The Amazing Race 21

The Amazing Race 21 is the twenty-first 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. This season visited three continents and nine countries and traveled over 25,000 miles (40,000 km). Starting in Pasadena, California, racers traveled through China, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Turkey, Russia, the Netherlands, Spain, and France before returning to the United States and finishing in New York City. New twists introduced in this season include the Blind Double U-Turn and the Double Your Money prize. While the prize for winning the season remained at US$1 million, if the team that came in first in the first leg had also won the final leg, the prize would have been doubled to US$2 million. The season premiered on CBS on September 30, 2012, and the two-hour season finale aired on December 9, 2012.
The Fabulous Beekman Boys stars and life partners Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge were the winners of this season, while Chippendales dancers Jaymes Vaughan and James Davis finished in second place, and dating couple Trey Wier and Lexi Beerman finished in third place.
Season 21 was broadcast during the 2012 fall season on CBS. Filming for this season took place from late May 2012 to mid-June 2012. It spanned a little over 25,000 miles (40,000 km) of travel to three continents and nine countries.
This season introduced the "Double Your Money" prize. The team who won the first leg would have been eligible to win a total of $2 million if they ultimately won the race. Elise Doganieri, co-executive producer for the show, called the larger potential prize "a real game-changer". While teams reacted with excitement at the larger prize, Doganieri hoped that if it were won, the additional prize money would be used for "something wonderful" such as supporting charitable medical research. Abbie Ginsberg and Ryan Danz, the winners of the Double Your Money prize, were eliminated from the competition at the conclusion of the ninth leg.
Leg 3 featured the series' first-ever Blind Double U-Turn, where two teams could U-Turn another team, and whichever team used the U-Turn remained anonymous.
Although contestants are typically forbidden contact with family and friends during the filming (except where such contact was part of a task), James LoMenzo was shown video chatting with his wife during the fourth Pit Stop in order to receive an update on his father's medical condition.
During the seventh leg in Moscow, James & Abba left their bags, which included the latter's passport, in a waiting gypsy cab, but the cab drove off with their bags while James & Abba performed the task. They continued the leg, but before they could check in, they had to try to find Abba's passport to continue the race. Ultimately, they ended the leg in last place, which was a non-elimination leg, but if they were required to leave the country in a subsequent leg, they would be automatically disqualified. The next leg remained in Russia, but they ended up in last after spending time again searching for the passport and were eliminated. As production continued, the two had to secure an exit visa for Abba in lieu of a valid passport. According to Abba, the events of these legs occurred on the Friday and Saturday prior to a major Russian holiday, and it became difficult to work through the limited bureaucracy to do this. The two were fortunate enough that Abba's prior fame was recognized by an employee at the U.S. Embassy, and they were able to secure the visa in time to fly back to the United States on the day prior to the finale.
This season's cast included The Fabulous Beekman Boys stars Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge, former White Lion and Megadeth metal bassist James LoMenzo, Chippendales dancers Jaymes Vaughan and James Davis, double amputee professional snowboarder Amy Purdy, and former The Apprentice: Martha Stewart contestant Ryan Danz.
Natalie and Nadiya Anderson returned for The Amazing Race: All-Stars. They later competed on Survivor: San Juan del Sur. On May 23, 2016, Natalie appeared on a Survivor-themed primetime special of The Price Is Right. Natalie then returned to compete on Survivor: Winners at War, and Nadiya also made an appearance as part of the loved ones visit. Natalie also competed on the thirty-sixth season of the MTV reality show The Challenge, but had to withdraw in the fifth episode after learning that she was pregnant.
Amy Purdy later competed in the eighteenth season of the ABC reality series Dancing with the Stars. On June 9, 2014, she appeared on CBS's The Price Is Right as a guest model. On April 1, 2016, Purdy appeared on TLC's Say Yes to the Dress. She later also appeared in the 2016 Summer Paralympics opening ceremony where she danced with a robotic arm.
The following teams are listed with their placements in each leg. Placements are listed in finishing order.
The Amazing Race 21 received mixed reviews. Daniel Fienberg of HitFix wrote that "it was a decent season. There were some good challenges in some good cities and as we got to the Final Four, I had at least one team I was rooting for and at least one team I was rooting against" but said that the cast wasn't the strongest, saying that looking "back at the six teams that were eliminated first and that's a lot of filler". Carrie Milburn of Reality Nation called the story arc of this season's winners inspiring. Michael Hewitt of the Orange County Register called this season's ending "the biggest upset in 'TAR' history, but that upset meant two stronger and more likable teams were shut out of the prize money." In 2016, this season was ranked 23rd out of the first 27 seasons by the Rob Has a Podcast Amazing Race correspondents. In 2024, Rhenn Taguiam of Game Rant placed this season within the bottom 13 out of 36.
Canadian broadcaster CTV also aired The Amazing Race on Sundays. Episodes aired at 8:00 p.m. Eastern and Central (9:00 p.m. Pacific, Mountain and Atlantic).