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.

Starting in Santa Barbara wine country, racers traveled through Argentina, Paraguay, Italy, Austria, Germany, Azerbaijan, Tanzania, India, and Japan before returning to the United States and finishing in Oahu.

[5][6] The cast included former Big Brother contestants Brendon Villegas and Rachel Reilly, Major League Soccer players Elliot and Andrew Weber, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus clowns Dave and Cherie Gregg,[7] and professional golfer Maiya Tanaka, who had previously appeared on the Golf Channel's reality competition The Big Break.

However, Bopper was unable to compete due to signs of pancreatitis, so he was replaced at the last minute with Mallory Ervin (from season 17 and Unfinished Business) to form a composite team.

[10] Art & J.J. returned to compete on The Amazing Race: Reality Showdown, as did Rachel, but partnered with her sister, Elissa.

[13] On July 31, 2018, Brendon & Rachel appeared on a special Survivor vs Big Brother episode of Fear Factor and won $50,000 for UCLA Cancer Research.

Michael Hewitt of the Orange County Register wrote that this season "started with great promise" but by the end was "sputtering to a close".

[24] Daniel Fienberg of HitFix was negative towards this season largely due to its cast, writing that "sometimes this is the best-cast show on TV.