MTV’s ‘The Challenge’ (1998-): The Ultimate Reality Competition Show & Its 26-Year Legacy

MTV’s The Challenge, a reality competition television show, originally known as Road Rules: All Stars and Real World/Road Rules: The Challenge made its debut in April 1998. The show is a spin-off of MTV’s two other reality shows, Road Rules (1995) and The Real World (1992).

Contestants compete against each other either individually, in pairs, or teams in different challenges to avoid elimination and make it to the final challenge. At the end of every final challenge, winners (anywhere from 1 to 3 individuals depending on the season/series) share the final cash prize, which can also vary per season.

The Challenge is currently the longest-running reality competition television show¹ with over 40 regular seasons, 5 all-star seasons, and 7 spin-off international seasons. Originally, when the show first aired back in 1998, there were no official hosts. Instead, for the first three seasons, past eliminated contestants, David “Puck” Rainey, David Edwards, and Gladys Sanabria would come back and give tasks to the remaining contestants.

Alumni Mark Long and Eric Nies became the first official hosts of the show in season five, Battle of the Seasons in 2002. Then, in 2002, Olympic freestyle skier Jonny Moseley became the host for the show for three seasons. BMX legend Dave Mirra then took over the hosting role in 2004 for two seasons. American BMX cyclist T.J. Lavin is the current host of the show. Lavin has hosted the show since season 11, The Gauntlet 2, which aired in 2005.

MTV’s The Challenge stands as the best reality competition show because of its innovative format, grueling challenges, and unmatched longevity, creating a uniquely dynamic viewing experience that outshines peers like Big Brother (2000-)²2, Survivor (2000-)³, and The Amazing Race (2001-)⁴

The Legacy, Longevity, & Cultural Impact Of MTV’s The Challenge

With the show airing for over 26 years, The Challenge has created both a huge name for itself and reality competition television shows as a whole. Compared to when the show first debuted on television in 1998, it has also seen major changes throughout the years that have added to the show’s relevance and longevity.

Due to the show’s rather dynamic capabilities, The Challenge has a very strong cultural legacy and impact because it’s very capable of pivoting to adapt to new audiences and ideas. With the way trends come and go, the show has been able to adapt to these trends by integrating different challenges and twists, as well as expanding the franchise internationally, creating several spin-offs that have caught the attention of its audience.

Evolution Of The Show’s Format

The first original season of The Challenge, when it was known as Road Rules: All Stars, was formatted in a way that is completely different to how the show runs today in 2025. The show consisted of 5 contestants from past seasons of The Real World who traveled across New Zealand and the United States completing several different missions.

Some of the missions included spending one night in an abandoned hospital, working a full day at Hot Dog on a Stick, creating a theme song for the show, and racing each other in hamster balls down a steep hill, where the winner won $150. Once all of the missions were completed, the contestants all received a trip to Costa Rica.

The same format would follow for the next three seasons after Road Rules: All Stars first aired in 1998. The format of the show began to change once the fifth season of the show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Seasons, aired in 2002, which took place in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Contestants competed in pairs in daily challenges where in the end the final three teams from each franchise battled in a series of challenges where the final team earned $300,000. This is also where the term “veteran⁵” came to be used as a term to call players who have either won a season or have competed in more than one season. The term “rookie” is used for anyone competing on their first season or who is newer to the franchise.

The Real World/Road Rules Challenge changed its name to The Challenge, the current name of the show after the 19th season of the show, Fresh Meat II aired in 2010. Fresh Meat II welcomed back several alumni of both the Real World and Road Rules who had never competed in the challenge before. Contestants competed in several different daily physical competitions, and the losers of the dailies would be sent into elimination to fight to stay in the game.

This would continue to follow for the next seasons, but rather than changing the show’s format, we saw a theme change for every new season. Which is why every new season of the show has its own unique name. For example, season 27 introduced us to Battle of the Bloodlines, where competitors competed with AND against their bloodline.

Battle of the Bloodlines marked a new start for the integration of unique themes of the show that added to the show’s uniqueness and creativity. Similar seasons that followed a certain theme include Vendettas, Spies, Lies and Allies, Ride or Dies, and the most recent season: Battle of the Eras, where 40 contestants were split into four different teams depending on what season they made their challenge debut.

Season 35, Total Madness and season 36 Double Agents also introduced a new twist into the game that has not been seen before. In order to be eligible to compete in the final challenge, competitors must obtain a red (Total Madness) or gold (Double Agents) skull. This skull could be obtained after winning an elimination, but during Double Agents, there were only five available for each gender. The new twists, like the red/gold skulls, made the stakes for the show even higher and caused various tables to be turned during the show.

Season 31, Vendettas is the first season where competitors from other reality competition television shows such as Big Brother were cast. And Vendettas was only the start of seeing other competitors becoming a part of The Challenge competitor family, which is what really sets The Challenge apart from other shows.

