AXN unleashes exclusive social series for ‘The Amazing Race Asia Season 5’

MANILA, Philippines – It’s billed as the race like no other and now "The Amazing Race Asia Season 5" will give die-hard fans unprecedented access to the racers throughout the series via multiple social platforms.

The region’s number one general entertainment channel, "The Amazing Race Asia Season 5" is a socially charged, thrilling adventure where viewers can interact with the 11 fearless teams during each episode. It premiered last Thursday at 9 p.m. on AXN.

Tears, triumphs, twists and turns, the racers will candidly share their experiences via their own team hashtags as the drama unfolds on screen each week. Celebrity host Allan Wu (#TARAAllan), and his new co-host, Indonesian movie star Tara Basro (#TARATBasro) will also chat with fans.

“For this season we had a dedicated social content crew physically running the race with the teams to capture all the behind-the-scenes fun and drama,” said Virginia Lim, senior vice president and head of content, production and marketing of Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia.

“We want our viewers to fully escape into the crazy world of ‘The Amazing Race Asia’ and experience the emotional journey the racers go through. Season 5 truly bridges the gap between the linear screen and AXN’s dynamic social ecosystem. It’s going to be Asia’s biggest social TV event of the year!” said Lim.

At the end of each episode at 10:00 p.m., AXN will encourage viewers to virtually hang out with the newly eliminated team via Facebook Live at Facebook.com/TheAmazingRaceAsia where fans can commiserate and ask questions about their race experience. Then, every Saturday at 1:10 p.m., fans will have the chance to Facebook Live chat with the more triumphant teams who were first to arrive at the pit stop.

In addition to the Facebook Live chats, AXN will unleash a series of webisodes created exclusively for social platforms like Facebook, providing a raw and honest account of what goes on behind the scenes of the race.

The webisodes will kick off with “T-0 Racers,” a simple but fascinating look into how each team prepares for race day – at 4 a.m.!

The morning rituals vary for each team and include Malaysian brothers Alex & Will (#TARAAlexWill) completing 100 push-ups “so we look good on TV”; Singaporean siblings Rei & Keiji (#TARAReiKeiji) devouring chicken satay; and perky married couple from the Philippines Eric & Rona (#TARAEricRona) launching into full dance mode to get the blood pumping.

And despite the sweaty nature of the race, Malaysian beauty queens Chloe & Yvonne (#TARAChloeYvonne) apply full make up, while Malaysian friends Alphaeus & Brandon (#TARABrandonAlph) reveal they’ve packed disposable underpants for maximum convenience.

Additional webisode series include “Racers Reflect,” featuring eliminated teams pondering what went wrong; “Allan’s P.O.V” where he films the race from his perspective and “Challenge Accepted” where Allan and Tara attempt to undertake the team challenges, proving that they are not as easy as they seem.

"The Amazing Race Asia" premiered on Thursday, October 13 at 9:00 p.m. first and exclusively on AXN. It is supported by presenting sponsor Wonderful Indonesia, and partners Garuda Indonesia, Grab and Great Eastern.

Join the action and connect with Allan, Tara and the 22 racers via:

#AXNTARA and @AXNTARA

Check out www.AXN-Asia.com/TARA for all the latest news on "The Amazing Race Asia Season 5."