The Challenge, originally known as Road Rules: All Stars, and then Real World/Road Rules Challenge, is a reality competition series on MTV. The series started as a spin-off of the MTV reality shows, The Real World and Road Rules, featuring alumni from both shows facing off in a series of competitions in order to win a cash prize at the end. As of the 31st season, the show's cast has expanded to include alumni from other reality franchises, including Big Brother, Survivor, The Amazing Race, Love Island, and more. The series has been hosted by TJ Lavin since its 11th season.
The Challenge started as a spinoff of The Real World and Road Rules. The first season was vastly different from what the series is now. Road Rules: All Stars featured five former Real World cast members going through a Road Rules style road trip, with virtually no stakes in the competition. The nextthreeseasons would see six former Real World cast and six former Road Rules cast members competing against each other in a series of challenges to rack up prize money for their team.
The fifth season, Battle of the Seasons, would evolve the series once again, as it was the first season to see contestants voted off before the finale. This would eventually turn into players having to compete in an additional competition, known as "Eliminations," in order to stay in the game.
Casting would strictly pull from Real World and Road Rules seasons, with some seasons welcoming first-time competitors who did not originate from the two series (Fresh Meat, Bloodlines, etc.). The casting pool expanded to MTV's Are You the One?, starting with season 26's Battle of the Exes II. And again, starting with season 31, the casting pool would eventually be open to several reality stars from different networks and countries.
For over 25 years, The Challenge has become one of the longest-running reality series to date. Along with the 40 seasons of the flagship series, The Challenge has spawned several spin-offs and international versions, such as The Challenge: All Stars. Overall, the franchise has produced over 50 seasons.
Format[]
Each season of The Challenge follows a base format: a daily challenge, nominations, and then an elimination round. Each season is played differently; with seasons either being played as teams, in pairs, or as individuals. Each season is also based around a different theme, which can go from being teamed up with an enemy or former romantic partner; to being placed on a team based on your rookie or veteran status. Daily challenges, eliminations, and set pieces are centered around a season's theme, location, or overall atmosphere.
Episodes start off with a daily challenge; a test of the players' physical and mental abilities. The winners of the challenge are usually immune from the elimination and are tasked with nominating an opponent against that day's losers. Nomination processes vary season to season, with some featuring a house vote. The nominees will then face off in an elimination round where the losers are sent home. This process repeats until the season's finale, which is a grueling days-long race to determine the season's Champions. Between challenges and eliminations, episodes will also document the relationships and drama between contestants, as well as the politics behind nomination decisions.
At the end of each season, the Challenge Champions receive a majority of the season's prize pool. In earlier seasons, the final prize total was accumulated throughout the season by winning challenges, though this eventually turned into a standard prize pot. Additional rewards of plane trips, cars, and TVs were also given as final rewards in the earlier seasons. The prize pot has gradually increased through the years, reaching $1 million on Dirty 30, though it is not always guaranteed to be this amount.
