The views & opinions expressed in DC FORUM are only of its blogger and subject and do not necessarily reflect the views of DCBLOG or affiliated parties. This post also contains potential spoilers for some readers, please read with caution below.
BY DC CUEVA
■ @DC408Dxtr @ TW / IG / YT
As we glide along with a Challenge season that started in the middle of the heat of the summer and has been going along at a slow but still exciting pace along with the first few weeks of AYTO Season 6 as we're now in the month of October, there is already something brewing around what those who know about baseball jargon call the "hotstove" -- the talk that takes place during the winter offseason of fans and media speculating about contract negotiations, re-signings, trades, free agency and the flood of player movement that takes place between the World Series and spring training.
As Season 30 of the fifth major pro sport approaching its business end of the season starting tomorrow night, filming is already underway for Season 31 overseas… hence our diary for this week was truncated a bit by the absence on social media of some of this season's current competitors. But, from the very beginning of that, there's already been buzz about the potential cast of this season that will air in the new year. Need not worry, you can expect those favorite veterans you're accustomed to seeing give it a go once again.
We at this site make the assumption that MTV's corporate parent Viacom and the show's producer Bunim-Murray Productions made a similar call to what was once their corporate sibling at CBS and the production firm of Big Brother, Endemol, about bringing on for this one time those from that staple of summertime television in exchange for giving one or a few Challenge vets a chance to be on the upcoming Celebrity Big Brother season planned for this winter (Perhaps this is consolation for Viacom's board suggesting to not get back together with CBS after their companies' 2007 split).
Those of you who watch that show know it so much more than me, so things will take some time to get used to. Victor found himself in lots of drama on his season of Big Brother last year in being in a rivalry with Corey over his girlfriend and eventual BB season 19 winner Nicole. Natalie should also be part of the drama too, as is a couple other castmates from their show depending upon the list.
And for the other Challenge invasion, you have to go overseas to find members of two shows airing on MTV's international channels. First, there's Ex on the Beach, which features eight single girls and guys enjoying a vacation (or as the Brits call it, a holiday) in paradise while also looking for love. But in a similar scenario to Real World Ex-Plosion, their exes come flying in and just as Jenna, Brian and the other exes did in San Francisco, come to their trip with a chance to get revenge or rekindle love. Seven seasons of Ex on the Beach have aired on MTV UK since its 2014 premiere, and like The Challenge it is filmed in locations around the world.
And for show #2, there's Britain's take on MTV's most successful series: as Jersey Shore took over MTV in the U.S., its namesake channel in the United Kingdom thought of how to adopt that series for those across the pond. They went to the Tyneside region in the Northeast of England, where the regional nickname and dialect is "Geordie", and where it's most well known with the city of Newcastle and its backdrop. The show Geordie Shore was the result, debuted in 2011 and has outlasted its American counterparts having aired 17(!) seasons of the show, and has also spawned a slew of spinoffs.
To that end -- and echoing what we had on Champs vs. Pros earlier this year in decathlete, reality competition show veteran and a lover of limes, Louise Hazel, the Brits who will be on the season are of five people people: Joss, Rogan, Kayleigh, Melissa and Kyle. A sixth U.K. native is rumored to be part of this cast but that person's name has not been uncovered as of yet, due primarily to the fact that MTV's international reality series don't get that much publicity and broadcast in the U.S., although with their pending arrival into the U.S. market MTV will no doubt consider making these series available to those here before the new season begins airing.
And for the season's theme: it was revealed in a flag on the set of the photo up above in the lead of this post. The most popular theme of this recent generation of the show has been Rivals: the first one was described by us as "the greatest Challenge season ever," the second was another good one and the first Trifecta season we covered here, and the third was notable for what happened at the end on that mountaintop. That theme has been revived yet again, but in a different way as part of a hybrid.
The season's format is expected to feature a large team format along the lines of what we saw for most of Bloodlines, and to bring in that Rivals element as well. The catch for that is that instead of them being paired up as in past Rivals seasons, the rival is on the opposing team, and has shades of what we also had last year on Real World. And you can expect something for the first mission to be something similar for Dirty 30 that should more than help to set the tone of Season 31. The pictures we have on here are of that of a paparazzi photographer who spotted the cast at a field hockey stadium (Team GB won women's gold at last year's Rio Olympics) and saw both a vixen and a vet get a bit cozy.
