Why ‘Amazing Race’ Season 32 May Have Been Delayed

“Amazing Race” fans were dealt a cruel blow on Wednesday when it was announced that the show’s planned premiere date for Season 32 had been scrapped and the show was pushed to an undisclosed later date. Now, many are wondering why the show they love is once again getting pushed off the CBS schedule.

After news broke that CBS had pulled the show from its May 20 premiere date, fans quickly took to social media to vent their frustrations with the network for consistently treating the veteran show (which first aired in 2001), like it was expendable, and by default, putting fans through the wringer when it came to seeing new episodes of the series.

CBS, why do you treat Amazing Race and it’s fans so badly? S-31 was compressed into multiple double episodes. S-32 was filmed in Fall 2018 and will be nearly two years old when it finally airs. Fans will have waited nearly 1.5 years. You takes us for granted & treat us like crap.
— Jay Spradlin (@JaySpradlin) April 30, 2020

Getting real tired of CBS not airing Amazing Race and continuing to push season 32 airing back 🙄
— John Bartee (@jmbartee) April 30, 2020

This is dumb. What did amazing race ever do to you to always be treated like this, @CBS?
— tay (@taytayay921) April 30, 2020

However, while the news is certainly annoying for fans to deal with, there could be more than a few reasons behind CBS’s move, which was not revealed. Here are all the reasons why the show may have been delayed.

Better Fit On Summer Schedule

Along with the announcement that the show was being delayed, CBS did announce that Phil Keoghan’s new show, “Tough As Nails,” was set to premiere on the network on Wednesday, July 8. If the network wants to guarantee viewers for the new show, bringing in those who may already be fans of Keoghan from “TAR” would make sense. As a result, they may choose to air both shows he is involved in together, affectively giving fans a doubled-up amount of Phil.

COVID-19 Affected Schedule

CBS and other networks have been left scrambling on several fronts with their programming because of the effects COVID-19 has had on their ability to produce new episodes of both live and pre-taped shows. Not only has the network run out of new episodes of their daytime dramas “The Young and the Restless” and “The Bold and the Beautiful,” but a continued shutdown on sets has led to other shows ending early. In addition, other summer shows like “Big Brother” could be at risk is they are unable to bring a cast together to film.

CBS is not sabotaging TAR! CBS is probably looking at their summer and fall schedules and will have hardly any new episodes of their scripted programs! Also, there probably won’t be a Big Brother season!
— Susan (@Suzl4) April 29, 2020

If shows like “Big Brother” or the other new popular CBS summer show “Love Island” are unable to film episodes or air due to the shutdowns in production, the network may need to put something on air to replace them that will also attract the audience its reality competition series usually tend to draw. In that case, a pre-taped season of “Amazing Race” would fit the bill.

Season 33 Taping Delay

COVID-19 had a direct impact on “TAR” when Season 33 was forced to shut down production, which could also play a role in the network’s decision to pull the show. Since going to a one-season cycle each year in Season 29, the time between filming and premiere dates for each subsequent season has not been standard. Seasons 29 and 31 both premiered just shy of a year from when they started taping, while Season 30 premiered just three months later. While Season 32 has officially been on the shelf the longest, the show has always been able to film new episodes not long after the previous season aired. With the ability to resume filming uncertain due to the ongoing pandemic, the show may have been pulled so as to avoid an even longer break between seasons later.