“We always feel like people underestimate beauty queens” – Maggie & Parul
(The Amazing Race Asia Season 5 winning team Maggie, Parul and Mr. Ang Hui Keng, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia)
SINGAPORE (December 15, 2016) – In the gripping finale of The Amazing Race Asia Season 5 on AXN tonight, nothing stood in the way of the Filipino beauty queens and their winners’ crown. Arriving first at the pit stop in Bali with just minutes to spare, Maggie Wilson-Consunji and Parul Shah survived six countries, 12 cities and over 12,000 kilometres, beating 10 other teams to claim the ultimate USD100,000 cash prize.
Hot on their heels were Malaysian beauty queens Chloe Chen and Lee Yvonne who arrived in second place, with Eric Tai and his wife Rona Samson from the Philippines arriving in third. The exhausted but jubilant finalists were welcomed to the last pit stop by series host Allan Wu and the eliminated teams.
“We warmly congratulate Maggie and Parul on winning this season of The Amazing Race Asia. It was our toughest race yet with several surprising twists and some extremely challenging conditions. All 22 racers should be super proud of what they achieved during their journey. Their determination, camaraderie and sense of humor ensured that The Amazing Race Asia was the top program in its time slot amongst all English general entertainment channels in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines*,” said Virginia Lim, Senior Vice President and Head of Content, Production and Marketing.
Maggie and Parul joined the world’s most famous adventure-reality series in the hopes of winning the US$100,000 for Parul’s family.
“It was such a relief to win because the money can help my family, especially my Dad who suffered a stroke. He taught me to never give up in life and I did this to prove that no matter what life throws at you, never give up,” said Parul.
Throughout the grueling race, Maggie and Parul stayed in the middle of the pack, but strengthened their position and gained serious momentum in the final two legs.
“We played the game really well and climbed the ladder ever so slowly. We didn’t want to come in first in any of the legs because we didn’t want to have a target on our backs. Who would have thought that two beauty queens would win! I’m pretty sure we’ll be talking about this moment for decades!” said an ecstatic Maggie.
Commenting on being runner up, Chloe said, “I’m still really happy that we came this far. It’s an achievement in itself to come in second and I told Yvonne that I didn’t ever want to hear Allan say ‘I’m sorry but you have been eliminated from the race’. And we did not!”
AXN fans across Asia tuned in every Thursday night to watch the latest drama and hijinks unfold as the 11 teams competed in a series of physical and mental challenges against diverse geographic backdrops. Connecting fans to the racers, AXN hosted Facebook Live sessions immediately after each episode where fans could ask questions and post messages of support to the eliminated teams. The 18 Facebook Live sessions collectively reached 9.5 million fans and garnered over 2.7 million views to date.
“The Amazing Race Asia Season 5 was designed for maximum fan engagement so we focused on creating a digital narrative with real-time racer interaction and on-location clips that were exclusively available online. We produced over 60 short form webisodes around six different themes, and the social response has exceeded our expectations,” said Virginia. “Fans can look forward to a lot more socially charged, locally relevant series from AXN in the near future.”
The Amazing Race Asia Season 5 is supported by presenting sponsor Wonderful Indonesia, and partners Garuda Indonesia, Grab and Great Eastern.
[Editors’ note: Hi-res images, team bios and quick facts are available to download via www.AXN-Asia.com/TARApress]*Source: Kantar Media Malaysia DTAM, GFK SG-TAM, Kantar Philippines. Target: Pay TV 4+. Data generated as of 14 Dec 2016. *Data cut off 11 Dec 2016.
About The Amazing Race Asia Season 5
In this latest season, 11 teams of socially savvy, fearless racers from all over Asia embarked on a once-in-a-lifetime experience, traversing the globe and proving their mettle on a quest to be crowned the all-out champion.
Travelling to multiple countries in the shortest amount of time, each team arrived at a new destination where they competed in a series of physical and mental – and often emotional – challenges. Only when the tasks were completed would the teams learn of their next exotic location. Teams who fell the farthest behind were gradually be eliminated as the race progressed, with the first team to arrive at the final destination winning The Amazing Race Asia Season 5 and the USD$100,000 cash prize.
The 11 chosen teams hailed from six countries across Asia and represented a true cast of characters with diverse personalities, backgrounds, talents and relationships. They ranged from popular Singaporean DJs to Filipino beauty queens and promised viewers a highly entertaining and edge-of-your-seat journey.
The Amazing Race Asia Season 5 was produced in collaboration with award-winning international production company, Profiles Television and globally renowned series creators Bertram Van Munster and Elise Doganieri.
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About AXN
AXN is Asia’s leading general entertainment channel featuring exclusive top-rated drama series, blockbuster features, reality programs and ground-breaking original productions. The channel appeals to a discerning audience seeking content that is smart, intriguing and unexpected, all delivered close to U.S telecasts. From The Blacklist and Quantico, to MacGyver and The Amazing Race Asia, AXN is defined not by a genre, but by an attitude that truly redefines action.
Launched first in Asia in 1997, AXN is a global channel brand with a presence in Latin America, Africa and Europe. In Asia, the channel is enjoyed in 126 million households across 19 territories and is available in both SD and HD.
AXN Asia is wholly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and managed by Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia, which also operates leading channels including Animax, Sony Channel, ONE and GEM.
For further information, please contact:
Jarieul Wong
Sony Pictures Television Networks, Asia
Jarieul_Wong@spe.sony.com
+65 9188 3227
