MTV’s The Challenge has been a mainstay of the reality television universe for over two decades. The competition show’s produced 38 seasons, ranging from its first, 1998’s Road Rules: All Stars, to Ride or Dies, which wrapped in March.
And because of its popularity and tenure, several spin-offs and specials have emerged within the franchise.
In this piece, I’ll discuss all of The Challenge’s side shows that have deviated from the mainline series. Although most of them follow the basic structure of a Challenge season, they hold key differences that made them unique at the time. Also, some aired on a different network than MTV, like CBS or Paramount Plus. So, let’s get into it.
The Challenge: Champs vs. trilogy brought stars and athletes from different backgrounds
We got the Champs vs. mini-series on MTV from 2017 through 2018. The first iteration, Champs vs. Pros, debuted right after season 29’s Invasion of the Champions finished in May 2017. Former NFL wide receiver Victor Cruz, not the franchise’s longtime frontman TJ Lavin, took on the role of host as 10 Challenge champions, and 10 athletes went head to head for charity as two teams.
Just like the normal series, Champs vs. Pros featured daily challenges and elimination rounds, as well as a final challenge.
The season featured Challenge champions including John “Johnny Bananas” Devenanzio, Veronica Portillo, Ashley Mitchell, and Jordan Wiseley, whereas the “Pros” were represented by the likes of former NFL linebacker Kamerion Wimbley, track and field Olympian Louise Hazel, and professional wrestling entertainer CM Punk. The Challenge’s Cara Maria Sorbello and Darrell Taylor ultimately came out on top of the six-episode show, and they each received $50,000 for their respective causes.
A week before the conclusion of season 30’s Dirty 30 in late 2017, the second edition began airing under a different title: Champs vs. Stars. The show’s host changed as well — The Challenge legend and WWE superstar Mike “The Miz” Mizanin answered the call. This time, $150,000 was up for grabs as a charitable grand prize.
It followed the same format as Champs vs. Pros, but instead of the other team being stacked with professional athletes, the “Stars” crew had a mix of reality personalities, musical artists, and athletes. Also, the term “Champs” was used loosely as around half of the competitors making up the squad weren’t Challenge champions, like Aneesa Ferreira, Cory Wharton, and Jenna Compono. Nonetheless, three Challenge champs — Johnny Bananas, Emily Schromm, and Chris “CT” Tamburello — would take home $50,000 each for charity after eight episodes.
Champs vs. Stars 2 dropped immediately after season 31’s Vendettas wrapped in 2018 to close out the trilogy. This time, the “Champs” term was even looser; only three of the 10 competitors were Challenge champions at the time. Once again, the “Stars” team comprised of athletes, actors, personalities, and musicians, including ex-NBA player Daniel Gibson, professional wrestling legend Hulk Hogan’s daughter Brooke Hogan, and rapper Lil Mama. The Miz also returned as the host. Following the structure of its predecessors, the two teams duked it out for 10 episodes, and The Challenge’s CT and Tony Raines walked away with just south of $60,000 apiece for their charities.
That was the last installment of the Champ vs. project.
The Challenge legend Mark Long willed All Stars into existence, 3 seasons have aired
For years, “The Godfather” of The Challenge, Mark Long, had called on Bunim/Murray Productions to host a season featuring only old-school challengers. The two-time champion rallied veteran competitors and fans with his “We Want OGs” social media campaign. And his mission succeeded.
The franchise’s production company agreed to create All Stars, a Paramount Plus series pitting Challenge pioneers against each other while TJ Lavin hosted. All in all, three seasons have been released since the first iteration’s debut on April 1, 2021, and it’s unclear if more are coming down the pipe.
All Stars 1, 2, and 3 are all 10 episodes long, are they’re responsible for reacquainting fans with the likes of Beth Stolarczyk, Tina Bridges, Katie Cooley, Brad Fiorenza, Derrick Kosinski, and of course, Mark. Like the Champs vs. trilogy, All Star’s filming time was cut down to a few weeks rather than the typical few months the mainline series requires, which has helped attract talent to the spin-off.
