The Amazing Race 15 is the fifteenth season of the American reality competition show The Amazing Race. Hosted by Phil Keoghan, it featured twelve teams of two, each with a pre-existing relationship, competing in a race around the world in order to win US$1,000,000. This season visited three continents and nine countries and traveled over 25,000 miles (40,000 km). Starting in Los Angeles, racers traveled through Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the United Arab Emirates, the Netherlands, Sweden, Estonia, and the Czech Republic before finishing in Las Vegas. New twists introduced in this season include the starting line task and elimination and the Switchback, a recreation of a notable task from a previous season. The season premiered on CBS on Sunday, September 27, 2009, with a two-hour premiere, and the finale aired on December 6, 2009.
Beneath the Sixth Street Viaduct on the Los Angeles River between Downtown Los Angeles and the Boyle Heights neighborhood, teams began The Amazing Race 15.
After arriving in Tokyo, teams gathered at a television studio at the base of the Tokyo Tower to compete in a Japanese game show for the Roadblock.
The Speed Bump for this leg had Maria & Tiffany preparing a traditional Vietnamese soup, phở, while in Cái Bè.
Teams ended the second leg in Ho Chi Minh City at the Reunification Palace, which was once the seat of power in former South Vietnam.
The Amazing Race (American TV series)
The Amazing Race is an American reality competition show in which teams of two race around the world. Each season is split into legs, with each leg requiring teams to deduce clues, navigate themselves in foreign areas, interact with locals, perform physical and mental challenges, and travel by airplane, boat, taxi, and other public transportation options on a limited budget provided by the show. Teams are progressively eliminated at the end of most legs, while the first team to arrive at the end of the final leg wins the grand prize of US$1 million. As the original version of the Amazing Race franchise, the CBS program has been running since September 5, 2001. Numerous international versions have been developed following the same core structure, while the American version is also broadcast to several other countries.
Co-creator Elise Doganieri
Phil Keoghan, the host of The Amazing Race
Four teams from four different seasons. Clockwise from top left: best friends Danny & Oswald of Season 2, married parents Kim & Chip of Season 5, brothers Gerard & Ken of Season 3, and dating couple Lori & David of Season 9.
A slot machine based on The Amazing Race that was first installed in casinos in 2010.