You probably noticed something felt a little "off" when you sat down to watch The Amazing Race Season 36 in 2024. If you’re a die-hard fan of the show, you likely caught the vibe shifts. The charter plane was back. The routes stayed strictly in the Americas.
Honestly, it felt like a time capsule.
That’s because it was. While this season aired as the 36th installment, it was actually filmed before Season 35. It sat on a shelf at CBS for well over a year. Why? Because the TV world got messy. Between the 2023 writers' strike and a sudden demand for 90-minute reality blocks, CBS decided to shuffle the deck. They aired the more "modern" Season 35 first and saved this one—filmed way back in October and November of 2022—for later.
The Weird Reality of the "New" Old Season
Basically, we traveled back in time to the tail end of the COVID era.
If you were looking for the chaos of teams sprinting through airports or begging locals for help with flight bookings, you didn't find it here. Season 36 relied on that white-and-blue Global Crossing Airlines Airbus A320.
Teams weren't fighting for tickets; they were flying together.
This creates a specific type of race. When everyone lands at the same time, the "navigation drama" happens on the ground in rental cars. You've probably seen teams get hopelessly lost in the Dominican Republic or Mexico because their GPS (or lack thereof) failed them. It’s a different kind of pressure.
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Why the 90-Minute Episodes Felt Different
CBS forced this season into a 90-minute format, but it was originally shot and paced for 60 minutes. You can tell. Sometimes the episodes felt a bit... thin? There was a lot of footage of people just walking or talking in cars.
But for some of us, that's the good stuff.
You actually got to see the relationship dynamics. You saw how Ricky Rotandi and Cesar Aldrete—the eventual winners—maintained a level of calm that was almost eerie. Seriously, they were like machines. They won seven out of eleven legs. In the history of the show, that’s an absolutely insane track record. Most teams have at least one "meltdown" leg. Ricky and Cesar? Not really.
The Most Controversial Moment: Angie and Danny
We have to talk about the Walla Walla duo.
Danny and Angie Butler were the heart of the season for a lot of people. They were superfans. Danny knew the game inside and out. But then came the Barbados leg. This is the stuff of nightmares for contestants.
They lost their camera crew.
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In The Amazing Race, you cannot move without your production team. If your crew car gets stuck in traffic or loses you, you have to stop. Danny and Angie ended up waiting for over an hour. By the time they were "allowed" to continue, they were in last place. It wasn't because they were slow. It wasn't because they failed a task. It was a technicality.
Phil Keoghan had to do that "tough love" thing at the Pit Stop. It was brutal to watch. A lot of fans still think they got a raw deal, especially since they were such a strong, likable team.
A Route Through the Americas
Since the world was still technically shaking off travel restrictions in late 2022, the route stayed close to home. But that doesn't mean it was boring.
- Mexico: Starting in Puerto Vallarta with Mexican rodeos and wrestling.
- Colombia: Paragliding in Medellín and climbing the 740 steps of El Peñol in Guatapé.
- Chile & Argentina: Rally car racing and high-altitude stress.
- Uruguay & Barbados: New territory for the show, including a visit to Rihanna's childhood home.
- Dominican Republic: Swimming through waterfalls before the final dash.
The finale took place in Philadelphia. It was a classic "memory" finale. You've seen these before—teams have to recall specific details from previous legs to get their final clue. Juan Villa and Shane Bilek, the military pilots, gave it a hell of a run, but they couldn't catch Ricky and Cesar.
What We Learned from Season 36
Honestly, this season proved that the "no non-elimination legs" rule changes the math.
When you know there's no safety net, you race differently. There's more anxiety. You saw it with teams like Sunny and Bizzy, the firefighter moms. They were tough as nails but struggled with some of the technical navigation and tasks. Without a non-elimination leg to save them, one bad day meant they were heading home to Wisconsin.
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The Success of "The Unstoppables"
Ricky and Cesar didn't just win; they dominated.
They finished in the top three for every single leg. That doesn't happen by accident. Their secret was basically "social navigation." They were friendly, they shared information when it didn't hurt them, and they never let the stress of the race break their communication.
Contrast that with Amber and Vinny. They were strong, but their bickering was a major plot point. It’s hard to win a million dollars when you’re arguing about which exit to take off a roundabout.
How to Apply These "Race" Lessons to Real Life
Even if you aren't planning on running through a foreign city with a 30-pound backpack, there's stuff to take away here.
- Communication is the only thing that matters. If you look at the successful teams in Season 36, they didn't scream. They checked in. "Are you okay? Do you need a break? What are we doing next?"
- Adaptability beats strength. Rod Gardner was a former NFL wide receiver. He's an elite athlete. But he and Leticia finished third. Why? Because the race isn't a 40-yard dash. It's a puzzle.
- Prepare for the "Technical Error." Life is going to lose your "camera crew" sometimes. You’ll do everything right and still get stuck behind a metaphorical traffic jam. How you handle that wait defines your character more than the win does.
If you're looking to dive deeper into the franchise, you might want to compare this to Season 35. You'll see exactly how much the "airport drama" changes the pacing of the show. For now, Season 36 stands as a weird, delayed, but ultimately fascinating look at a show—and a world—trying to find its footing again.
To get the most out of your next binge-watch, try tracking the teams' navigation errors on a map as you watch. You'll realize that most of the million-dollar mistakes happen in the first five minutes of leaving a Pit Stop, not at the actual challenges.