| The Amazing Race 18 | |
|---|---|
| Season 18 | |
| Region 1 DVD cover | |
| Presented by | Phil Keoghan |
| No. of teams | 11 |
| Winners | LaKisha "Kisha" & Jennifer "Jen" Hoffman |
| No. of legs | 12 |
| Distance traveled | 40,000 mi (64,000 km) |
| No. of episodes | 11 |
| Release | |
| Original network | CBS |
| Original release | February 20 – May 8, 2011 |
| Additional information | |
| Filming dates | November 20 – December 12, 2010 [1] |
| Season chronology | |
The Amazing Race 18 (also known as The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business) is the eighteenth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race . Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each returning from a previous edition of the series, competing in a race around the world to win US$1,000,000. This season visited five continents and nine countries and traveled over 40,000 miles (64,000 km) during twelve legs. Starting in Palm Springs, California, racers traveled through Australia, Japan, China, India, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Brazil before returning to the United States and finishing in the Florida Keys. New twists introduced in this season include the no-rest leg, where teams immediately began the subsequent leg after finishing the previous leg, and an automatic U-Turn for the last team to finish the first task. Elements of the show that returned for this season include the starting line task. This season was also the first to be filmed and broadcast for high-definition television. The season premiered on CBS on Sunday, February 20, 2011, and the finale aired on May 8, 2011.
Sisters Kisha and Jen Hoffman from The Amazing Race 14 were the winners of this season. They are the second all-female team & the first team of sisters to win The Amazing Race. Herbert "Flight Time" Lang and Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton of the Harlem Globetrotters from The Amazing Race 15 finished in second place, while father and daughter team Gary and Mallory Ervin from The Amazing Race 17 finished in third place.
The Amazing Race 18 was the first season of the United States series to be broadcast on high-definition television. [2] While most other prime-time television shows had transitioned to high definition, including other reality television shows, previous seasons of The Amazing Race used standard-definition television due to the cost and fragility of high-definition recording equipment. [3]
Filming started on November 20, 2010, at the San Gorgonio Pass wind farm near Palm Springs, California. [4] Teams were spotted at Oceanworld Manly around November 22, 2010, [5] and a day later around the mining town of Broken Hill, New South Wales, in the Australian Outback. [6] Other locales cited as destinations were Yokohama, Japan, where teams swam in freezing waters near Mount Fuji, and the series' first visit to Liechtenstein. [7] In total, this season traveled a little over 40,000 miles (64,000 km) across 23 cities and five continents. [8]
The Express Pass, introduced in the previous season, returned and allowed a team to bypass one single task later in the season. The last team to complete the first task was forced to complete a U-Turn in the next leg, performing both tasks of the leg's Detour. [9]
The double-length legs format previously used were changed in this season to legs without a mandatory rest period between them. At the end of the first leg in Sydney, Australia, and the fourth leg in Lijiang, China, teams were ordered to keep racing and given their next clue. The first team to check in was still awarded a prize, but the last team to check in was not eliminated and did not have to perform a Speed Bump. [10]
Phil Keoghan described all the contestants as teams that "came so close to winning but for one reason or another just didn't quite make it over the finish line in first place.” [11] Keoghan gave examples of two teams: Zev & Justin from season 15, who had finished first on a leg, but lost a passport too late to continue racing; and Kisha & Jennifer from season 14, who took an ill-timed restroom break while racing to the Pit Stop and were eliminated. [11] The prior experience of all the teams in previous seasons allowed the producers to increase the difficulty of the various tasks and challenges. [11] All of the teams were from recent seasons of The Amazing Race with the earliest season being season 12. According to Bertram van Munster, they stayed with more recent teams because "if we're digging too far back, people might not even remember who they were". [7] Season 14 was represented by five of the eleven teams; van Munster called this particular season of The Amazing Race "a very unique season" and justified its larger proportion of teams. [7] Though they had considered mother and son fan-favorites Toni and Dallas Imbimbo from season 13, Keoghan stated they felt the other selected teams "have the best stories and the best motivation" for casting. [12] During an interview with CBS's The Early Show, season 17 runners-up Brook Roberts and Claire Champlin revealed they were asked to take part on the season, but couldn't due to the latter's pregnancy. [13]
Snapple served as a sponsor this season of The Amazing Race, with "Snapple Real Facts" introduced during commercial breaks. The sixth leg of the season in Kolkata, India, featured several tasks involving a papaya-and-mango flavored tea Snapple developed and named after the show. [14] Ford also sponsored the season, with their new Focus serving as a prize during the eighth leg.
