The Amazing Race 37 | |
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Season 37 | |
![]() Promotional poster | |
Presented by | Phil Keoghan |
No. of teams | 14 |
Winner | Carson McCalley & Jack Dodge |
No. of legs | 12 |
Distance traveled | 29,000 mi (47,000 km) |
No. of episodes | 12 |
Release | |
Original network | CBS |
Original release | March 5 – May 15, 2025 |
Additional information | |
Filming dates | May 18 – June 14, 2024 |
Season chronology | |
The Amazing Race 37 is the thirty-seventh season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race . Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it features fourteen teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world to win US$1,000,000. This season visited three continents and ten countries and regions and traveled over 29,000 miles (47,000 km) during twelve legs. Starting in Los Angeles, racers traveled through Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, France, and Portugal before returning to the United States and finishing in Miami. It has been described as a "season of surprises", [1] as each leg of the race includes a twist in the form of an obstacle or a unique task. New elements introduced this season include the Fork in the Road, the Driver's Seat, and Valet Roulette. Elements of the show that returned for this season include the double elimination leg, the Intersection, the Live U-Turn Vote, the Fast Forward, the Double U-Turn, the non-elimination leg, the Head-to-Head, and the Scramble. The season premiered on CBS on March 5, 2025, and concluded on May 15, 2025.
Best friends and gamers Carson McCalley and Jack Dodge were the winners of this season, while siblings Han and Holden Nguyen finished in second place, and married parents Jonathan and Ana Towns finished in third place.
On May 2, 2024, the show was renewed for its 37th season with CBS Entertainment President Amy Reisenbach teasing a potential new twist for the show. [2] In an interview before the finale of Season 36, Phil Keoghan stated, "We know the audience loves the airports; we know the audience loves mixing things up. We know that the audience loves going to new places, like Slovenia in Season 35. We got so much great feedback about Slovenia, so expect to see some new destinations, and also trying some new things." [3]
Filming for this season began on May 18, 2024, at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles with teams then flying to Hong Kong. [4] [5] On May 21, teams left Hong Kong for Osaka, Japan. [4] On June 10, a leg was filmed in Northern Portugal. [6] Filming concluded on June 14 in Miami, [7] [8] which coincided with the June 2024 South Florida floods that caused a multi-day delay in filming of the final leg. [9] [10] This season also included visits to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Strasbourg, France, as well as a first-time visit to Bulgaria. [11] In total, the season featured nine countries across 29,000 miles (47,000 km). [12]
In August 2024, Keoghan stated in an interview, "We wanted to do a season where there were a few surprise elements, so I guess that's what I would say would summarize what we did. There's just some things that come [out] of left field for the contestants and I think the viewers will find it fun. Not necessarily new twists but just surprises." [13]
