BYUtv Debuts Second Season Of Relative Race, Award-Winning Family History-Based Reality Competition Program

PROVO, Utah, March 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- BYUtv will debut the second season of the first genealogy-based competitive reality show, Relative Race, on Sunday, March 5 at 9pm ET/7pm MT. Co-winner of the 2016 Cynopsis Media Best New Competition Reality Series award, Relative Race follows four married couples on a 10-day journey up the East Coast as they complete challenges, discover unknown relatives traced through DNA testing and compete for a $50,000 grand prize. Driven by the science and technology of AncestryDNA, this original, unscripted reality series takes viewers along for the ride and the race as the teams test their emotional, mental and physical endurance while simultaneously discovering more about their family histories and establishing connections with relatives they didn't know existed.

Armed with only paper maps, rental cars and burner phones, each day the couples receive instructions via text message to navigate to a designated city and complete two challenges that lead them to their before unknown relatives. The last team to finish each day receives a strike, and after three strikes, a team is eliminated. Season two of Relative Race will culminate in a dramatic finale, as all remaining teams race 1,490 miles from Biscayne Bay in Miami to the finish at the George Washington Statue in the Boston Public Garden.

For the second year in a row, BYUtv teamed up with Utah-based veteran reality TV and documentary production company, Lenzworks, and the largest provider of family history and personal DNA testing services, Ancestry, to create Relative Race. AncestryDNA combines advanced science with the world's largest genealogy resource to help people reveal their ethnic roots and discover new family connections.

"Building upon the success of our first season, we are thrilled to announce the return of Relative Race for a second season to BYUtv during which we applied lessons learned from the inaugural season, added an additional challenge for the teams to conquer before meeting their relatives and created a stronger platform for the contestants to explore their family histories," said Clint Bishop, marketing director of BYUtv. "The opportunity to work with Lenzworks and AncestryDNA, once again, and to help play a part in bringing families together, watching them share these heartfelt and powerful first-time meetings with our loyal viewers, is the true meaning of 'seeing the good in the world.'"

Relative Race is hosted by Dan J. Debenham, Lenzworks' Principal, Executive Producer and former ESPN executive producer, who has been working in the television and production industry for 29 years. The four enthusiastic couples racing across the country this year are Joe and Madison Greer from Portland, OR; Duley and Kyla Williams from Smyrna, TN; Leo and Rolexis Schinsing from New Orleans, LA; and Justin and Brittany Stuart from Colorado Springs, CO.

"We are excited that Relative Race has been renewed for a second season and look forward to bringing the series back to the airwaves with four new and dynamic couples who are searching for ways to learn more about their lineage and connect with never-before-seen family members," said Debenham. "Season two is filled with even more adventures, challenges and emotionally-charged meetings that we can't wait to share with audiences as the couples race up the Eastern Seaboard to discover their roots."

The second season will consist of 10 episodes. In addition to Relative Race, BYUtv's original programming slate includes the long-running sketch comedy series Studio C, which has 1.3 million subscribers on YouTube; Random Acts, an unscripted hidden-camera reality show that highlights the altruistic nature of human beings by featuring real people who are the recipients of random acts of kindness; and the upcoming new SciFi series Extinct. BYUtv is available in every state of the country via cable, satellite and multiple digital media platforms including byutv.org, AppleTV, Xbox ONE, Xbox360, Roku, Amazon FireTV, iOS and Android.  

About BYUtv
Owned by Brigham Young University and based in Provo, Utah, BYUtv is a groundbreaking High Definition cable television network that has created a breadth of original "see the good in the world" programming that fills a void in entertainment the entire family can enjoy together, including sketch comedy, history, music and documentary offerings. The cable television network continues to build steady momentum, drawing new viewers to its shows from every state of the country. The non-commercial station is available in more than 60 million households in every state of the country on Dish Network, DirecTV and over 800 cable systems, and offers approximately 1,000 hours of original programming annually, including 500 hours of live HD collegiate sports.  

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SOURCE BYUtv