And what is that word on the flag as the setting for the first mission of the season? The word's definition is, "a blood feud in which the family of a murdered person seeks vengeance on the murderer or the murderer's family; a prolonged bitter quarrel with or campaign against someone." Synonyms of this noun include: feud, blood feud, quarrel, argument, falling-out, dispute, fight, war; bad blood, enmity, rivalry, conflict, strife.
Thus, the theme of Season 31 is The Challenge: Vendettas. Yes, it's a word that virtually no one actually really knows except for those journalists who want to use different words to describe the a murder scene, but that's the title of Season 31 of this proud franchise. Additionally, you can also something similar to what we're having on this season in two houses, plus some on this season also get access to their phones - which is the reason why some have been active on social media - mainly in promotion of Dirty 30.
The rumored cast is as follows...
TEAM TRIFECTA
● ALICIA (AYTO Season 5) ROOKIE
● BRAD (RW San Diego) CHAMPION
● BRITNI (AYTO Season 3)
● CARA MARIA (Fresh Meat II) CHAMPION
● CORY (RW Explosion) FINALIST
● DEVIN (AYTO Season 3) FINALIST
● EDWARD (AYTO Season 5) ROOKIE
● JEMMYE (RW Back to NOLA)
● JOHNNY "BANANAS" (RW Key West) 6x CHAMPION
● KAILAH (RW Go Big)
● KAM (AYTO Season 5) ROOKIE
● LEROY (RW Back to Vegas) FINALIST
● MARIE (RW St. Thomas)
● NELSON (AYTO Season 3) FINALIST
● NICOLE R. (Bloodlines)
● NICOLE Z. (RW Skeletons) FINALIST
● SHANE L. (RR Campus Crawl)
● SYLVIA (RW Skeletons)
● TONY (RW Skeletons)
● VERONICA (RW Semester at Sea) 3x CHAMPION
● ZACH (RW Back to SD) CHAMPION
THE NEWCOMERS
● JOSS (Ex on the Beach)
● KYLE (Geordie Shore)
● KAYLEIGH (Ex on the Beach)
● MELISSA (Ex on the Beach)
● NATALIE (Big Brother 18)
● ROGAN (Ex on the Beach)
● VICTOR (Big Brother 18)
With this new cast and format, I turned to none else but Andrew Kirk for his thoughts, and here is his DM to me...
So, what is our view of this next big twist to come to The Challenge? Having watched his Periscope as I always do, I agree with Andrew that this will once again reinvigorate this show and bring it more into the mainstream. Those who spend their summer nights watching Big Brother will find more of what they loved (and hated) about our two representatives in a totally new show, and help those fans become Challenge fans as well and give them something else to look forward to all year round.
Just as I wrote when Are You The One? started their Challenge takeover in Costa Rica, this move doesn't surprise me at all. With Real World taking this year off, The Challenge is taking a chance to spread its wings a bit in adding new people to the mix to join those veterans who are a fundamental part of this show instead of just offering the same people season to season. Victor and Natalie have gone through this competitive house experience before where there are challenges that they have there, though not perhaps as intense at what they have in MTV world. There's a considerably large fan base for Big Brother, and those of them who also watch The Challenge will be most welcome to this move too.
For international viewers who will get in all likelihood the chance to watch this Challenge in a fast-tracked manner in the same time as those here, then this will be their first chance to see what those in America have been used to seeing a reality competition series that has everything a series can have in all the drama, the action and everything in between. For Americans, this will be our first chance to see those from Ex on the Beach and Geordie Shore on the flagship and original MTV channel, as the gap between these countries is narrowed a bit thanks to this perhaps giving the casts of those two shows a chance to conquer their final frontier in conquering the U.S.
With the addition of Big Brother, Ex and Geordie to a Challenge ecosystem that began with Real World, then Road Rules, this show and Are You The One, it will no doubt make for an explosive house dynamic and a more than fascinating season. As noted by fellow blogger Allan Aguirre on Medium, it will become a dream come true for everyone who follows reality TV to see the fantasy game they've played in their minds all come to life, bringing together one of broadcast network television's most iconic summer attractions with one of basic cable's classic series and a show that has perfected reality competition television.
