History Series / TheAmazingRace

** Allan Wu, host of ''Amazing Race Asia'', gave the teams a clue in Season 16, and the finale took a trip to Industrial Light & Magic, complete with an appearance from [[StarWars Darth Vader]].

* BrickJoke: [[note]]On the part of the editors.[[/note]] At the beginning of the German leg, there was a puzzle regarding UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan's "[[UsefulNotes/ColdWar Tear Down This Wall]]" speech. Max was the first to the puzzle and had (incorrectly) guessed UsefulNotes/JohnFKennedy as the speechmaker [[note]]and further established his and Katie's VillainCred by stating that Creator/RushLimbaugh "[[AcceptableTargets would be upset with him]]" for getting a question on Reagan wrong[[/note]]. Guess what ''other'' American President turned out to be the password to the Roadblock later on?[[note]]Not a ChekhovsGag as only one team had this experience, at least on-screen.[[/note]]

Not to be confused with AmazingFreakingGrace, though that hasn't stopped some from making that pun [[Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle anyway]]. Also not to be confused with Film/{{Tar}}, in which an 'a' was replaced by 'á', and also it's not an acronym at all along with a regular viscous organic black liquid. (That is called "Tar".)

Not to be confused with AmazingFreakingGrace, though that hasn't stopped some from making that pun [[Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle anyway]]. Also not to be confused with Film/{{Tár}}, in which an 'a' was replaced by 'á', and also it's not an acronym at all along with a regular viscous organic black liquid. (That is called "Tar".)

Not to be confused with AmazingFreakingGrace, though that hasn't stopped some from making that pun [[Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle anyway]].

* FailedASpotCheck: Exploited in the 2nd leg, when one task included a sign of additional directions.[[note]]Teams not only have to give the Detour money to the orphanage, they must also give ''all'' of their money in their posessions before checking in the Pit Stop.[[/note]] Eight of the eleven teams missed it and had to backtrack, causing the three who did notice to jump as many as seven places to the top of the standings.

* FailedASpotCheck: Exploited in Episode 2, when one task included a sign of additional directions that weren't in the clue. Eight of the eleven teams missed it and had to backtrack, causing the three who did notice to jump as many as seven places to the top of the standings.

* ProductPlacement: Season 6 would ''really'' like you to know they're sponsored by Isuzu. Early on, it almost became an occurrence OnceAnEpisode for the host to mention the prize was the money and two Isuzus...and then, the final shot was the winners with their cars while Beau advertised a casting call for the next Race.

* MixAndMatch: Travelogue Show + Reality Show.

* LaterInstallmentWeirdness: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, season 33 was the first season to use a chartered plane for travel instead of flying commercially.

* MixAndMatch: Travelogue Show + Reality Show

* SmallRoleBigImpact: ''The Amazing Race Asia 4'' is not as well-known as other international versions, but the tasks and locations were used as a template for many future seasons that would go on to be acclaimed: Hamerotz Lamillion 2, Australia 2, and 25 [[note]] Leg 9 was almost a replica of the final leg of Asia 4 [[/note]].

* OddlyNamedSequel: "Family Edition"

-->Contestant: The sky is blue.
-->Spy they were searching for: And the sea is green.

-->Contestant:The sky is blue
-->Spy they were searching for:And the sea is green

* RubberBandAI: For various reasons, production creates "equalizers"[[note]]spots like airports or locations with operating hours, where teams are all evened up equally[[/note]] or "bunching points"[[note]]spots like train or bus stations, charter buses and planes, or "take a number" tasks where teams are moved closer together or into groups, but not completely leveled out.[[/note]] usually involving operating hours or transport schedules, so no team gets too far ahead or behind: Logistically, it's easier to keep the crew in a single country at a time and you don't want to tie up locals in assisting/judging tasks for days on end. Dramatically, having wins or losses be a ForegoneConclusion every week is boring.[[note]]And in the American version, during the first season, a few teams got caught too far behind because of factors outside their control, resulting in the race becoming UnintentionallyUnwinnable[[/note]]

* WeWait: The producers are famous for subjecting the contestants to a variation of this trope (during equalizers. At the beginning of many legs of the Race, the first team to start the leg, no matter how far ahead they are, race to the airport to inevitably find that the first available flight to their destination doesn't leave for hours, well after all the other teams have caught up. Or they race to some local tourist trap that doesn't open until a specific time shown on a sign.

* WeWait:There are many equalizers (flights, operating hours, Intersection) that forces teams to wait, and allows trailing teams to catch up. Teams will usually camp out in front or snag a hotel room for the night.

* ProductPlacement: In Season 1, teams used an Interac debit card as currency(since the race took place only in Canada). Though most teams still withdrew paper money just in case.

* ''The Amazing Race Asia'': A race around the world (except for the Americas) open to English-speaking citizens of South, East, and Southeast Asia (Russia and Middle Eastern citizens not eligible), with a grand prize of US$100 thousand. It lasted four seasons, put on a hiatus in 2010 after the fourth season, then renewed for a fifth season in 2016.
* ''The Amazing Race: A Corrida Milionária'': A race around Brazil (and Chile) open solely to citizens of Brazil with a grand prize of 500 thousand Brazilian reais (about US$220 thousand). Only one season aired.

