Could 'Amazing Race' Return To Two Seasons A Year Schedule?

There's good news for fans of "The Amazing Race," as CBS has officially renewed the reality competition series for another season.

According to a press release from the network, the long-running series, which wrapped its 30th season in February, is among 11 others which were given a pickup, meaning it is expected to return for more episodes in the future. The question on fans minds, of course, will be whether or not the series stays off the air until 2019 and doesn't debut Season 31 until then, or if the show will return to a format which saw two seasons air each calendar year.

The first 28 seasons of the show aired with the two per year format, with one airing during the fall and one in the spring. However, things changed with Season 29, which aired more than a year after Season 28 concluded. Similarly, Season 30 aired roughly six months after 29 ended.

The show seemed to receive the reduced episode counts due to declining ratings. According to TV Series Finale, Season 28 in Spring 2016 earned an average 1.05 rating and was 10.54 percent down from the year prior. Viewers were also down three percent. Season 29 saw even worse numbers, earning an average 0.83 rating and a 21 percent decrease. Those viewer numbers also went down 28.59 percent as well.

However, Season 30 saw a turnaround for the show, with ratings jumping to a 1.15 average, and an increase of 38.45 percent. The viewer numbers also saw a significant jump of nearly 37 percent over the prior season. If CBS decides the show can sustain those ratings over two seasons a year, they could bring the series back to that format.

There hasn't been anything stated about the planned scheduled for the 2018-2019 season outside of the renewal announcements just yet, so it's unclear what the network will decide overall. However, in an interview back in January, host Phil Keoghan revealed that he felt there was a chance the show could film two more seasons in 2018 and credited the jump in ratings to both the scheduling change –it appeared on Wednesday nights for the first time in Season 30—and the absence over the better part of a year for making fans hungrier for the show.

"The planets have aligned for us a little bit. We've got the Wednesday night timeslot, and I think the show, not having been on as much, I think also gave us an opportunity to come back fresh," he told Reality Blurred at the time.

He also said he was certain that if they filmed two race cycles this year, that it seemed more likely the show would return to a normal schedule.

"There's no doubt what's going to happen—if we shoot two races this year, they'll more than likely shoot in the summer and next winter, because we just finished shooting in the winter," he said. "On the normal schedule. I have a feeling we're going to go back to a normal schedule. CBS is very happy. Never say never, but I know this season is a good season, and we've got some great stuff coming up. We know we've got great stuff to share with the audience. Then you're like, okay, fingers crossed they'll stay with us."