The Challenge: USA 2 is the second season of The Challenge: USA. The season features CBS reality titans competing against Challenge Legends from the flagship series for a share of $500,000 and the title of "America's Best." Filming took place in Croatia from April to May 2023. The season premiered on August 10 with two episodes airing weekly on Thursdays and Sundays for the first three weeks, before returning to a weekly format on August 31.
Description[]
MTV's hit reality global franchise, The Challenge: USA, returns to CBS for its second season. With an ever-changing game, players will be in a constant state of paranoia, unable to trust anyone but themselves. Fan favorites from CBS' reality shows, including Survivor, Big Brother and The Amazing Race, will compete in one of the most unpredictable and demanding games of their lives alongside some of The Challenge's biggest reality titans.
Format[]
Teams will compete in numerous challenges, followed by elimination rounds known as "The Arena." The winning team will be safe from the Arena and is also responsible for nominating one man and one woman to possibly compete in elimination. The rest of the house will then submit anonymous votes into "The Hopper," a lottery device that will select one player no matter the gender to compete against the winners’ nominee of the same gender. In the Arena, the two players will compete in an elimination round where the winner stays in the game, and the loser is eliminated.
After seven challenges, the game turns into an individual competition. The format remains largely unchanged, with the winners only being the top man and woman of the challenge.
Twists[]
- Challenge Vets: Six notable Challenge Veterans will enter the game alongside the CBS titans.
- The Hopper: The Hopper is a lottery device that will be used throughout the season.
- Team Draft: The Hopper chose Josh, Cassidy & Desi as teams captains to form the Red, Blue, and Green teams, respectively. Each team was required to have two Challenge Vets.
- Secret Vote: After the winning team chooses their nominees, the rest of the house will cast a secret ballot into the Hopper. Names will be entered as many times as the votes they receive. The Hopper will then randomly select the name that will compete against the winners’ nominee of the same gender.
- Defection: Similar to the Infiltration twist, elimination winners can defect to another team by swapping with a player of the same gender.
- Every Man for Himself: The game will turn into an individual competition after seven eliminations.
Contestants[]
Team Draft[]
| Round | Red Team | Blue Team | Green Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captain |  |
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| 1 |  |
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| 2 |  |
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| 3 |  |
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| 4 |  |
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| 5 |  |
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| 6 |  |
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| 7 |  |
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Game Summary[]
| Elimination chart | |||||||||
| Episode | Winners | Arena contestants | Arena game | Arena outcome | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Challenge | Winners' picks | Hopper pick | Winner | Eliminated | ||||
| 1/2 | Storm the Castle | Blue Team | |
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Slam Dunked | |
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| 2 | Working the Poles | Green Team | |
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Drop the Ball | |
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| 3 | Capsized | Blue Team | |
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Fire & Ice | |
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| 4 | Sideswiped | Red Team | |
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Evil Eye | |
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| 5 | Unboxed | Green Team | |
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Block Heads | |
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| 6 | High-Q | Blue Team | |
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Crank Shafted | |
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| 7 | Wreck & Roll | Blue Team | |
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Top Heavy | |
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| 8 | Spell-Lunkers | |
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Too Cool for Spool | |
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| 9 | Speed Jumps | |
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Trick, Trick, Boom | |
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| 10 | Go the Distance | |
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Ripped Off | |
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| 11 | Slippery Business | |
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Barrel Tag | |
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| 12 | Brain Squeeze | Chris |
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Hot Wheel | |
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| 13 | Burst Your Bubble | |
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Hall Brawl | |
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| 14 | Final Challenge | |
2nd: Cory, 3rd: Bananas, 4th: Faysal | ||||||
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2nd: Chanelle, 3rd: Michaela[1], 4th: Tori | ||||||||
Note: Players listed in bold indicate that they are competing in the Arena.