If this experiment becomes successful, then watch for more of those from that summer mansion to make their way from what those in the industry like to call Black Rock (the place in New York City where CBS calls its headquarters) to Times Square and The Challenge. One thing is for sure: the traditional Who Are These Newbies? post I usually do will need some extra research and help from everyone to help introduce as many as 12 people before this new Challenge season begins. As we like to say, stay tuned.
And with this, that will wrap up this extended weekend's posts. A reminder to follow DCNOW at @DC408DxNow for tomorrow's live tweets of The Challenge XXX and 90's House and Wednesday's episode of Are You The One?. There, we will have the decision of Team Green of who they'll put into the Redemption House and into what promises to be a bone-crushing elimination, as well as of if Malcolm and Nurys will depart the Truth Booth as a perfect match. Join the conversation on Twitter at #DCChallenge and #DCNOW.
And after we give everyone the chance to watch and catch up on the episodes, we'll return this weekend with all the 'Pulse play-by-play, episode analysis and ExtraTime stories. Be sure to please do this site and me a big favor and share these DCBLOG posts and links with everyone on social media so that we can become that much more visible to a larger and broader fanbase, and also to help bring new fans to our high-caliber content and acclaimed posts with episode coverage, exclusive social reaction and compelling stories no one else offers.
That is how we look at it Inside the MTV Trifecta... thank you for checking us out. Until tomorrow, enjoy your week ahead, see you then and to our friends in Wine Country, stay strong and stay safe.
- I AM DC
UPDATE: Post updated 10/23 to include last competitor in rumored cast list above
As Season 30 of the fifth major pro sport approaching its business end of the season starting tomorrow night, filming is already underway for Season 31 overseas… hence our diary for this week was truncated a bit by the absence on social media of some of this season's current competitors. But, from the very beginning of that, there's already been buzz about the potential cast of this season that will air in the new year. Need not worry, you can expect those favorite veterans you're accustomed to seeing give it a go once again.
But, if you thought the crossover of the third leg of the love experiment of this Trifecta into the fifth major pro sport was something, imagine what it would be like if The Challenge got to welcome more new people and shows into its roll call... one of them doesn't have anything to do with the MTV ecosystem. And on this very special edition of DC FORUM, we'll have our thoughts on Season 31 for all of you to check out, so join us after the jump.
First, typically DCBLOG puts all of our focus on the seasons we are covering that are airing on MTV and all of the stories that come along with it... thus, we don't join with other fans and become a rumor mill in discuss potential castmates or related rumors for the seasons that are currently filming until MTV unleashes its promotional and publicity machine the moment the buzz for them begin.
Only when it is necessary do we get to talk about what will happen in the future, and we have enacted this practice a few times before including when we discussed Magic Mike's AYTO to RW crossover last year. But with it now taking place and everyone talking about it on the side, we felt that we should add the thoughts of this site and a few others to offer our two cents on this new season.
Now, here we are again in the midst of this Challenge XXX season airing, and about to discuss the latest twist to come to the show, and this time it involves people from outside the Trifecta spectrum joining this world, as well as those from two overseas shows too. And if you are someone who follows entire reality TV world -- compared to me who's aligned to Team MTV, then you have reason to look forward to watching Challenge Season 31 in the new year, which is taking place in the British territory of Gibraltar, whose landmark of the Rock is best known to Americans (and '80s & '90s NBA fans) as the inspiration for the logo of financial services firm, The Prudential.
First, last week it was reported by certain outlets and first broken by infamous reality TV discussion site Vevmo that cast members from CBS' iconic summer reality series Big Brother will be crossing over into The Challenge starting with this season. As those who have watched that show for years know, it is essentially Real World but with a game aspect... no wonder why a lot of you reality TV fans love watching that show which, for some reason and along with having to focus on MTV matters and this site, I just can't seem to get myself interested in.
The lucky few that were singled out to make this historic jump across former Viacom corporate lines and join Challenge Nation for Season 31 are two members of the Big Brother 18 cast: Victor and Natalie will be on the Season 31 cast. There have been rumors that Corey, Michelle, Da'Vonne, Paulie and Zakiyah may also be on the new cast, for which the full one is still being rumored around the hotstove and has been for the past few days which, unless something happens, we won't get the actual full cast list until MTV finally makes it public.
