What do you do when you lose an Emmy to "Top Chef" in the reality competition category? Dust yourself off and get a cast of characters that will surely make the season worth watching.

Cue beauty queens, home-shopping TV hosts and Princeton a cappella singers.

They'll be among the mixed cast of characters who will dash around the globe during the upcoming 17th season of CBS's "The Amazing Race."

Let's meet the teams (note: there's a few couples and a lot of hair stylists):

• Miss Kentucky 2009 Mallory Ervin, competing with her father, Gary

• Jewelry Television host and Miss Oregon 2004 Brook Roberts, teamed with fellow TV host Claire Champlin.

• Internet comedian Kevin Wu (aka KevJumba on YouTube) and his father, Michael.

• Princeton a cappella singers Connor Diemand-Yauman and Jonathan Schwartz.

• Birth mother and daughter Andie DeKroon and Jenna Sykes, who were recently reunited; the mother gave her newborn daughter up for adoption more than 20 years ago.

• Bartender Nick DeCarlo and his girlfriend, hairstylist Vicki Casciola.

• Director/choreographer Ron Kellum and best friend, Tony Stovall, a doctoral student at the University of Arizona.

• New couple Chad Waltrip, an operations manager, and Stephanie Smith, a hairstylist.

• Drs. Nat Strand and Kat Chang.

• Hairstylist Jill Haney and her boyfriend, Thomas Wolfard, an ad sales director.

• Beach volleyball partners Katie Seamon and Rachel Johnston.

The 11 teams will travel more than 32,000 miles, spanning four continents and 30 cities. And this season marks the show's first visits to Bangladesh, Ghana and the Arctic Circle. But that's not all. According to CBS, the team to finish in first place during the premiere episode will be "awarded a surprise, game-changing advantage."

The new season premieres Sept. 26 at 8:30 p.m. with a special 90-minute episode.

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