The Amazing Race 13 is the 13th installment of the reality television competition series The Amazing Race. It features 11 teams of two, each with a preexisting relationship, in a race around the world.
The series is part of the fall line-up for 2008-09 season and premiered Sundays at 8 p.m. ET/PT starting on September 28, 2008.
CBS had originally planned to only air one installment of The Amazing Race (Season 12) in the 2007-08 season, but due to the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike, CBS ordered a 13th installment as a replacement for programs affected by the strike. CBS greenlit the 13th installment on December 9, 2007. Race locations were scouted in January 2008 and filming took place between April and May 2008.
Filming for the The Amazing Race 13 lasted for 23 days and covered nearly 40,000 miles. The season spanned eight countries in five continents, and visited some far-flung locales never before seen on the show, including Bolivia, Cambodia, and Kazakhstan. Brazil, New Zealand, India, and Russia were also listed as race destinations.
According to CBS, one team made “an unprecedented mistake that ultimately prohibit[ed] them from joining their fellow Racers at the finish line,” thus making them the third team in the show’s history—after Season 1′s Joe & Bill and Season 4′s David & Jeff—to not be present at the finish line.
Cast
Applications for The Amazing Race 13 were due on November 27, 2007. Semi-finalist interviews were held in December 2007 and January 2008 and final casting interviews took place in February 2008, in Los Angeles, California.
The cast featured a pair of fraternity brothers, a team of married hippies, and a separated couple hoping to reconnect while on the Race.
Marketing
CBS heavily promoted the new season, including placing advertising on the top of three hangar buildings at Los Angeles International Airport prior to the premiere. Unlike other seasons, CBS has provided a location map to viewers of where the Race will be traveling prior to the start of the season.
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