The Amazing Race 25

The Amazing Race 25 is the twenty-fifth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured eleven teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world in order to win US$1,000,000. This season visited four continents and ten countries and traveled over 26,000 miles (42,000 km). Starting in New York City, racers traveled through the U.S. Virgin Islands, England, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Morocco, Italy, Malta, Singapore, and the Philippines before returning to the United States and finishing in Greater Los Angeles. New twists introduced in this season include a public start; the Save, which was awarded to the winners of the first leg and would save them from elimination once; an Express Pass hidden on the racecourse; the Blind Detour, where teams learned about the task that they chose after arriving at its location; and four teams racing in the final leg. The season premiered on CBS on September 26, 2014, with the season finale airing on December 19, 2014.
Food scientists Amy DeJong and Maya Warren were the winners of this season, while married dentists Jim and Misti Raman finished in second place, and married surfers Adam Dirks and Bethany Hamilton finished in third place.
Filming began in the early morning of May 31, 2014, at Times Square in New York City. CBS invited fans to appear at the starting line to see the teams off. According to host Phil Keoghan, the show's production crew had sought to keep filming secret but included a public start this season due to the ubiquity of social media and fans' excitement. The publicity of the Times Square start led CBS to announce the identities of the competing teams the same day. It was revealed at the public start that instead of the Express Pass, teams would be awarded a new immunity from elimination pass called the Save for finishing first in the first leg. It could be used by that team if they were to finish last on any elimination leg before the ninth leg. The Save was presented once in a non-elimination leg so it was never used. Filming for this season wrapped in Los Angeles on June 22, 2014.
This season spanned 26,000 miles (42,000 km) and included first-time visits to the U.S. Virgin Islands, Malta, and the Shetland Islands of Scotland.
At various points throughout the filming of the season, teams encountered Phil Keoghan on the course where he explained a task to the home audience while the competition continued behind him.
For the first time in The Amazing Race history, four teams competed in the season's final leg. However, Phil eliminated one team in the middle of the final leg, leaving only three teams racing to the finish line.
The cast included married professional surfers Bethany Hamilton, a shark attack survivor whose story was told in her memoirs and the film Soul Surfer, and Adam Dirks; former Survivor: South Pacific contestants and engaged couple Whitney Duncan and Keith Tollefson; and TNA Wrestling stars Brooke Adams and Robbie Strauss.
In 2017, Brooke Adams appeared on the second season of the TLC reality show Rattled. In 2019, Robbie Strauss competed on the second episode of The Titan Games. In 2024, Bethany Hamilton competed on the twelfth season of The Masked Singer as "Macaron".
The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order.
The Amazing Race 25 received positive reviews. Jodi Walker of Entertainment Weekly called this season a "good underdog story". Daniel Fienberg of HitFix was critical of some structural decisions but was positive towards this season overall. Alex Morella of "Survivor Oz" said "Well…it started really well…went bland in the middle for a bit…but finished strongly! I enjoyed this season and The Amazing Race put out a good product for its Silver Anniversary! I enjoyed the teams…quite a few of the challenges (although several better detours are needed in some legs…and no Morocco!)" In 2016, this season was ranked 7th out of the first 27 seasons by the Rob Has a Podcast Amazing Race correspondents. In 2023, Rhenn Taguiam of Game Rant ranked this season as the fourteenth-best season. In 2024, Taguiam's ranking was updated with this season ranked 17th out of 36.
Canadian broadcaster CTV also airs The Amazing Race on Fridays. Episodes air at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Central (9:00 p.m. Pacific, Mountain and Atlantic).
Canadian DVR ratings are included in Numeris' count.