Channel Ten has abruptly pulled the brakes on The Amazing Race Australia for 2026, reversing earlier commitments that had positioned the long-running reality franchise as a key part of the network’s upcoming slate.
The decision marks a significant backflip from messaging delivered to advertisers and media just months earlier, when Paramount Australia executives publicly confirmed the program would return with another celebrity focused season in 2026.
A Network Ten spokesperson confirmed the surprise decision today stating that the series will not proceed as previously planned, citing production challenges.
“We’ve been working on another brilliant new season of The Amazing Race Australia,
but due to several factors, including travel logistics,
it will not be part of our 2026 program schedule.”
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The spokesperson stressed the show had not been cancelled outright, describing the move as a temporary pause. The network also confirmed host Beau Ryan would remain part of the Network Ten on-air family.
The announcement has surprised industry observers given the confidence previously expressed at the Paramount Australia 2026 Upfronts, held in November 2025 at Dreamworld. At that event, executives framed The Amazing Race as an important part of the broadcaster’s forward strategy.
The emotional win by Stephen and Bernard Curry in The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition capped off a season packed with drama, controversy and heart. (image – Channel 10)
Tamara Simoneau, Vice President of Content at Paramount Australia, categorised the franchise as one of the network’s “returning comfort shows”, telling attendees it was central to a “heavy reality fix” designed to anchor primetime across a 50 week broadcast schedule.
Appearing alongside executives at the event, Ryan indicated production was imminent, telling the room he was “itching to top up those frequent flyer points” and would soon be heading overseas with a new cast of celebrity racers.
That optimism now stands in contrast to the network’s revised position. Sources have claimed casting preparations for the 2026 season were already underway when production was halted, intensifying questions about the timing of the decision.
Speaking today with the Daily Mail Australia, Ryan acknowledged the scale and complexity of the program, suggesting the pause was necessary to protect its quality.
“It’s a job that I’ve loved since the first day in the role,
and it’s something that I get really excited about,
but if it means we have to push it back to get the product right in terms of number of eps, correct countries, correct casting, then, so be it.”
“I love it at 10,
and I love my role
and, hopefully, it just means it goes bigger, better and longer.”
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The reversal has also sparked speculation about how Network Ten may fill the unexpected gap in its 2026 schedule. Industry chatter suggests the broadcaster could look to commission an additional season of Australian Survivor or returning franchise The Traitors which has become hugely successful internationally.
While Network Ten has emphasised that The Amazing Race has merely been “rested”, the sudden shift from its earlier Upfronts messaging highlights the tightening budget pressures and increasingly uncertain nature of commercial free-to-air television scheduling — even for programs presented as locked into future line-ups.
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