From USA Today:
The Amazing Race is always known for its diverse group of contestants, but the reality show wins extra points for its 10th season due this fall.
Among the 12 teams competing in the new season (moving to Sundays at 8 ET/PT) are the show's first Muslims (best friends from Cleveland), first Indians (a Florida couple) and first Chinese contestants (brothers from San Francisco), along with the first amputee (a woman who competed in the Iron Man triathlon) and first father/lesbian daughter duo.
The 28-day, 40,000-mile course begins in Seattle, moves quickly to Beijing and includes stops in Kuwait, Mongolia, Madagascar and Vietnam, all of which presented challenges to producers and therefore contestants.
"We sent them head-first into the toughest possible areas," says executive producer Jonathan Littman. "It really threw them for a loop."
Race's eighth-season family edition last fall was a failed experiment that "did some damage to us (in the ratings), there's no question about it," says creator Bertram van Munster, and won't be back. Whether the show will remains to be seen: CBS has yet to order an 11th edition that would air next spring.