All Stars 1 had contestants competing in daily challenges as either individuals, pairs, or teams. The games would determine a player who would fill one spot in the elimination round (called the Arena). In contrast, others won immunity or a “Life Saver,” a tool that could protect someone who was voted into the Arena via the house vote. Out of the 22 challengers, 12 made it to the final challenge, showing the less-intense nature of the series. And although the competitors had been divided by sex for most of the season, only Yes Duffy earned the Challenge championship and the $500,000 grand prize.
Season 2 followed later in 2021, while season 37’s Spies, Lies & Allies was airing on MTV. It featured 24 players (12 men and 12 women) and followed the first season’s format for the beginning half of the episodes until the remaining competitors were divided into pairs. After the final challenge was played, Jonna Mannion and MJ Garrett walked away with their first championships while splitting the $500,000 pot.
All Stars 3, which aired in mid-2022 ahead of Ride or Dies, deviated entirely from the first two iterations’ format. Twelve men and 13 women (Beth joined the game after Tina and Jemmye Carroll dropped out for unrelated reasons) played individually throughout the season. The daily challenge would send one player of each sex to the Arena. At the same time, the top three performing men and women would form “The Authority,” a group that would vote two more competitors into the elimination round.
Jonna notched her second straight Challenge championship, while Wes Bergmann added to his mantel as well.
As mentioned, it’s uncertain if Bunim/Murray Productions intends to release another All Stars season, though there appears to be a strong appetite for it in the Challenge community.
Four international versions of The Challenge culminated in the World Championship
The Challenge received four international versions of the show between 2022 and 2023, which led to the World Championship, the most recent iteration of the franchise to air; it wrapped in May.
The Challenge: USA, The Challenge: Australia, The Challenge: UK, and The Challenge Argentina: El Desafío all aired on different networks catered to their local audiences. Before the show, every contestant in the four spin-offs was in the public eye in one way or another, but most were reality television stars.
As usual, every show had a daily challenge, elimination, and final challenge. The point of the four international competitions was to produce one male champion and one female champion to represent their country in the World Championship (except the Argentinian version only had a female winner). Here are the ones who triumphed in each branch:
- The Challenge: USA (hosted by TJ Lavin) — Sarah Lacina and Danny McCray
- The Challenge: Australia (hosted by Brihony Dawson) — Kiki Morris and Troy Cullen
- The Challenge: UK (hosted by Mark Wright) — Kaz Crossley and Tristan Phipps
- The Challenge Argentina: El Desafío (hosted by Alejandro “Marley” Wiebe) — Sol Pérez
Sol was the only winner to not take part in the World Championship. Further, every international installment had four players representing their country, with some of the shows’ MVPs rounding out the cast. They were met by 14 Challenge veterans from the main series who also eyed the “World Champion” accolade and the crisp $500,000 prize pool. The game was played in pairs with a Challenge alum partnering with an international player.
It aired 12 episodes on Paramount Plus and had all the core elements of a good Challenge season, including a brutal final as the capstone for the five-part series. In the end, Jordan Wiseley captured his fourth championship while Kaz went two for two in her Challenge career.
The Challenge: USA season 2 is set to premiere on CBS on August 10, but the cast has yet to be revealed.
There have been 3 Challenge specials as well: Spring Break Challenge, CTs Getting Married, and Untold History
There have also been three specials to air based on The Challenge. First, the Spring Break Challenge released five episodes within a week shortly before season 19’s Fresh Meat II began airing in 2010. College-aged friends competed in teams led by Challenge stars, including Rachel Robinson, Evelyn Smith, and Landon Lueck. Further, Paula Meronek and Evan Starkman worked as commentators for the show.
It featured notable games from the series — like “Pole Wrestle” — and after five teams were eliminated, Susie Meister’s group bested Kenny Santucci’s and took home first place. Team Susie’s Camila Nakagawa is the only contestant from the Spring Break Challenge to crossover onto the mainline series.
Then, CT received his own special in 2018 called CT’s Getting Married. As the title suggests, the two-part show followed CT and Lilinet Solares’ wedding and featured several of CT’s cast members as guests, including Wes and Cara Maria.
The most recent Challenge special to drop was Untold History: a six-part documentary with dozens of challengers and famous fans talking about the show’s behind-the-scenes history.