This season was dubbed the "Season of Surprises" by CBS, with every episode featuring a "game-changing twist". [11] These twists included longstanding staples of the show such as the Fast Forward (last seen in season 29) and U-Turn. [14] In a new twist called the "Fork in the Road" during the first leg in Hong Kong, teams chose one of two race routes to the Pit Stop and one team on each route was eliminated at the end of the leg. [15] The Intersection returned for the first time since season 16 during the second leg. [16] Teams had a chance to win an Express Pass during the third and eighth legs. [17] [18] The fourth leg also introduced a new twist called the Driver's Seat, where one team gained the power to determine how much work racers had to perform during the Roadblock. [19] The fifth leg saw the return of the U-Turn Vote, this time in public as in season 31 rather than in private. [20] The seventh leg included the first standard Double U-Turn since season 32. [21] The ninth leg featured the first non-elimination leg since season 33. [22] The tenth leg had the first instance of the Head-to-Head since season 31; however, the Head-to-Head was placed at a Roadblock in the middle of the leg rather than just before the Pit Stop as in previous appearances. [23] The eleventh leg introduced a new twist called Valet Roulette, where teams had to blindly choose either a manual or automatic car. [24] The final leg featured a Scramble. [25]
The final episode was dedicated to Jack Walworth, a longstanding producer of The Amazing Race since 2006, following his death. [26]
Casting for the season began on December 4, 2023. [27]
In May 2024, CBS announced that the thirty-seventh season would air in 2025 on Wednesday nights alongside Survivor 48 with 90-minute episodes. [28] On November 13, 2024, CBS announced that the season's premiere date as March 5, 2025. [29]
The first episode of this season was screened at SCAD TVfest in Atlanta during a panel with Phil Keoghan, Han & Holden, and Nick & Mike on February 5, 2025. [30] [31] The first trailer for this season was released on February 19, 2025. [32]
Scott and Lori Thompson were revealed early on January 9, 2025, during the cast announcement for the second season of Raid the Cage . [33] The full cast was revealed on February 5, 2025. [34] With fourteen teams, this season features the largest cast for the American edition of The Amazing Race. [35]
Contestants | Age | Relationship | Hometown | Status |
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Jackye Clayton | 51 | Sisters | Waco, Texas | Eliminated 1st & 2nd (in Hong Kong) |
Lauren McKinney | 61 | |||
Mark Crawford | 63 | Retired Firefighters | Watertown, Tennessee | |
Larry Graham | 59 | Bartlett, Tennessee | ||
Ernest Cato | 59 | Father & Daughter | Chicago, Illinois | Eliminated 3rd (in Minoh, Japan) |
Bridget Cato | 28 | Somerville, Massachusetts | ||
Courtney Ramsey | 33 | Dating Nurses | Leland, North Carolina | Eliminated 4th (in Kyoto, Japan) |
Jasmin Carey | 34 | |||
Bernie Gutierrez | 31 | Friends | Dallas, Texas | Eliminated 5th (in Kubu, Indonesia) |
Carrigain Scadden | 33 | Denver, Colorado | ||
Scott Thompson | 47 | Married Parents of Eight | Salt Lake City, Utah | Eliminated 6th (in Nusa Dua, Indonesia) |
Lori Thompson | 49 | |||
Jeff "Pops" Bailey | 65 | Father & Son Lumberjacks | St. Louis, Missouri | Eliminated 7th (in Dubai, United Arab Emirates) |
Jeff Bailey | 36 | |||
Nick Fiorito | 32 | Brothers | Brooklyn, New York | Eliminated 8th (in Sarantsi, Bulgaria) |
Mike Fiorito | 28 | |||
Melinda Papadeas | 66 | Mother & Daughter | Chandler, Arizona | Eliminated 9th (in Sofia, Bulgaria) |
Erika Papadeas | 32 | Englewood, Colorado | ||
Brett Hamby | 36 | Married Vegas Performers | Las Vegas, Nevada | Eliminated 10th (in Scherwiller, France) |
Mark Romain | 37 | |||
Alyssa Borden | 31 | Married Nurses | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Eliminated 11th (in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal) |
Josiah Borden | 32 | |||
Jonathan Towns | 42 | Married Parents | Pomona, California | Third place |
Ana Towns | 35 | |||
Han Nguyen | 26 | Siblings | Los Gatos, California | Runners-up |
Holden Nguyen | 22 | |||
Carson McCalley | 28 | Best Friends & Gamers | Brooklyn, New York | Winners |
Jack Dodge | 27 |
The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order.
