We have less than one month until everyone’s favorite race around the world returns to CBS. With the largest cast to date, season 35 of The Amazing Race is sure to be a must-watch!
As of today (August 30), the network has unveiled the 26 individuals who will be trekking across the globe for a chance to win $1 million this fall, as well as a few other surprises that the forthcoming season has in store.
Teams will head to Slovenia, Sweden, India, Ireland, Thailand, Germany, and more during season 35, however, that is not all that fans of The Amazing Race can expect. For the first time post-pandemic, The Amazing Race is returning to commercial travel, as well as bringing back two fan-favorite twists: The Express Pass and the U-Turn.
Last seen in season 29 of The Amazing Race, The Express Pass allows a team to skip a task, detour, or roadblock – talk about an advantage! In addition to this, the infamous U-Turn, which was last seen in season 32 of The Amazing Race, gives one or two teams the opportunity to require another duo to perform both sides of the detour.
With both of these elements being brought back to the beloved competition series, season 35 may feature even more strategy than ever before…
To top it all off, for the first time in The Amazing Race history, the show’s weekly episodes will be 90 minutes long (just like Survivor 45). Co-creators and executive producers Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri revealed what exactly these 90 minutes will entail:
“This season’s big, 90-minute episodes allow us to show more of each city we travel to, especially the people and the culture, plus we get to know our contestants on a deeper level and their relationships with each other.”
Sound exciting enough? Keep scrolling to see the 13 teams that will be competing on season 35 of The Amazing Race. Now is the time to place your bets on who will take home the $1 million!
Elizabeth Rivera (52) and Iliana Rivera (27)
Relationship: Mother and daughter
Occupation(s): Retired lieutenant (Elizabeth) and therapist and event planner (Iliana)
Current Town(s): Tampa, Florida
“We need those million dollars so I don’t need to work eight jobs anymore, because I’m tired of it, quite frankly.”
Alexandra Lichtor (34) and Sheridan Lichtor (29)
Relationship: Siblings
Occupation(s): Consultants
Current Town(s): Chicago, Illinois
Rob McArthur (48) and Corey McArthur (25)
Relationship: Father and son
Occupation(s): Teaching assistant and assistant football coach (Rob) and senior manager of client strategy and analytics (Corey)
Current Town(s): Riverside, California (Rob) and New York, New York (Corey)
“My dad has really inspired me to always live putting my values first in pretty much everything that I do, and there’s a unique twist on it with my dad being deaf, so we can show the world, you know, deaf people can raise their children and have a really intimate relationship with them.”
Joel Strasser (42) and Garrett Smith (43)
Relationship: Best friends
Occupation(s): Auto claims trading specialist (Joel) and delivery driver (Garrett)
Current Town(s): Kuna, Idaho (Joel) and Meridian, Idaho (Garrett)
Greg Franklin (25) and John Franklin (27)
Relationship: Brothers
Occupation(s): Software developer (Greg) and product manager (John)
Current Towns: New York, New York (Greg) and Mountain View, California (John)
“We’ve been to Montreal together, we’ve been to Thailand together, Singapore, China — just all over the world together, so this is just a concentrated way to do it.”
Robbin Tomich (41) and Chelsea Day (41)
Relationship: Best friends
Occupation(s): Stay-at-home moms
Current Town(s): Kirkland, Washington (Robbin) and Shoreline, Washington (Chelsea)
Todd Martin (38) and Ashlie Martin (38)
Relationship: Married
Occupation(s): Special education teacher (Todd) and hospitality account manager (Ashlie)
Current Town(s): Chino, California
Malaina Hatcher (45) and Andrea Simpson (44)
Relationship: Best friends
Occupation(s): Tax examiner technician (Malaina) and director of credit management (Andrea)
Current Town(s): Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
“We don’t wanna be the mean team… We’re not gonna be the mean team because we’re not mean people. I think we’re just vibrant spirits.”
Morgan Franklin (31) and Lena Franklin (29)
Relationship: Sisters
Occupation(s): Marketing executives
Current Town(s): Brooklyn, New York (Morgan) and Los Angeles, California (Lena)
Steve Cargile (54) and Anna Leigh Wilson (28)
Relationship:Â Father and daughter
Occupation(s):Â Paint contractor (Steve) and speech pathologist, private flight attendant, and influencer (Anna Leigh)
Current Town(s):Â Petty, Texas (Steve) and Royse City, Texas (Anna Leigh)
Liam Hykel (23) and Yeremi Hykel (24)
Relationship: Brothers
Occupation(s): U.S. Navy veteran (Liam) and U.S. Marine Corps veteran (Yeremi)
Current Town(s): Cheyenne, Wyoming (Liam) and San Marcos, Texas (Yeremi)
“We’ve had a fractured relationship for a long time… What you get to see here is relatively new within the last five years. We’ve just been putting the pieces back together of a lost relationship that we’ve had.”
Joe Moskowitz (35) and Ian Todd (40)
Relationship: Engaged
Occupation(s): Head of business development for a commercial real estate tech platform (Joe) and director of new business for a marketing tech start-up (Ian)
Current Town(s): New York, New York
Jocelyn Chao (49) and Victor Limary (49)
Relationship: Married
Occupation(s): Grocery store managers
Current Town(s): Albuquerque, New Mexico
Watch these 13 teams race around the world when The Amazing Race 35 premieres on September 27 at 9:30pm ET/PT on CBS.
