How The Amazing Race 29 could lead to Amazing Race 30, much more

In just six days, The Amazing Race 29 will premiere on CBS — and we’re still left with giant question marks over The Amazing Race 30 and the franchise beyond that.

Typically, when CBS opts to renew the franchise, it receives two more seasons. According to Reality Blurred, there were originally plans to cast and film The Amazing Race 30 — which could have been an all-star season — at some point at the end of last year. This did not happen, and the future of the entire franchise was put on hold.

Now, there are legitimate fears that season 29 could be the last. It’s being thrown on Thursday nights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern time, otherwise known as a timeslot that’s already killed both Training Day and Pure Genius this season. This is a family show, and this is somewhat outside of the typical family timeslots. Will parents and kids stay up to 11:00 on the East and West Coast in order to watch it? Has it been promoted long enough in order for casual viewers to know it’s even on the air? Both are fair questions.

With all of this said, there is a path that could get the show a season 30, or maybe even beyond that. It all starts with the demo ratings.

Let’s talk comparisons

Earlier this fall, Pure Genius averaged around a 0.9 rating in the 18-49 demographic. Meanwhile, Training Day brought in on average a 0.8. If The Amazing Race 29 can average a 1.0 or so in the demo, it may have a chance of coming back in this spot for a season 30. What else is CBS going to put there that performs better? They’ve already tried a number of different shows, and very few of them worked. Remember the Rush Hour revival attempt from the spring?

The last time the Race aired on CBS, it was back during season 28 when it scored on average a 1.1 rating. That was when the show was on Fridays, a night that produced many red flags of its own. If the show did draw that sort of rating in that timeslot, we have to think that it’s certainly possible we could see it end up getting at least close to that on Thursdays, even with the layoff and with the quick turnaround to the premiere.

What you can do

Watch The Amazing Race 29 live or on CBS.com / All Access, and tell your friends to do the same! It’s a fun, fast-paced show that features great competition and celebrates diversity and the world around us. In this particular time of divisiveness, we like to think this is more important than ever.

To receive some further news on The Amazing Race 29 and its cast, head over to the link here. (Photo: CBS.)