Paramount Press Express | CBS ANNOUNCES THE CAST OF THE NEXT EDITION OF “THE AMAZING RACE”

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Release

01/20/2015

CBS ANNOUNCES THE CAST OF THE NEXT EDITION OF “THE AMAZING RACE”

For the First Time Ever, the 10-Time Emmy Award-Winning Series to Feature
All Dating Duos - Existing Couples and Singles Set Up On “Blind Dates”

Racers Include New Kids on the Block Member Jonathan Knight and
Olympic Medalists Aly Dudek and Steven Langton

New “Date Night” Reward Is Introduced

Click Here to Meet the Teams

“The Amazing Race” Kicks Off with a Special 90-Minute Premiere on
Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 9:30 PM, Following the Season Premiere of “Survivor”

The Race Travels to Its Regular Time Period on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8:00 PM

CBS announced today the 11 teams racing around the globe for the opportunity to win the $1 million dollar prize, on a special season of THE AMAZING RACE. This season will feature 11 new teams of all dating duos with a twist: six who are preexisting couples, and five duos who will meet for the very first time at the starting line when they are set up on the most extreme blind date ever. THE AMAZING RACE rounds out a night of reality television when it premieres with a 90-minute episode on Wednesday, Feb. 25 (9:30-11:00 PM, ET/PT), following the premiere of SURVIVOR (8:00-9:30 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The Race moves to its regular time period on Friday, Feb. 27 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT). Phil Keoghan (@philkeoghan) is the host.

“Usually we have people who know each other really well. In this particular case, we have five blind dates and six regular dates,”said Bertram van Munster, Co-Creator and Executive Producer of THE AMAZING RACE. “Going on a blind date to a restaurant is one thing, but going on a blind date around the world is like rolling the dice in a big way,”

The preexisting dating teams traveling around the world include New Kids on the Block member Jonathan Knight and his partner Harley Rodriguez, and Olympic medalists Aly Dudek and Steven Langton. Dudek won bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in short track speed skating and Langton won two bronze medals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in bobsledding. Those being set up on the blind dates of a lifetime include a Navy physician and a registered nurse and two lawyers.

The couple’s relationships will be tested right from the starting line as they navigate a muddy obstacle course before jetting off to Tokyo, Japan. The course will continue through Bangkok, Namibia, Monaco, and more, spanning five continents, eight countries and more than 35,000 miles.

The dating teams will also have an opportunity throughout the race to win the all-new “Date Night” reward. This allows one lucky couple to enjoy a one-on-one romantic activity, such as a steamy evening at a hot springs resort in Nagano, Japan, or star-gazing at the Bavarian Public Observatory in Munich, Germany.

The Preexisting Dating Couples:

Name: Aly Dudek

Age: 24

Hometown: Milwaukee, Wis.

Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: Olympic Athlete

*won bronze at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics in short track speed skating

Name: Steven Langton

Age: 31

Hometown: Boston, Mass.

Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: Olympic Athlete

*won 2 bronze medals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in bobsledding

Length of relationship: 7 months

Name: Harley Rodriguez

Age: 41

Hometown: New York, N.Y.

Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: Group Fitness Trainer

Name: Jonathan Knight (@JonathanRKnight)

Age: 46

Hometown: New York, N.Y.

Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: Entertainer (New Kids on the Block member)

Length of relationship: 7 years

Name: Jeff Magee
Age: 57
Hometown: McCall, Idaho
Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: Airline Pilot

Name: Lyda Grawn

Age: 49

Hometown: Scottsdale, Ariz.

Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: Flight Attendant

Length of relationship: Known 20 years, dating 4 years

Name: C.J. Harris

Age: 26

Hometown: Tuskegee, Ala.

Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: IT Technician

Name: Lebya Simpson

Age: 25

Hometown: Tuskegee, Ala.

Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: Medical Support Assistant

Length of Relationship: Known for 15 years, dating for 10

Name: Matt Cucolo

Age: 30

Hometown: Scarsdale, N.Y.

Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: Hairstylist

Name: Ashley Gordon

Age: 28

Hometown: Scarsdale, N.Y.

Connection to your teammate: Dating

Occupation: Hairstylist

Length of Relationship: Known 10 years, dating 3 years

Name: Rochelle Nevedal

Age: 29

Hometown: Kalkaska, Mich.

Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: Contract Engineer

Name: Michael Dombrowski

Age: 26

Hometown: Traverse City, Mich.

Relationship Status: Dating

Occupation: Truck Stop Manager/Pro Wrestling Promoter

Length of Relationship: 2 years

The Blind Date Couples:

Name: Hayley Keel

Age: 28

Hometown: St. Petersburg, Fla.

Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Registered Nurse

Name: Blair Townsend

Age: 31

Hometown: Jacksonville, Fla.

Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Navy Physician

Name: Jackie Ibarra

Age: 27

Hometown: Las Vegas, Nev.

Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Professional Dancer

Name: Jeffrey Weldon
Age: 26
Hometown: Tampa, Fla.
Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Account Executive/Sales

Name: Laura Pierson
Age: 29
Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.
Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Talent Booker

Name: Tyler Adams
Age: 26
Hometown: Santa Monica, Calif.
Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Mobile App Developer

Name: Jenny Wu

Age: 32

Hometown: Los Angeles, Calif.

Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Blogger and Lawyer

Name: Jelani Roy
Age: 32
Hometown: New York, N.Y.
Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Lawyer

Name: Bergen Olson

Age: 23

Hometown: Sunnyvale, Calif.

Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Human Resources Project Manager

Name: Kurt Jordan Belcher
Age: 24
Hometown: Butler, Ky.
Relationship Status: Single

Occupation: Pageant Consultant

CHEAT TWEET: Dating couples compete on #AmazingRace! Special night Wed. Feb. 25 9:30pmET! How will the #BlindDate couples do? http://bit.ly/1KYK7RL

THE AMAZING RACE, 10-time Emmy Award Winner for Outstanding Reality-Competition Series, sends 11 teams on a trek around the world. At every destination, each team competes in a series of challenges — some mental and some physical — and when the tasks have been completed, they learn their next destination. Teams who are farthest behind will gradually be eliminated as the contest progresses, with the first team to arrive at the final destination winning at least $1 million.

Jerry Bruckheimer, Bertram van Munster, Jonathan Littman, Elise Doganieri and Mark Vertullo are the executive producers for Jerry Bruckheimer Television and Earthview Inc. in association with ABC Studios and Amazing Race Productions. THE AMAZING RACE was created by Bertram van Munster and Elise Doganieri.

For more detailed information on THE AMAZING RACE and the Racers’ bios, log on to http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/.

Photos are available on www.cbspressexpress.com

Website: www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race/

Facebook: www.facebook.com/amazingrace

Twitter: www.twitter.com/amazingrace_cbs

CBS Tweet: http://twitter.com/#!/CBSTweet

Phil Keoghan: https://twitter.com/PhilKeoghan

Bertram van Munster: https://twitter.com/BvMProfilesTV

Elise Doganieri: https://twitter.com/EliseDoganieri

* * *

Press Contacts:

Mason Mallory 818-655-1596 mallory.mason@cbs.com