‘The Amazing Race’ Season 34 Teams Weren’t Allowed to Communicate Outside of Challenges
The Amazing Race Season 34 cast consists of a new group of teams racing around the world for the $1 million grand prize. CBS has already aired the first two legs of the season, and since there are no non-elimination legs this season, two pairs have been sent packing. And the lastest eliminated duo revealed they weren’t permitted to speak to other teams outside of filming.
Rex and Tim were the second team eliminated from ‘The Amazing Race’ Season 34
In The Amazing Race Season 34 Episode 2, the contestants had to drive from Munich, Germany, to Austria. And, of course, some teams got lost along the way. When they arrived at the Roadblock, one team member had to sing three Alpine yodels and perform a simple dance.
After the Roadblock, teams traveled to Innsbruck, where they experienced the season’s first Detour. They had to choose between Partners Swingin’ or Bells Ringin’. If they picked Partners Swingin’, they would have to perform a traditional Austrian wedding dance. And if they selected Bells Ringin’, they had to play a classic Austrian folk song using bells.
Once the teams completed one of the tasks, they received their next clue and headed to the pit stop.
Unfortunately, Rex Ryan and Tim Mann were the last to arrive. And host Phil Keoghan informed them they had been eliminated from The Amazing Race Season 34.
The duo revealed how much communication they had with other teams
During an interview with Parade, Rex discussed how his “celebrity status” affected his relationship with other groups.
“We knew that would be our strength. Unfortunately, they don’t allow you to really mingle with the team until you’re racing,” the former NFL coach explained. “So you’re not allowed to really talk until you’re in a race event. That’s the only time you can talk. Even after the race, they don’t let you talk. So you had to kind of build relationships quickly. And we did!”
Rex continued, “We knew Marcus and Michael [Craig] were our guys; there was no question about that. We hit it off with them. And then some of the other groups, they’re all really nice, super friendly. I was by far and away the oldest person there. So there was a little generational gap. But it really didn’t matter. Everybody was really nice.”
Rex isn’t the only cast member to claim that teams weren’t allowed to communicate. Aastha Lal and Nina Duong, who were the victims of the first leg, also told Parade about the minimal communication.
“We were thinking of forming alliances later in the race,” Aastha revealed. “We wanted to form alliances with Abby [Garrett] and Will [Freeman] and Derek [Xiao] and Claire [Rehfuss]. But in the beginning, no one was allowed to talk to each other.”
Why did the producers prohibit the cast of ‘The Amazing Race’ Season 34 from communicating?
Production likely limited the contact between the cast of The Amazing Race Season 34 for safety reasons regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. But they also probably didn’t want them communicating outside of the race because of season 32.
Five teams formed an alliance called the Mine Five in The Amazing Race Season 32. They helped one another during the legs and even shared answers. This resulted in total dominance of the show, and all teams made it to the final five.
Many fans were outraged by the alliance. They deemed it cheating and that the five teams shouldn’t have been allowed to help one another. And the public outcry likely led to limited communication between the teams in the current season.
The Amazing Race Season 34 airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.
