The Amazing Race 31 (also promoted as The Amazing Race: Reality Showdown) is the thirty-first season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each consisting of former contestants from CBS's flagship reality shows, Big Brother, Survivor, and The Amazing Race, competing in a race around the world to win US$1,000,000. This season visited four continents and ten countries and traveled over during twelve legs. Starting in Hermosa Beach, California, racers traveled through Japan, Laos, Vietnam, the United Arab Emirates, Uganda, Switzerland, Croatia, the Netherlands, and England before returning to the United States and finishing in Detroit. Elements introduced in this season include the U-Turn Vote. Elements of the show that returned for this season include the starting line task. The season premiered on CBS on April 17, 2019, and concluded on June 26, 2019.
All three of the final teams consisted of returning players from previous seasons of The Amazing Race. Life partners Colin Guinn and Christie Woods, who had competed on The Amazing Race 5, were the winners of this season. Best friends Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl, who had competed on The Amazing Race 28, finished in second place; and cousins Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran, who had competed on The Amazing Race 23 and The Amazing Race 24, finished in third place.
Production Development and filming
On June 10, 2018, Phil Keoghan announced on the show's social media accounts that the season had begun filming and that the teams would be composed of contestants from CBS's reality competition programs. On June 30, teams were spotted at the Nieuwe Toren in Kampen, Netherlands. On July 3, filming ended in Detroit, which featured a performance of The White Stripes' single "Seven Nation Army" that was originally planned to be set in Belle Isle Park. However, the permit was denied as the Michigan Department of Natural Resources had not been informed about the large gathering of musicians needed for filming.
The Amazing Race 31 traveled over 25,000 miles across four continents and 10 countries, including first-time visits for the American edition to Uganda and Laos. Laos was previously visited on the fourth season of The Amazing Race Vietnam.
The Head-to-Head returned this season after it was introduced in the previous season. This season is also the first to utilize the U-Turn Vote, which has been previously utilized by the Israeli, Chinese, Australian, and Filipino versions of The Amazing Race.
Casting On May 4, 2018, a TMZ article reported that former Big Brother HouseGuests had been asked to compete on the upcoming season of The Amazing Race. Later that day, Andy Dehnart posted that former Amazing Race contestants had also been contacted for the same season. Martin Holmes from Inside Survivor then posted that former Survivor contestants were also in the mix. Eric Sanchez and Jeremy Ryan from season 9 were contacted and agreed to participate, but were ultimately cut when the show decided to include Big Brother and Survivor teams. Josh Canfield and Reed Kelly from Survivor: San Juan del Sur were contacted, but ultimately didn't make the final cast. Justin and Diana Scheman (née Bishop) from season 27 were originally selected, but declined the invitation due to Diana being pregnant. Keith and Wes Nale from Survivor: San Juan del Sur were contacted, but ultimately didn't make the final cast. Kym Perfetto and Alli Forsythe from season 25 were originally considered, but ultimately cut. The Linz family from season 8 were originally considered, but ultimately cut. Mark Jansen and Elena Davies from Big Brother 19 were contacted to compete and agreed to participate, but were cut a few days before filming. Rob Cesternino from Survivor: The Amazon and Survivor: All-Stars and Stephen Fishbach from Survivor: Tocantins and Survivor: Cambodia were contacted and expressed interest, but declined due to Fishbach's wedding overlapping with filming. Will Kirby and Mike "Boogie" Malin, the winners of Big Brother 2 and Big Brother: All-Stars, respectively, were asked to compete, but Kirby declined.
Release Broadcast In the lead-in to the 2018-19 television programming season, CBS had scheduled The Amazing Race 31 to begin airing on May 22, 2019. However, in early April 2019, CBS opted to bring the premiere forward to April 17, 2019, slotting the show in Wednesdays after Survivor and replacing the low-rated Million Dollar Mile.
Contestants
This season involved eleven teams, three of whom previously competed on Big Brother, three of whom previously competed on Survivor, and five of whom previously competed on The Amazing Race.
ContestantsAgeRelationshipHometownStatus 49Best Friends Temecula, CaliforniaEliminated 1st(in Tokyo, Japan) 49 San Marcos, California 54MarriedIndianapolis, IndianaEliminated 2nd(in Ban Xiengkeo, Laos) 49 39 Friends Denver, ColoradoEliminated 3rd(in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam) 35 New York City, New York 38Friends Lakeville, MinnesotaEliminated 4th(in Kampala, Uganda) 30 Tulsa, Oklahoma 33 Sisters Van Nuys, CaliforniaEliminated 5th(in Brienz, Switzerland) 32 Las Vegas, Nevada 40Friends Moore, OklahomaEliminated 6th(in Split, Croatia) 44 Dedham, Massachusetts 28Friends Boulder, ColoradoEliminated 7th(in Giethoorn, Netherlands) 23 Highlands Ranch, Colorado 25Dating Ubly, MichiganEliminated 8th(in London, England) 27 Slidell, Louisiana 31Cousins Pasadena, CaliforniaThird place 31 Houston, Texas 29Best FriendsJackson, MichiganRunners-up 33 38Life PartnersAustin, TexasWinners 40
From Big Brother: Janelle Pierzina competed on Big Brother 6, Big Brother 7, and Big Brother 14. Britney Haynes competed on Big Brother 12 and Big Brother 14. Nicole Franzel competed on Big Brother 16 and Big Brother 18. Victor Arroyo competed on Big Brother 18. Rachel Reilly competed on Big Brother 12 and Big Brother 13. (Rachel also competed on The Amazing Race 20 and The Amazing Race 24.) Elissa Slater competed on Big Brother 15. From Survivor: Chris Hammons and Bret LaBelle competed on Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X. Corinne Kaplan competed on Survivor: Gabon and Survivor: Caramoan. Eliza Orlins competed on Survivor: Vanuatu and Survivor: Micronesia. Rupert Boneham competed on Survivor: Pearl Islands, Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and Survivor: Blood vs. Water. Laura Boneham competed on Survivor: Blood vs. Water. From The Amazing Race: Art Velez and J.J. Carrell competed on The Amazing Race 20. Colin Guinn and Christie Woods competed on The Amazing Race 5. Leo Temory and Jamal Zadran competed on The Amazing Race 23 and The Amazing Race 24. Becca Droz and Floyd Pierce competed on The Amazing Race 29. Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl competed on The Amazing Race 28. Future appearances Janelle Pierzina and Nicole Franzel returned to Big Brother to compete on the show's second All-Stars season. On September 3, 2020, Bret LaBelle appeared on Revenge Prank. In 2022, Leo Temory competed on the first season of The Challenge: USA. Pierzina and Rachel Reilly competed on the USA Network reality competition series, Snake in the Grass. In 2023, Reilly also competed on the Peacock reality TV series The Traitors. Britney Haynes appeared on the premiere of Big Brother 25. Pierzina competed on the second season of The Traitors. In 2023, Haynes and Franzel competed on Big Brother Reindeer Games. In 2024, Haynes competed on the third season of The Traitors. In 2025, Reilly competed on Worst Cooks in America Celebrity Edition: Heroes vs. Villains. Later in the year, Reilly competed on Big Brother 27.
