The new season of The Amazing Race will have a romantic twist to it. Six of the teams will be couples already dating, while the other five teams are blind dates.
Each blind date team is made up of two competitors who have never seen each other before they reach the starting line. It’s a unique twist, since the show is usually built on the preexisting relationships between teammates, which are put to the test in the competitions.
“Usually we have people who know each other really well. In this particular case, we have five blind dates and six regular dates,” Bertram van Munster, Co-Creator and Executive Producer, said in a statement. “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 teams will feature a few famous faces, including New Kids on the Block member Jonathan Knight. He better reach the finish line soon so he can prepare for the group’s tour. Knight is paired with Harley Rodriguez, who he has been dating for seven years.
Winter Olympics medalists Aly Dudek and Steve Langton, who have been dating for seven months, will also compete as a team.
Here are the 11 Amazing Race teams:
Preexisting Couples:
Aly Dudek & Steve Langton (Olympic medalists)
Harley Rodriguez (group fitness trainer) & Jonathan Knight (NKOTB member)
Jeff Magee (airline pilot) & Lyda Grawn (flight attendant)
C.J. Harris (IT technician) & Lebya Simpson (medical support assistant)
Madd Cucolo & Ashley Gordon (hairstylists)
Rochelle Nevedal (contract engineer) & Michael Dombrowski (truck stop manager/pro wrestling promoter)
Blind Dates
Hayley Keel (nurse) & Blair Townsend (navy physician)
Jackie Ibarra (dancer) & Jeffrey Weldon (account executive/sales)
Laura Pierson (talent booker) & Tyler Adams (mobile app developer)
Jenny Wu (blogger/lawyer) & Jelani Roy (lawyer)
Bergen Olson (human resources project manager) & Kurt Jordan Belcher (pageant consultant)
The Amazing Race premieres on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 9:30 p.m. and shifts to its regular time on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8 p.m.