What Sets It Apart From Other Reality Competitions

On top of the show’s longevity and cultural impact, The Challenge has been able to properly integrate strategic gameplay and politics together with physical and mental challenges⁶. Being able to combine several different aspects into one show entirely is what sets The Challenge apart from any other reality competition television show currently airing.

Not only has The Challenge been able to successfully integrate several different aspects of a reality competition show into one, but, the show has also cast several competitors from other reality competition shows like Big Brother, Survivor, Are You The One? (2014-)⁷, Ex on The Beach (2018-)⁸, and Love Island (2015-)⁹. Diversifying its cast, creating different challenges, and filming in different countries is what makes the show unique.

Unique Challenges & Global Filming Conditions

In every new season of The Challenge, the challenges get more and more complicated and vigorous. On the show, challenges can vary by episode. Most of the challenges competed in the daily challenges are physical challenges (such as running long distances, swimming, obstacle courses, etc.) or mental challenges (such as puzzles, memory games, problem-solving, etc.).

Elimination challenges have also been considered as being some of the most intense challenges ever done on the show. They can also either be physical or mental challenges. The losing competitor(s) must go down into the sand against someone voted in by the winners of the daily challenges.

The Hall Brawl is considered to be one of the most notable elimination challenges ever competed on the show. This challenge consists of both competitors standing on one side of a hallway that they must run through in order to ring a bell. But, it is not as easy as people may think it is.

On top of trying to ring the bell, both of the competitors try to stop each other, which causes them to run into each other at full speed, where we have seen injuries happen because of the intensity of the challenge. Kyle Christie, Challenge alumni originally from Geordie Shore (2011)¹⁰, suffered a broken pinky after competing in the Hall Brawl against Faysal Shafaat in Double Agents.

Certain weather conditions have also made several of the challenges competed on the show way more intense. The Challenge has taken place all over the world in several different countries and continents, which have prompted in many different weather conditions. The most recent seasons of the challenge took place in Iceland, Croatia, Argentina, Colombia, and Vietnam.

Competitors have competed in the cold, hot, rain, and snow, which depended on what country their seasons were filmed in, which added even more of a higher stake for competitors to make it to the end to win the final prize money. The intensity of the challenges plays a huge role in the show’s popularity and legacy, and sets it apart from the other shows.

Comparing With Big Brother, Survivor, & The Amazing Race

Each of the four reality competition television shows is unique in their own way. The Challenge and Survivor are the most similar in a way that competitors in both shows endure in physical and mental challenges, but Survivor is a survival-based program, which means that they do not live in normal living conditions and must make their own shelter and food. Whereas in The Challenge, their living conditions are better and more accommodating due to the show’s format.

If you were to compare that to Big Brother, there is even more of a difference between the format and overall living conditions. Competitors of Big Brother live together in a house that is on the CBS lot where they compete in challenges. Big Brother is more of a social game, which sets it apart from other shows.

And for The Amazing Race, teams of two race around the world competing in various challenges (that are less vigorous than the ones on The Challenge) in order to make it all the way until the end. This is a huge difference between all of the other shows like The Challenge, Big Brother, and Survivor, that are all filmed in one place or country.

Since The Challenge started casting competitors from other shows, we have seen more competitors from Big Brother and Survivor, but not as many people from The Amazing Race.

The elimination process for all of these shows is also very different from each other. For The Challenge, competitors compete in elimination challenges, after losing a daily challenge, whereas contestants on Big Brother and Survivor, vote each other out. And for The Amazing Race, if you come in last place, then you are automatically eliminated.

With each show being one of its own, The Challenge does it the best out of all of them by being able to incorporate physical, mental, and social aspects in a way to become the next challenge champion. From the cast, format, stakes, winning prize money, and even the drama, The Challenge can’t be beat.

The Elements Of High-Stakes Drama

More so than any other reality show, The Challenge doesn’t shy away from drama. Because of the high stakes and intense competition, it stirs up the drama as most of the contestants are put against each other at any moment of time during a season.

Most of the drama occurs due to people backstabbing each other. Also, a majority of the drama created in the show is all petty TV show drama we always see. Big Brother season 19 winner Josh Martinez, who joined The Challenge cast during season 30, War of the Worlds, is very well-known for starting drama or being a part of it on any season he is a part of.

Rivalries on the show are also very significant and play a huge role in the show’s format. Some of the most well-known rivalries on the show are the rivalries between Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Wes Bergmann and Cara Maria Sorbello and Laurel Stucky.

The nature of The Challenge makes show-romances, or showmances, more prevalent than in other reality competitions. We have actually seen showmances turn into real-life relationships, such as Zac Nichols and Jenna Compono, who are known for having a very rocky relationship throughout their time on the show.

