Unlike previous seasons, which almost exclusively featured teams with pre-existing relationships, this season, hosted by Phil Keoghan, featured 22 contestants who were all complete strangers who met for the first time and formed eleven teams of two at the starting line.
Starting in Los Angeles, racers traveled through Panama, Brazil, Tanzania, Norway, Italy, Greece, Vietnam, and South Korea before returning to the United States and finishing in Chicago.
[4] Host Phil Keoghan stated that the twist of casting twenty-two individuals rather than eleven pairs was an idea that the production crew had talked about for some time.
They had heard from fans who wanted to apply for the show but were unable to find a partner who could also take time off from work, and the format allowed them to cast twenty-two stand out individuals.
[8][9] The contestants were all strangers to each other who met for the first time at the starting line where they paired up into impromptu teams.
Winter X Games snowboarder Matt Ladley was one of the twenty-two individuals included in this season's cast.
called this season "dire" as the format led to teams that either got along well or despised each other and said that he wasn't rooting for anyone to win.