This season featured eleven returning teams from previous seasons vying a second chance to win.
| Contestants | Age | Relationship | Hometown | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amanda Blackledge | 25 | Engaged The Amazing Race 14 | Pismo Beach, California | Eliminated 1st (in Broken Hill, Australia) |
| Kris Klicka | 27 | |||
| Mel White | 70 | Father & Son The Amazing Race 14 | Lynchburg, Virginia | Eliminated 2nd (in Yokosuka, Japan) |
| Mike White | 40 | Los Angeles, California | ||
| Jaime Edmondson | 32 | Former NFL Cheerleaders The Amazing Race 14 | Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Eliminated 3rd (in Kunming, China) |
| Cara Rosenthal | 28 | Boca Raton, Florida | ||
| Margie Adams | 53 | Mother & Son The Amazing Race 14 | Colorado Springs, Colorado | Eliminated 4th (in Kolkata, India) |
| Luke Adams | 25 | |||
| Ron Hsu | 61 | Father & Daughter The Amazing Race 12 | Tacoma, Washington | Eliminated 5th (in Ramnagar, India) |
| Christina Hsu | 29 | Washington, D.C. | ||
| Jet McCoy | 31 | Cowboys & Brothers The Amazing Race 16 | Ada, Oklahoma | Eliminated 6th (in Zermatt, Switzerland) |
| Cord McCoy | 30 | Tupelo, Oklahoma | ||
| Kent Kaliber | 35 | Dating Goths The Amazing Race 12 | Los Angeles, California | Eliminated 7th (in Zermatt, Switzerland) |
| Vyxsin Fiala | 32 | |||
| Zev Glassenberg | 28 | Best Friends The Amazing Race 15 | Sherman Oaks, California | Eliminated 8th (in Niterói, Brazil) |
| Justin Kanew | 31 | Los Angeles, California | ||
| Gary Ervin | 53 | Father & Daughter The Amazing Race 17 | Morganfield, Kentucky | Third place |
| Mallory Ervin | 25 | |||
| Herbert "Flight Time" Lang | 34 | Harlem Globetrotters The Amazing Race 15 | Brinkley, Arkansas | Runners-up |
| Nathaniel "Big Easy" Lofton | 29 | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||
| Kisha Hoffman | 30 | Sisters The Amazing Race 14 | The Bronx, New York | Winners |
| Jen Hoffman | 26 | Louisville, Kentucky |
The teams cited the following details from their respective races as their reason for having "unfinished business":
Margie & Luke, Flight Time & Big Easy, and Jet & Cord returned for a third time to compete on The Amazing Race: All-Stars . [16] Mallory returned on the same season forming a composite team with Mark Jackson when his partner, William "Bopper" Minton, was not medically cleared to compete. [17]
Outside of The Amazing Race, Mallory appeared on the Discovery Channel reality show Backyard Oil in 2013. [18] On May 25, 2016, Flight Time & Big Easy appeared on an Amazing Race-themed primetime special of The Price Is Right . [19] Mike White later competed on Survivor: David vs. Goliath . [20] Flight Time & Big Easy also appeared on 100 Day Dream Home in 2021. [21] In 2026, Mike White competed on Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans . [22]
The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kisha & Jen | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 5th | 4th | 6th | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st |
| Flight Time & Big Easy | 5th | 2nd | 5th [a] | 6th | 6th⊂ [b] | 7th | 1st | 2nd | 5th⊃ [c] | 1st | 3rd | 2nd |
| Gary & Mallory | 1st | 9th | 2nd | 3rd | 2ndε [d] | 1st | 4th | 6th‡ | 4th | 3rd | 1st | 3rd |
| Zev & Justin | 4th | 1st | 1st | 8th | 8th | 4th | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 4th | 4th† | |
| Kent & Vyxsin | 10th | 7th | 7th | 9th [e] | 5th⊃ [f] [g] | 5th | 6th | 3rd | 3rd | 5th† [h] | ||
| Jet & Cord | 11th [e] | 3rd | 6th | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 5th | 5th | 6th†⊂ [c] | |||
| Ron & Christina | 8th | 10th | 3rd | 4th | 7th | 3rd | 7th† | |||||
| Margie & Luke | 7th | 5th | 8th | 1st | 3rd | 8th† | ||||||
| Jaime & Cara | 6th | 8th | 9th | 7th | 9th†⊂ ⊃ [f] [b] | |||||||
| Mel & Mike | 9th | 6th | 10th† | |||||||||
| Amanda & Kris | 2nd | 11th† | ||||||||||
| Destinations | |
|---|---|
| Route Markers | |
A new feature to this season is an online show, allowing the viewers to see what happens behind the scenes of The Amazing Race, hosted by Keoghan. [1] This feature replaced the "Elimination Station" videos as seen in previous seasons.