With all of the drama that has occurred since the beginning of the show, it is what brings in many new viewers and has helped add to the show’s popularity and overall longevity. On top of that, it has created many viral moments and characters on the show.

Memorable Competitors & Spin-offs

With the show being around for 26 years, The Challenge has been able to expand internationally and has created several spin-offs. Some of the spin-offs include The Challenge: All Stars (2021-)¹¹, The Challenge: USA (2022-)¹², The Challenge: Australia (2022-)¹³, The Challenge: U.K. (2023-)¹⁴, The Challenge: Argentina El Desafio (2023-)¹⁵ and The Challenge: World Championship (2023)¹⁶

The integration of international seasons of The Challenge also prompted in a more diverse cast that brought in more fan engagement. The Challenge: USA brought in several contestants from other shows such as Big Brother, Survivor, The Amazing Race and Love Island to see if they had what it takes to be on a regular season of The Challenge.

The show aired for two seasons, but has not been renewed for a third season yet. In the second season, contestants from the same shows were brought on. In addition to well-known challenge alumni to make the stakes even higher. Some of these competitors are well-known and prominent figures to the show’s history and MTV’s history in general.

Chris “C.T.” Tamburello

C.T. made his television debut by being cast on the 13th season of the Real World in 2003. He made his first ever appearance on The Challenge during season eight, Rivals II where he won with rival/partner Wes Bergmann, another huge competitor on the show.

Since his challenge debut, C.T. has won The Challenge eight times. On top of his impressive wins, C.T. is very well-known for being ejected from the game after getting into a physical altercation with Adam King on The Duel II, where C.T. punched Adam several times after Adam told Diem Brown, his future girlfriend, that C.T. had supposedly hooked up with Shauvon Torres.

His relationship with Diem was also a prominent aspect of his challenge history, but their relationship only lasted for a year and a half. Diem unfortunately passed away in 2014 after suffering from ovarian cancer.

Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio

Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio was on The Real World‘s seventeenth season in 2006 and made his official challenge debut on The Duel in 2006.

On the Miss Understood podcast, he revealed he got the nickname “Bananas” after watching Beverly Hills Cop when they would stick bananas in the tailpipe of a car. He started doing that to his mom’s car as a way to get out of going to school. He also mentioned he used to work with two other Johnny’s at Banana Republic, which then made the nickname stick.

Bananas currently holds the title for most challenge wins with seven wins. His most recent challenge win was on Total Madness. Bananas is also known for stealing $137,500 from his partner Sarah Rice on Rivals 3. His cutthroat actions throughout the show have also given him the title of the ultimate challenge champion.

Cara Maria Sorbello

Cara Maria Sorbello, who made her challenge debut on Fresh Meat II in 2010, became the first solo female winner during season 31, Vendettas. Sorbello won for a second time during Battle of the Bloodlines alongside her cousin, Jamie Banks. Sorbello has made a name for herself throughout her time on the show through her wins and also through her frenemy with Laurel Stucky.

The rivalry between the two started after Laurel sent Cara and her partner, Darrell Taylor, into elimination after Laurel won the first daily challenge on Fresh Meat II.

The two then went on to compete together on several other seasons including Rivals, where they won second place. The two competed on the most recent season, The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras, where the two got into a very heated argument after Cara Maria says Laurel is coming for everyone in the house. Since the season has ended, the two are still at odds with each other.

Jordan Wiseley

Jordan Wiseley was a contestant on The Real World: Portland in 2013, before making his official challenge debut also on Rivals II in 2013. Wiseley is a five-time challenge champion, with his most recent win being from The Challenge: 40 Battle of the Eras.

He currently holds the record for winning the most money¹⁷ on the show. He is also known for being one of the best competitors¹⁸ on the show. Wiseley also was born with symbrachydactyly, a congenital finger abnormality, but he does not let it get in the way of him competing and becoming a huge part of the show’s history.

His relationship with challenge competitor Tori Deal, also had a huge role in the show’s history, where we saw the couple’s relationship grow to where Wiseley proposed to Deal on War of the Worlds, but we also saw it crumble after they called off their engagement in 2020.

These four are just some of the most prominent figures of The Challenge’s history. With over 1,000 competitors competing over the show’s 40 seasons, the show wouldn’t be where it is without these four competitors. These competitors are only going to continue to change the show more in years to come.

Looking Ahead — The Future of The Challenge

With the way The Challenge has been able to create a huge name for itself over the last two decades due to its dynamic capabilities, we are only going to continue to see the show rise and add to its longevity.

The Challenge has changed reality competition television shows for the better. The show has successfully expanded internationally, which has helped bring in contestants from all over the world, and has also helped the show create a diverse cast.

Furthermore, with how the format of the show has changed and evolved over the years, we are also going to continue to see changes in the show’s format in years to come. With the vigorous challenges we see on the show today, such as producers may even take them to the next level, making them more brutal and intense.