Results The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order. A placement with a dagger () indicates that the team was eliminated. An placement with a double-dagger () indicates that the team was the last to arrive at a Pit Stop in a non-elimination leg, and had to perform a Speed Bump task in the following leg. A indicates that the team used the U-Turn and a indicates the team on the receiving end of the U-Turn. +Team placement (by leg) Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Colin & Christie 2nd 4th 3rd 1st 3rd 2nd 2nd 3rd 4th 1st 3rd 1st Tyler & Korey 3rd 7th 4th 5th 4th 1st 1st 1st 1st 2nd 2nd 2nd Leo & Jamal 1st 1st 8th 6th 7th 6th 4th 6th 5th 3rd 1st 3rd Nicole & Victor 6th 2nd 2nd 2nd 5th 3rd 5th 2nd 4th Becca & Floyd 5th 9th 1st 4th 1st 5th 3rd 4th 3rd Chris & Bret 7th 8th 3rd 2nd 4th 6th 2nd Rachel & Elissa 4th 3rd 7th 8th 7th 5th Janelle & Britney 8th 5th 6th 7th 6th Corinne & Eliza 9th 6th 5th Rupert & Laura 10th Art & J.J. Notes
Race summary
Leg 1 (United States → Japan)
Episode 1: "You're in Our Race Now" (April 17, 2019) Prize: A seven-day cruise for two to French Polynesia (awarded to Leo & Jamal) Eliminated: Art & J.J. Locations Hermosa Beach, California (Hermosa Beach Pier) (Starting Line) Hermosa Beach (Hermosa City Beach) Los Angeles → Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (Narita International Airport → Shibuya) Tokyo (ACB Lock & Security Tokyo Tokyo Restaurant) Tokyo (EDGEof Shibuya Building) Tokyo (Onarimon Station) Tokyo (Shiba Koen) Tokyo (Atago Jinja) Episode summary Teams set off from the Hermosa Beach Pier and ran to a giant octopus-shaped sand sculpture on an adjacent beach, where they dug for their first clue that revealed their first destination: Tokyo, Japan. Once there, teams traveled by charter bus to Shibuya, where teams were instructed to travel on foot to one of two locations, ACB Lock & Security or Tokyo Tokyo Restaurant, where they received their next clue. Each location only had a limited number of clues. Teams then traveled to the EDGEof Shibuya Building in order to find their next clue. In this season's first Roadblock, one team member had to pick one of several getas and bite the sandal until they found one of twelve made of chocolate. Both team members then had to eat the chocolate geta in order to receive their next clue. After the first Roadblock, teams had to travel by taxi to Onarimon Station and then travel on foot to the nearby Shiba Koen in order to find their next clue. In this leg's second Roadblock, the team member who did not perform the previous Roadblock had to don a blue unitard and climb to the summit of a slippery slope that resembled Mount Fuji in order to retrieve their next clue, which directed them to the Pit Stop: Atago Jinja.
Leg 2 (Japan → Laos)
Episode 2: "Knock the Newbie Out of Us" (April 24, 2019) Prize: each (awarded to Leo & Jamal) Eliminated: Rupert & Laura Locations Tokyo (Atago Jinja) Tokyo (Tickets Today) Tokyo → Luang Prabang, Laos Luang Prabang (Villa Santi) Luang Prabang (Wat Sensoukharam) Luang Prabang (Big Tree by the Mekong River) Luang Prabang (École Maternelle Louang Prabang BBQ Alley) Ban Xieng Lom (Elephant Village) Luang Prabang (Wat Xieng Thong) → Ban Xiengkeo (Prince Phetsarath's Palace) Episode summary At the start of this leg, teams were instructed to fly to Luang Prabang, Laos, with teams required to book their flight at Tickets Today. Once there, teams had to travel by tuk-tuk to Villa Santi and wait for their next clue to arrive by courier before sunrise. The clue instructed them to take part in the local morning alms by giving servings of sticky rice to a procession of Buddhist monks at Wat Sensoukharam. Before the monks' arrival, each team member had to don a pha biang and pick up basket of rice. After the monks passed, teams received their next clue, which directed them to a tree by the Mekong River.