When I began my Twitter odyssey back in June 2012, there was just one show I had followed and watched religiously in Real World. Once the year ended, it became two when I got to rediscover The Challenge, and more than a year later Are You The One? joined them to create what this site calls the MTV Trifecta. Over time, I've had the chance to establish virtual friendships with so many in this community, have taken the fandom I have for this world to a new level and have translated that into another passion for writing, and the outstanding coverage this site offers each week.
Shortly after the first full cycle of the Trifecta in summer 2014, there was a drumbeat among fans about who might possibly be on Battle of the Exes 2 when it filmed that year and then aired sometime after. What Challenge fans expected to see were the big name veterans they had been used to, and we saw Bananas, Wes and company, along with cherishing two couples who would be cut short by their untimely passings in CT & Diem and Knight & Jemmye. What no one totally expect at all was of two pairs that were brought in from Are You The One? that fit the exes theme perfectly: Adam & Brittany and Simone & JJ.
Obviously, a lot of fairly conservative fans revolted, but this made those who follow all three shows including myself very excited about this unprecedented crossover. This site has mentioned a few times about the blog post fellow MTV Insider and friend of this site, Andrew Kirk, wrote on his site and then sent to Bunim-Murray Productions about the suggestion of bringing the AYTO kids over to The Challenge after the success of that original season and some of the getaway challenges they had there. They listened, called up a RW veteran who heads up Lighthearted Entertainment and the rest is history. They're now here to stay thanks to what we've seen on recent Challenges and then Mike's Seattle stay.Now, here we are again in the midst of this Challenge XXX season airing, and about to discuss the latest twist to come to the show, and this time it involves people from outside the Trifecta spectrum joining this world, as well as those from two overseas shows too. And if you are someone who follows entire reality TV world -- compared to me who's aligned to Team MTV, then you have reason to look forward to watching Challenge Season 31 in the new year, which is taking place in the British territory of Gibraltar, whose landmark of the Rock is best known to Americans (and '80s & '90s NBA fans) as the inspiration for the logo of financial services firm, The Prudential.
The lucky few that were singled out to make this historic jump across former Viacom corporate lines and join Challenge Nation for Season 31 are two members of the Big Brother 18 cast: Victor and Natalie will be on the Season 31 cast. There have been rumors that Corey, Michelle, Da'Vonne, Paulie and Zakiyah may also be on the new cast, for which the full one is still being rumored around the hotstove and has been for the past few days which, unless something happens, we won't get the actual full cast list until MTV finally makes it public.
Those of you who watch that show know it so much more than me, so things will take some time to get used to. Victor found himself in lots of drama on his season of Big Brother last year in being in a rivalry with Corey over his girlfriend and eventual BB season 19 winner Nicole. Natalie should also be part of the drama too, as is a couple other castmates from their show depending upon the list.
To that end -- and echoing what we had on Champs vs. Pros earlier this year in decathlete, reality competition show veteran and a lover of limes, Louise Hazel, the Brits who will be on the season are of five people people: Joss, Rogan, Kayleigh, Melissa and Kyle. A sixth U.K. native is rumored to be part of this cast but that person's name has not been uncovered as of yet, due primarily to the fact that MTV's international reality series don't get that much publicity and broadcast in the U.S., although with their pending arrival into the U.S. market MTV will no doubt consider making these series available to those here before the new season begins airing.
Thus, the theme of Season 31 is The Challenge: Vendettas. Yes, it's a word that virtually no one actually really knows except for those journalists who want to use different words to describe the a murder scene, but that's the title of Season 31 of this proud franchise. Additionally, you can also something similar to what we're having on this season in two houses, plus some on this season also get access to their phones - which is the reason why some have been active on social media - mainly in promotion of Dirty 30.
The rumored cast is as follows...
