The Race Around the World reboot has one glaring omission: where is the discussion of ethics?

The ABC's reboot of Race Around the World sends filmmaker contestants to document stories across the globe, competing under tight deadlines. But per The Conversation, the show is overlooking a crucial conversation: the ethics of documentary filmmaking. In the original nineteen ninety-seven series, judges would occasionally wrestle with questions of power and participant consent. This season, those discussions are mostly absent. A film academic points out that contestants are capturing deeply personal moments—family trauma, political satire—without examining how subjects benefit or whether anyone provides aftercare. Documentary ethics, unlike journalism, have no standard code of conduct, and as filmmakers from diverse backgrounds increasingly demand accountability in who tells stories and how, Race Around the World appears out of step with modern practice.

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