing the Roadblock are Bernie, Lori, Han, Brett, Josiah, Carson, Mike, Bridget, Erika, Pops, Mark, and Jasmin.
All these teams catch up to Jonathan & Ana while waiting in line for the next ferry. They’re surprised and disappointed that nearly every other team caught up to them. As they board the ferry, Jackye & Lauren arrive at the Roadblock. Lauren chooses to do the Roadblock.
The other teams are getting taxis when Lauren completes the Roadblock. Courtney & Jasmin struggle getting a taxi. Teams begin arriving at the Fork in the Road. They can either Dance or Sing. Dance requires teams to learn a choreographed dance routine in a lion costume. Sing requires teams to sing lines from a Cantonese opera. In the order the teams arrived at the Fork in the Road, brothers Nick & Mike chose Dance, gamer best friends Carson & Jack chose Dance, young married couple Alyssa & Josiah chose Sing, father and daughter Ernest & Bridget chose Dance, best friends Bernie & Carrigain chose Dance, siblings Han & Holden chose Sing, retired firefighter best friends Mark & Larry chose Dance, married couple Jonathan & Ana chose Sing, married Vegas performers Brett & Mark chose Dance, mother and daughter Melinda & Erika chose Sing, father and son Pops & Jeff chose Sing, and married couple Scott & Lori chose Sing. Meanwhile, dating nurses Courtney & Jasmin still can’t get a taxi to drive them to Lok Kwan Street Park. Sisters Jackye & Lauren are still on the last ferry.
Courtney & Jasmin finally get a taxi. They realize they weren’t able to get a taxi before because they kept showing the English spelling of their destination to taxi drivers. Meanwhile, Alyssa & Josiah fail their first attempt at the Sing task. Carson & Jack and Nick & Mike also fail their first attempt at the Dance task.
Courtney & Jasmin finally arrive at the Fork in the Road and choose Dance. Alyssa & Josiah fail their second attempt. Jonathan & Ana also fail at the Sing task. Jackye & Lauren are still on the ferry.
Nick & Mike fail their second attempt while Carson & Jack pass on their third attempt. Jack & Carson are currently in first place. They can proceed to the Pit Stop: West Kowloon Cultural District.
Scott & Lori fail their first attempt at the Sing task. Brett & Mark, however, pass the Dance task on their third attempt. They are currently in second place as they make their way to the Pit Stop. Bernie & Carrigain and Ernest & Bridget are the next teams to complete the Dance task. Nick & Mike finally complete it after their seventh attempt.
Meanwhile, Alyssa & Josiah finally pass Sing. They are currently in first place for the racers on the Sing route. Jackye & Lauren finally arrive at the Fork in the Road and are assigned Sing by default.
Carson & Jack greet Phil at the Pit Stop. They are Team #1! They each win $3,000. Brett & Mark arrive shortly afterwards in second place. Meanwhile, Courtney & Jasmin complete the Dance task, passing Mark & Larry. They complete it too.
Jonathan & Ana complete the Sing task as Ernest & Bridget greet Phil as Team #3. We see Courtney & Jasmin, Nick & Mike, and Mark & Larry get into taxis as Bernie & Carrigain greet Phil as Team #4. Shortly afterwards, Alyssa & Josiah arrive at the Pit Stop. They are Team #1 for the Sing route. They each win $3,000 too.
It’s a footrace for the last three teams racing the Dance Detour. Nick & Mike and Courtney & Jasmin arrive at the same time and are fifth and sixth respectively. Mark & Larry join them minutes afterwards and are given the bad news. Mark & Larry have been eliminated.
We next see Pops & Jeff complete the Sing task, and they are followed by Han & Holden, Scott & Lori, and Melinda & Erika. Melinda & Erika get lost on the way to the Pit Stop.
Jonathan & Ana greet Phil in second place. Scott & Lori and Pops & Jeff arrive at the same time, placing third and fourth respectively. Han & Holden join them as Team #5. Melinda & Erika finally arrive and are Team #6. Jackye & Lauren complete the Sing task. They were behind the other teams the entire leg, so it’s no surprise when they arrive at the Pit Stop in last place. Jackye & Lauren have been eliminated.
EPISODE SUMMARY
Dance Route
1st place: Carson & Jack
2nd place: Brett & Mark
3rd place: Ernest & Bridget
4th place: Bernie & Carrigain
5th place: Nick & Mike
6th place: Courtney & Jasmin
Eliminated: Mark & Larry
Sing Route
1st place: Alyssa & Josiah
2nd place: Jonathan & Ana
3rd place: Scott & Lori
4th place: Pops & Jeff
5th place: Han & Holden
6th place: Melinda & Erika
Eliminated: Jackye & Lauren
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of The Amazing Race. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