TEAM TRIFECTA
● ALICIA (AYTO Season 5) ROOKIE
● BRAD (RW San Diego) CHAMPION
● BRITNI (AYTO Season 3)
● CARA MARIA (Fresh Meat II) CHAMPION
● CORY (RW Explosion) FINALIST
● DEVIN (AYTO Season 3) FINALIST
● EDWARD (AYTO Season 5) ROOKIE
● JEMMYE (RW Back to NOLA)
● JOHNNY "BANANAS" (RW Key West) 6x CHAMPION
● KAILAH (RW Go Big)
● KAM (AYTO Season 5) ROOKIE
● LEROY (RW Back to Vegas) FINALIST
● MARIE (RW St. Thomas)
● NELSON (AYTO Season 3) FINALIST
● NICOLE R. (Bloodlines)
● NICOLE Z. (RW Skeletons) FINALIST
● SHANE L. (RR Campus Crawl)
● SYLVIA (RW Skeletons)
● TONY (RW Skeletons)
● VERONICA (RW Semester at Sea) 3x CHAMPION
● ZACH (RW Back to SD) CHAMPION
THE NEWCOMERS
● JOSS (Ex on the Beach)
● KYLE (Geordie Shore)
● KAYLEIGH (Ex on the Beach)
● MELISSA (Ex on the Beach)
● NATALIE (Big Brother 18)
● ROGAN (Ex on the Beach)
● VICTOR (Big Brother 18)
With this new cast and format, I turned to none else but Andrew Kirk for his thoughts, and here is his DM to me...
"I think it's great if it's a one time thing or if it's more then once bb has a great audience who is very passionate on who they like and don't like I was apprehensive at first but I'm fine with it. If that means we'll see a challenger in the celeb bb house this winter I'm so up for this."And Andrew also got to discuss the cast rumors on Periscope last week, which we have embedded below for all of you to check out.
Talking challenge 31 cast rumors and why I think the new shows will help this franchise https://t.co/iPZBejFJ8H— Andrew Kirk (@CSUGradAkirk) October 6, 2017
Just as I wrote when Are You The One? started their Challenge takeover in Costa Rica, this move doesn't surprise me at all. With Real World taking this year off, The Challenge is taking a chance to spread its wings a bit in adding new people to the mix to join those veterans who are a fundamental part of this show instead of just offering the same people season to season. Victor and Natalie have gone through this competitive house experience before where there are challenges that they have there, though not perhaps as intense at what they have in MTV world. There's a considerably large fan base for Big Brother, and those of them who also watch The Challenge will be most welcome to this move too.
For international viewers who will get in all likelihood the chance to watch this Challenge in a fast-tracked manner in the same time as those here, then this will be their first chance to see what those in America have been used to seeing a reality competition series that has everything a series can have in all the drama, the action and everything in between. For Americans, this will be our first chance to see those from Ex on the Beach and Geordie Shore on the flagship and original MTV channel, as the gap between these countries is narrowed a bit thanks to this perhaps giving the casts of those two shows a chance to conquer their final frontier in conquering the U.S.
With the addition of Big Brother, Ex and Geordie to a Challenge ecosystem that began with Real World, then Road Rules, this show and Are You The One, it will no doubt make for an explosive house dynamic and a more than fascinating season. As noted by fellow blogger Allan Aguirre on Medium, it will become a dream come true for everyone who follows reality TV to see the fantasy game they've played in their minds all come to life, bringing together one of broadcast network television's most iconic summer attractions with one of basic cable's classic series and a show that has perfected reality competition television.
If this experiment becomes successful, then watch for more of those from that summer mansion to make their way from what those in the industry like to call Black Rock (the place in New York City where CBS calls its headquarters) to Times Square and The Challenge. One thing is for sure: the traditional Who Are These Newbies? post I usually do will need some extra research and help from everyone to help introduce as many as 12 people before this new Challenge season begins. As we like to say, stay tuned.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
And with this, that will wrap up this extended weekend's posts. A reminder to follow DCNOW at @DC408DxNow for tomorrow's live tweets of The Challenge XXX and 90's House and Wednesday's episode of Are You The One?. There, we will have the decision of Team Green of who they'll put into the Redemption House and into what promises to be a bone-crushing elimination, as well as of if Malcolm and Nurys will depart the Truth Booth as a perfect match. Join the conversation on Twitter at #DCChallenge and #DCNOW.
And after we give everyone the chance to watch and catch up on the episodes, we'll return this weekend with all the 'Pulse play-by-play, episode analysis and ExtraTime stories. Be sure to please do this site and me a big favor and share these DCBLOG posts and links with everyone on social media so that we can become that much more visible to a larger and broader fanbase, and also to help bring new fans to our high-caliber content and acclaimed posts with episode coverage, exclusive social reaction and compelling stories no one else offers.
That is how we look at it Inside the MTV Trifecta... thank you for checking us out. Until tomorrow, enjoy your week ahead, see you then and to our friends in Wine Country, stay strong and stay safe.
- I AM DC
UPDATE: Post updated 10/23 to include last competitor in rumored cast list above
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