For the last eight seasons of the show, excluding season 39, Battle for a New Champion, the winning prize money has been $1,000,000, which was a $500,000 upgrade from season 31, Vendettas. We may also see a prize money increase, which could make the stakes of the show even higher, and there could even be a possibility for more former competitors.

If the show continues to move the way it is, the future looks very promising. As the show just finished its 40th season, Battle of the Eras, we are only continuing to see returning players compete to win that title of being a challenge champion.

Upcoming Seasons + Legacy Continuation

The newest season of The Challenge currently airing is The Challenge: All Stars Rivals. This season aired a week after season 40 ended. Most of the time, a new season is filmed almost up to a year before it premieres on TV.

All Stars Rivals is the fifth season of the All Stars spin-off series. Competitors of this season are paired up together with someone they have had conflicts with in the past. This season follows the current format of the show that consists of a daily challenge, a nomination, and an elimination.

In order to qualify for the final challenge, teams must be able to obtain a star, similar to the red skulls in Total Madness and gold skulls in Double Agents. Stars can be won in either a daily challenge or during an elimination if the winning team of the elimination steals from another team that currently obtains a star.

This newer theme of the show is also showing how outside of the box the production team thinks when creating a new season. This is only going to add to the show’s legacy and longevity that will continue to bring in newer audiences.

What New Viewers Can Expect

If you are looking for a new television show to binge-watch, then The Challenge is for you. This show consists of not only physical challenges, but also drama, drama, and more drama.

The drama is a huge part of the show, and contestants are willing to do whatever it takes to make it all the way until the end and win that prize money, even if it means pitting themselves against someone close to them. It is just the way of the game.

The thrill of physical, vigorous challenges with high stakes and a lot of drama, adds to the overall watch experience of the show, which is what reels new viewers in every single day. Even if this isn’t your type of show, checking it out won’t do any harm because in the end, you will not be left disappointed. Which is what we have seen with the show being capable of living up to its name for over 26 years.

Footnotes

1. Cunningham, Kyndall. “MTV’s Nostalgia Problem, Explained by The Challenge.” VOX, 28 Sept. 2024. ↩︎
2. Big Brother (TV Series 2000– ) ⭐ 5.6 | Reality-TV. (2000, July 5). IMDb. ↩︎
3. Survivor (TV Series 2000– ) ⭐ 7.5 | Adventure, Game-Show, Reality-TV. (2000, May 31). IMDb. ↩︎
4. The Amazing Race (TV Series 2001– ) ⭐ 7.8 | Adventure, Family, Reality-TV. (2001, September 5). IMDb. ↩︎
5. Wiki, C. T. E. C. O. (n.d.). Veterans. Eves the Challenge Org Wiki. ↩︎
6. Abrams, Jonathan. “How MTV’s “The Challenge” Made Reality TV a Real Career.” The New York Times, 14 Aug. 2024, .
   ‌ ↩︎
7. Are You The One? (TV Series 2014– ) ⭐ 6.6 | Game-Show, Reality-TV, Romance. (2014, January 21). IMDb. ↩︎
8. Ex on the Beach (TV Series 2018– ) ⭐ 5.0 | Reality-TV. (2018, April 12). IMDb. ↩︎
9. Love Island (TV Series 2015– ) ⭐ 5.3 | Game-Show, Reality-TV, Romance. (2019, July 9). IMDb. ↩︎
10. Geordie Shore (TV Series 2011– ) ⭐ 5.3 | Documentary, Comedy, Drama. (2011, May 24). IMDb. ↩︎
11. The Challenge: All Stars (TV Series 2021– ) ⭐ 8.3 | Adventure, Game-Show, Reality-TV. (2021, April 1). IMDb. ↩︎
12. The Challenge: USA (TV Series 2022– ) ⭐ 7.2 | Action, Drama, Game-Show. (2022, July 6). IMDb. ↩︎
13. The Challenge: Australia (TV Series 2022) ⭐ 7.2 | Reality-TV. (2023, February 15). IMDb. ↩︎
14. The Challenge: UK (TV Series 2023) ⭐ 7.1 | Reality-TV. (2023, February 25). IMDb. ↩︎
15. The Challenge Argentina: El desafío (TV Series 2023– ) ⭐ 7.6 | Reality-TV. (2023, April 5). IMDb. ↩︎
16. The Challenge: World Championship (TV Series 2023– ) ⭐ 7.5 | Adventure, Reality-TV. (2023, March 8). IMDb. ↩︎
17. Norwin, Alyssa. “‘The Challenge’ Stars Who Have Won The Most Money.” TV Insider. 10 Jan. 2025. ↩︎
18. Norwin, Alyssa. “What Happened to ‘The Challenge’ Star Jordan Wiseley’s Hand?” TV Insider. 7 Jan. 2025. ↩︎