* ''[=HaMerotz LaMillion=]''[[note]]"The Race to the Million" in Hebrew[[/note]]: A race around the world (except the Americas, again) open to citizens of Israel with a grand prize of 1 million Israeli new shkalim (approximately US$277 thousand). The first three seasons ran the normal Race format, while the fourth had the largest cast in franchise history, with 14 teams, who were split up into two groups of seven. Each group ran a separate first leg, with a team being eliminated from each group, before meeting up to continue the race as a whole.

* ''The Amazing Race Latin America'': A race around Latin America and the Caribbean open solely to Spanish-speaking citizens of the region (except those from Cuba, French Guiana, Puerto Rico, and much of the Lesser Antillies; Jamaica and the Bahamas are okay though) with a grand prize of US$250 thousand. Six seasons have aired under differing titles[[note]]Season 1 and 2 were titled ''en Discovery Channel'', Season 4 was ''Edição Brasil'', and Season 6 was titled ''Ecuador'', for the country the race took place in.[[/note]].

* ''The Amazing Race Australia'': A race around the world open to Australian citizens, with a grand prize of A$250 thousand (approximately US$229 thousand). Two seasons aired, and after taking a year off and switching production companies, a third season, subtitled "Australia vs. New Zealand" aired in 2014. A fourth season premiered on Network Ten in 2019, with Beau Ryan hosting - although it only went around Australia during season 5 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it went back to being around the world for season 6.

* ''The Amazing Race Norge'' ("The Amazing Race Norway"): A race around the world (except for the Americas) open to Norwegian citizens, with a grand prize of 500 thousand Norwegian kroner (approximately US$82 thousand). Two seasons have aired.
* ''The Amazing Race Vietnam: Cuộc đua kỳ thú'': A race around Vietnam open to Vietnamese citizens, with a grand prize of 300 million Vietnamese đồng (the lowest pay out at just over US$14 thousand). The second season was a CelebrityEdition, while third season was a mix of celebrities and "fanatics."
* ''The Amazing Race Philippines'': A race around the UsefulNotes/{{Philippines}} open to Philippine residents, with a grand prize of 2 million Philippine pesos (approximately US$46 thousand). A unique aspect of the Race was its Philippine broadcast schedule, essentially shown every day of the week in half hour blocks Monday through Saturday, with a compilation episode shown Sundays. It is also notable for having a team break the "contacting people outside the Race" rule and receiving a 24-hour penalty. Two seasons have aired.

* ''Velyki perehony''[[note]]"Big Race" in Ukrainian[[/note]] ("The Amazing Race Ukraine"): A race around the world (except for the Americas) open to Ukranian citizens with a grand prize of 500 thousand Ukranian hryven' (approximately US$61 thousand). It lasted one season.
* ''The Amazing Race'' (France): A race around the world open to French citizens. It is the first international edition of the show to travel to the United States. The grand prize was €50 thousand (approximately US$65 thousand). It lasted one season.
* ''The Amazing Race Canada'': Open to Canadian citizens, and airs in summer to avoid schedule conflicts with simulcasts of the US edition. The grand prize is C$250 thousand (approximately US$240 thousand), and other assorted prizes (depending on the season). The first season only traveled within Canada, while the second season expanded to other countries.

* FakeBalance: The first nine seasons favored physically strong teams (the first four seasons especially so). It was exceedingly simple for fit teams to power their way through the race, waiting for fatigue to take out the smarter teams. However, since then the game has tilted more and more towards favoring intelligent teams, as (1) teams have learned that cardio is far more useful than brute strength, and started preparing accordingly, (2) while physical teams can still dominate and string wins together at the beginning of a season, they are put at a huge disadvantage late in the season when the puzzles and mental tasks get harder, while the strength tasks remain relatively the same, and (3) budgetary cuts at the beginning of Season 12 (see ScrewedByTheNetwork under the Trivia tab) forced production to shorten the race by two legs and a whole week of filming time. Though the twelfth leg would be added back in Season 14, the actual length of the race has remained around three weeks (as opposed to the month it took for the first eleven seasons), meaning the fatigue the teams are working under in the final leg is much less than it used to be. Since about season 20, it’s settled on being designed for teamwork and fitness, not so much intelligence.

* RealityShowGenreBlindness: The ol' "not being able to swim" situation popped up again. This time in the penultimate leg in Iceland, there were two swimming tasks and David and Aubree had to quit because he couldn't complete the leg.

Eleven teams of two people[[note]]Though four seasons have featured twelve teams (Seasons 3, 4, 10, and 15), while Season 8 featured ten teams of four[[/note]] go on a journey around the world, following clues and performing tasks in order to find their way to the designated Pit Stops; the last team to arrive is usually (but not always) eliminated.

%%* CriticalResearchFailure: If there are subtitles in a foreign language, such as Vietnamese text that contestants are speaking for a challenge, it's anyone's bet as to how accurate they'll be. For example, in the aforementioned Vietnamese example, ''no'' accent marks were included and several consonants like "nh-" were respelled to be pronouncable in English, in that care to "ny-".

'''Destinations:''' Patsch, Austria / Innsbruck, Austria / Bologna, Italy / Florence, Italy / Aqaba, Jordan / Petra, Jordan / Amman, Jordan / Toulouse, France / Les Eyzies, France / Domme, France / Malaga, Spain / Ronda, Spain / Reykjavik, Iceland / Hrunamannahreppur, Iceland

->'''Start:''' Nymphenburg Palace, Munich, Germany