Why Did Team Blue Leave Relative Race Season 4

The competitors from season four of "Relative Race" pose for a photo with host Dan Debenham.

Provided by BYUtv

PROVO — Season four of "Relative Race," which premiered on BYUtv on Sept. 16, focuses more on the "relative" and less on the "race."

If you haven't seen "Relative Race," here's a quick explanation: four two-person teams race around the country completing challenges and meeting lost relatives. At the beginning of each day, the teams receive an approximate time for how long it should take them to complete the day's challenge and travel to meet their relatives.

The moment the teams reconnect with their family members, the clock stops. The team that finishes with the worst time loses the round and receives a strike. Three strikes send a team home. At the end of the season, the last team standing receives a grand prize of $50,000.

"I think last season was amazing, and I think this season is even better," said Andra Duke, director of content at BYUtv, about the show's fourth season. "Just in terms of the interaction, the gameplay, the relatives and the people that the teams meet up with, it's just an amazing season and I think the audience is gonna love it."

Family connections

The team behind "Relative Race" changed several aspects of the show for season four to put more emphasis on the family connections. According to Clint Bishop, director of marketing at BYUtv, the changes came to give fans more of what they love.

"We ask (the fans), what's your favorite part of the show? Is it the travel? Is it the challenges? Is it the racing part? Is it the connection?" Bishop said. "Everyone really resonates with the connection."

In previous seasons, the race ended when competitors took a selfie with their newfound family members. In season four, the race ends when teams meet their family members — no selfie required — to help teams connect to their family members more quickly and avoid potential awkwardness.

"When they're trying to get there for race purposes, and they have to … get the selfie, it totally stunts that moment when the focus is about who's they're meeting and what their connection is," Duke said. "I think this is a much stronger moment for the core of the show. Even though it's a challenge show at its heart, it's all about family and family connectivity."

Bishop cited the example of Michael Anderson, a competitor who met his biological mother for the first time on season three of "Relative Race."

"(Anderson) walked up the steps, and before he's even up the steps, she says, 'Michael, I'm your mother,' and he just runs up to her and literally picks her off of the ground," Bishop said. "And I just look at that as such a beautiful, amazing moment, and I'm glad he missed the selfie. I'm glad he didn't say, 'Wait a second, I know you're my biological mom, but I've got to get a picture with you.'"

The team behind "Relative Race" also noticed that, in previous seasons, two challenges daily gave competitors less time to spend with their relatives at the end of the day. In season four, competitors only complete one challenge per day before meeting their relatives.

"One of the challenges with doing two challenges for each team is that sometimes it can lead to delayed arrival times by the teams," Bishop said. "Those teams who reach the relative and the relatives have a fun activity planned, a lot of times they're unable to do the fun activity because it took longer than the the team wanted to complete their second challenge."

'A monumental task'

Season four of "Relative Race" is unique as it's the first time BYUtv has released two seasons of the show in one year. According to Bishop, the show's fan base and support have grown exponentially, as has their demand for more content.

"It takes months and months and months to do all the casting, to look into their genealogy, to do the testing, to contact the relatives, to line up the route, to create the challenges, to film it and to edit it," Bishop said. "It is a monumental task to do one season a year. (The fans) said, 'We couldn't get enough,' and we said, 'We'll give it to you.'"

"Relative Race" social media pages also provide additional, behind-the-scenes content for fans who want more of the show. Ultimately, Bishop said, the goal of the content is to unite both families on the show and families at home.

"My personal joy comes from seeing people send us photos of them watching as families, as multigenerational families," Bishop said. "It really is a show about families and we're really grateful that it's resonated with families. The message of the show is how much family means."

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Source: https://www.deseret.com/2018/9/22/20654051/it-s-all-about-family-relative-race-season-4-highlights-connection-over-competition

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