Episode Progress[]
| Contestants | Episodes | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Finale | |||||||||||
| Chris | WIN | SAFE | WIN | ELIM | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | ELIM | ELIM | WIN | WIN | WINNER | ||||||||||
| Desi | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | ELIM | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WINNER | ||||||||||
| Chanelle | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | SECOND | ||||||||||
| Cory | WIN | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SECOND | ||||||||||
| Bananas | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | THIRD | ||||||||||
| Michaela | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | ELIM | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | WIN | THIRD | ||||||||||
| Faysal | WIN | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | FOURTH | ||||||||||
| Tori | WIN | ELIM | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | FOURTH | ||||||||||
| Josh | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||||
| Cassidy | WIN | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | ELIM | WIN | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | SAFE | ELIM | OUT | |||||||||||
| Michele | ELIM | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||
| Tyler | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | ELIM | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||||||
| Wes | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | ELIM | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||||
| Alyssa S. | WIN | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||||
| Sebastian | WIN | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | WIN | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||||||||
| Monte | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
| Tiffany | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||||||||||
| Dusty | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||
| Alyssa L. | WIN | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||
| Amanda | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Luis | SAFE | WIN | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Paulie | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Jonna | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ameerah | OUT | |||||||||||||||||||||||
- Competition
- The contestant won the Final Challenge.
- The contestant lost the Final Challenge.
- The contestant was eliminated in the Final Challenge.
- The contestant won the daily challenge.
- The contestant was not selected for the Arena.
- The contestant was nominated for the Arena but did not have to compete.
- The contestant received a vote in the Hopper but was not selected for the Arena.
- The contestant won in the Arena.
- The contestant lost in the Arena and was eliminated.
- The contestant was medically disqualified.
Team Progress[]
| Contestants | Episodes | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Finale | ||||||||
| Chris | Blue | Green | Individual | ||||||||||||||||||
| Desi | Green | Blue | |||||||||||||||||||
| Chanelle | Red | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cory | Blue | Red | |||||||||||||||||||
| Bananas | Red | Blue | |||||||||||||||||||
| Michaela | Green | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Faysal | Blue | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tori | Blue | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Josh | Red | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Cassidy | Blue | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Michele | Red | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tyler | Green | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wes | Green | Blue | |||||||||||||||||||
| Alyssa S. | Blue | Green | |||||||||||||||||||
| Sebastian | Blue | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Monte | Green | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Tiffany | Red | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Dusty | Red | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Alyssa L. | Blue | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Amanda | Green | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Luis | Green | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Paulie | Red | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Jonna | Red | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Ameerah | Green | ||||||||||||||||||||
Notes[]
- ↑ Michaela was medically disqualified on Day 2 of the Final Challenge due to exhaustion.
Episodes[]
| Episode | Original Air Date | Viewers (in millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Riskiest Season Yet" | August 10, 2023 | 1.74 |
| 2 | "Blurred Battle Lines" | August 13, 2023 | 1.76 |
| 3 | "Civil War" | August 17, 2023 | 1.42 |
| 4 | "Double Crossed and Sideswiped" | August 20, 2023 | 1.62 |
| 5 | "Operation Hat Trick" | August 24, 2023 | 1.46 |
| 6 | "A Really Good Looking Underdog" | August 27, 2023 | 1.69 |
| 7 | "Give Me Liberty, or Give Me Love" | August 31, 2023 | 1.54 |
| 8 | "Independence Day" | September 7, 2023 | 1.49 |
| 9 | "Enemy of the State" | September 14, 2023 | 1.45 |
| 10 | "A Less Perfect Union" | September 21, 2023 | 1.50 |
| 11 | "Slippery Business" | September 28, 2023 | 1.44 |
| 12 | "Revenge Amongst the Ruins" | October 5, 2023 | 1.41 |
| 13 | "The Treason for the Season" | October 12, 2023 | 1.49 |
| 14 | "The Pursuit of Glory" | October 19, 2023 | 1.75 |
Trivia[]
- Darrell Taylor and Nia Moore were flown to Croatia with the initial cast to serve as alternates in case anybody was disqualified. They were eventually sent home after being unused.
- The villa that the contestants stayed in this season was used again in Battle for a New Champion.