Team | 1 γ [a] | 2 + [b] | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Carson & Jack | 1st | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1stƒ | 6th | 4th | 4th | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
Han & Holden | 5th | 11th | 9th | 6th | 5th | 2nd | 4th⊂ [c] | 5th | 5th‡ | 4th | 2nd | 2nd | |
Jonathan & Ana | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 1stε [d] | 8th⊂ [e] | 5th | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | |
Alyssa & Josiah | 1st | 3rd | 7th | 5th | 3rd | 3rd | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 2ndε [f] | 4th† | ||
Brett & Mark | 2nd | 9th | 5th | 7th | 1st | 4th | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 5th† | |||
Melinda & Erika | 6th | 5th | 4th | 4th | 6th | 6th | 5th⊃ [g] | 6th† | |||||
Nick & Mike | 5th | 10th | 8th | 8th | 7th | 7th | 7th†⊂ ⊃ [g] [c] | ||||||
Pops & Jeff | 4th | 7th | 6th | 9th | 4th | 8th† | |||||||
Scott & Lori | 3rd | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 9th†⊂ [e] | ||||||||
Bernie & Carrigain | 4th | 8th | 10th | 10th† | |||||||||
Courtney & Jasmin | 6th | 6th | 11th† | ||||||||||
Ernest & Bridget | 3rd | 12th† | |||||||||||
Mark & Larry | 7th† | ||||||||||||
Jackye & Lauren | 7th† |
Destinations | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Route Markers | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Team | Vote |
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Brett & Mark | Scott & Lori |
Jonathan & Ana | Nick & Mike |
Pops & Jeff | Jonathan & Ana |
Han & Holden | Scott & Lori |
Melinda & Erika | Scott & Lori |
Carson & Jack | Jonathan & Ana |
Nick & Mike | Scott & Lori |
Alyssa & Josiah | Jonathan & Ana |
Scott & Lori | Jonathan & Ana |
Leg | Letter | Image | Twist |
---|---|---|---|
1 | A | Tian Tan Buddha | Fork in the Road |
2 | M | Taiko drummers | Intersection |
3 | A | Kemari | Express Pass |
4 | Z | Kuber Waterfall | Driver's Seat |
5 | I | Surfboards | Live Double U-Turn |
6 | N | Dubai Desert Conservation Reserve | Fast Forward |
7 | G | Kukeri dancers | Double U-Turn |
8 | R | Horo dancers | Express Pass |
9 | A | Il Capitano | Non-Elimination Leg |
10 | C | Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg | Head-to-Head |
11 | E | Ferdinand Magellan | Valet Roulette |
12 | ! | Domino | Scramble |
The Amazing Race 37 received positive reviews with praise directed at the season of surprises theming. Andy Dehnart of reality blurred called it "a very strong and entertaining Amazing Race season." [38] Madalyn Carter of Collider wrote that "Season 37 of The Amazing Race is already being regarded as one of the best seasons of the iconic globe-trotting series yet, with many fans noting how this season feels like the old-school The Amazing Race that they initially fell in love with." [39] Sakshi Singh of FandomWire wrote that this season brought back the thrill present within older seasons. [40] Gouri Maheshwari of Soap Central wrote "The Amazing Race's 37th season has already established itself as one of the most exciting in the program's history. [41] Dustin Rowles of Pajiba wrote, "I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge what a terrific season this was. Season 37, unlike the last couple of cycles, didn't feel like 60-minute episodes stretched to 90; it was clearly designed for that longer runtime. And it worked. The pacing felt organic, and the cast was fantastic." [42] The season did face controversy for Jonathan's treatment towards his wife, Ana; Jonathan himself acknowledged his behavior towards Ana on their YouTube channel, saying that he sought a doctor after filming and was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. [43]
No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) | Viewers (millions) | DVR (18–49) | DVR viewers (millions) | Total (18–49) | Total viewers (millions) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | "Double the Stakes, Double the Eliminations" | March 5, 2025 | 0.3/5 | 2.62 | 0.3 | 1.58 | 0.6 | 4.20 | [44] |
2 | "Very Strong Warrior Energy" | March 12, 2025 | 0.3/5 | 2.56 | 0.2 | 1.45 | 0.5 | 4.01 | [45] |
3 | "Chaotic, Crazy, That's What We're Used To" | March 19, 2025 | 0.4/6 | 2.67 | 0.2 | 1.43 | 0.7 | 4.10 | [46] |
4 | "There's No Addresses in the Jungle" | March 26, 2025 | 0.3/4 | 2.48 | 0.2 | 1.47 | 0.5 | 3.94 | [47] |
5 | "It's Not Personal, It's Business" | April 2, 2025 | 0.3/5 | 2.53 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [48] |
6 | "It Smells Like the Desert" | April 9, 2025 | 0.4/5 | 2.65 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [49] |
7 | "Be One With the Hay" | April 16, 2025 | 0.3/4 | 2.59 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [50] |
8 | "We're Letting Race Brain Win" | April 23, 2025 | 0.3/4 | 2.44 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [51] |
9 | "The Pizza de Résistance" | April 30, 2025 | 0.3/4 | 2.68 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [52] |
10 | "Up the River Without a Joust" | May 7, 2025 | 0.3/4 | 2.57 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [53] |
11 | "My Knight in Shining Armor" | May 14, 2025 | 0.3/4 | 2.51 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [54] |
12 | "We're in Miami Baby!" | May 15, 2025 | 0.3/4 | 2.82 | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD | [55] |