The Amazing Race 18 received mixed reviews. Scott Von Doviak of The A.V. Club wrote that by the end of the season, it was "finishing (mostly) strong after so many lackluster weeks along the way." [25] Daniel Fienberg of HitFix wrote that "this 'Amazing Race' season was almost conspicuously designed to prevent memorable moments." [26] Luke Dwyer of TV Fanatic wrote that "the start of The Amazing Race: Unfinished Business was chock full of dynamic challenges, interesting legs and surprises. As the number of teams got whittled down, the legs became less creative." [27] Michael Hewitt of the Orange County Register wrote that "the show still has much to recommend it: spectacular locations, engrossing human drama and brilliant editing. But it needs to be a race once again." [28] Patrick Hodges of CinemaBlend wrote that it was "all in all, a very good season. Lots of great locations, lots of sportsmanship, very few assclownish moments." [29] Daron Aldridge of Box Office Prophets called it another entertaining season. [30] In 2016, this season was ranked 13th out of the first 27 seasons by the Rob Has a Podcast Amazing Race correspondents. [31] Kareem Gantt of Screen Rant wrote that this "the legs are fantastically planned and executed, the suspense was high, and viewers even got some emotional eliminations that made for great TV." [32] In 2021, Jane Andrews of Gossip Cop ranked this season as the show's 7th best season. [33] In 2022, Rhenn Taguiam of Game Rant ranked this season as the sixth-best season. [34] In 2024, Taguiam's ranking was updated with this season becoming the eighth-best season. [35]
| # | Airdate | Episode | Rating | Share | Rating/Share | Viewers | Rank | Rank | Rank | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Households | 18–49 | (millions) | Timeslot (Viewers) | Timeslot (18–49) | Week (Viewers) | Week (18–49) | ||||
| 1 | February 20, 2011 | "Head Down and Hold On" | 5.1 | 8 | 2.5/7 | 9.15 [36] | #2 | #1 (tied) | #30 | (<#25) |
| 2 | February 27, 2011 | "I Never Looked So Foolish in My Whole Entire Life" | 4.3 | 7 | 2.1/5 | 7.68 [37] | #2 | #3 | (<#30) | (<#25) |
| 3 | March 6, 2011 | "We Had a Lot of Evil Spirits Apparently" | 5.5 | 9 | 2.7/7 | 9.78 [38] | #2 | #2 | #22 | #23 |
| 4 | March 13, 2011 | "This is the Most Stupid Day Ever" | 5.3 | 9 | 2.7/8 | 9.44 [39] | #2 | #2 | #21 | #17 |
| 5 | March 20, 2011 | "Don't Ruin the Basketball Game" | 5.7 | 9 | 2.8/8 | 10.13 [40] | #1 | #1 (tied) | #13 | #18 |
| 6 | March 27, 2011 | "I Feel Like a Monkey in a Circus Parade" | 6.2 | 10 | 3.2/9 | 10.96 [41] | #1 | #1 | #12 | #14 |
| 7 | April 10, 2011 | "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win" | 6.0 | 9 | 2.9/8 | 10.48 [42] | #1 | #1 | #21 | #18 |
| 8 | April 17, 2011 | "I Cannot Deal With Your Psycho Behavior" | 5.1 | 8 | 2.4/7 | 8.78 [43] | #1 | #1 | #22 | (<#25) |
| 9 | April 24, 2011 | "We're Good American People" | 5.3 | 9 | 2.6/8 | 9.37 [44] | #1 | #1 | #17 | #15 |
| 10 | May 1, 2011 | "Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen" | 5.3 | 8 | 2.6/7 | 9.20 [45] | — | — | #20 | #18 |
| 11 | May 8, 2011 | "This is Where It Ends" | 5.0 | 8 | 2.5/7 | 8.97 [46] | #2 | #1 | (<#25) | #24 |
Canadian broadcaster CTV also airs The Amazing Race on Sundays at 8 p.m., with only two exceptions: Episode two aired an hour earlier than its normal start time due to CTV's broadcast of the 83rd Academy Awards. Episode six aired an hour earlier due to the said network's broadcast of the 2011 Juno Awards.
| # | Airdate | Episode | Viewers (millions) | Rank (Week) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 20, 2011 | "Head Down and Hold On" | 2.66 | #4 [47] |
| 2 | February 27, 2011 | "I Never Looked So Foolish in My Whole Entire Life" | 1.62 | #20 [48] |
| 3 | March 6, 2011 | "We Had a Lot of Evil Spirits Apparently" | 2.79 | #1 [49] |
| 4 | March 13, 2011 | "This is the Most Stupid Day Ever" | 2.53 | #3 [50] |
| 5 | March 20, 2011 | "Don't Ruin the Basketball Game" | 2.44 | #3 [51] |
| 6 | March 27, 2011 | "I Feel Like a Monkey in a Circus Parade" | 1.81 | #12 [52] |
| 7 | April 10, 2011 | "You Don't Get Paid Unless You Win" | 2.44 | #5 [53] |
| 8 | April 17, 2011 | "I Cannot Deal With Your Psycho Behavior" | 2.57 | #1 [54] |
| 9 | April 24, 2011 | "We're Good American People" | 2.33 | #5 [55] |
| 10 | May 1, 2011 | "Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen" | 2.74 | #3 [56] |
| 11 | May 8, 2011 | "This is Where It Ends" | 2.70 | #2 [57] |