As we look out on what's been going on in this manic world of ours, for the past year & a half those who consider themselves fans of sports and competition of any sort have been through a lot both on and off the playing surface. But while things have not been the same to some extent in this changed world, one thing that has kept our spirits up during this time has been of discovering something that's classified by many as "America's fifth major pro sport." And those who have been entertained by it during a time where, for two instances in a world struck by a pandemic was the only game in town, would certainly agree by that particular sentiment that has been joined by more and more people around the world.
Back in 2018, the show that invented the subgenre of competition-based reality television expanded its horizons beyond the U.S. and began welcoming those from outside its borders with a group of ladies & gentlemen from the United Kingdom who have made a huge mark on this side of the pond. Ever since, they've been joined by other fellow Brits, plus those from Australia, the Middle East, South America and shows that don't air on MTV-affiliated channels for the thrill of competition, plus plenty more that takes place beyond the field, as they've joined the titans of this show that we've enjoyed for a long time. And they have been offering us plenty to enjoy as two legends of this game added to their illustrious resumes.
Now, months after C.T. Tamburello won title #4 alongside the first Big Brother houseguest to reign at season's end in Amber Borzotra - and Yes Duffy becoming the ultimate Challenge All-Star, the latest chapter of this saga is now some 70 hours away from lighting a flame of a different kind. This time, The Challenge has made its way to the Mediterranean coast of Croatia as those from the U.S. and Britain don the uniform and take to the floor once again, ready to take off at the sound of host T.J. Lavin's airhorn. They are being joined by a whole new batch of rookies from other nations in the European Union, from the home of the show's first international champion of Turkey, and even a couple ladies from Africa who've become social media darlings where they live, all part of the whole wide world of reality TV.
Together, these thirty-four hopefuls from eleven nations will find themselves on two teams of agents and operatives split between continental lines, all armed and heavily dangerous with killer instincts of the competitive variety. Their assignment, pretty simple: just handle the rigors of this game both of the physical and mental capabilities and anything the daily assignments have to offer, along with whatever the Vegas BMX rider can throw from them, and these players will then themselves going for $1 million -- all as it begins on Wednesday night when The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies kicks off.
After the break, DCBLOG kicks off our coverage of Season 37 of MTV's The Challenge as we offer you our first look at 2021's other big global athletic competition. And welcome on in Challenge Nation, and thank you for joining us on this late summer's Sunday night... we're so glad you've joined us.
A CHALLENGE PRIMER
AND WHAT TO EXPECT
In case you're new to Challenge Nation as so many are in the past year or so, then this is the thing those in the media of the fifth estate and social media kinds refer to as "America's fifth major pro sport." The Challenge received plenty of buzz from both the entertainment and sports media during the pandemic lockdown that coincided with both Total Madness and Double Agents, along with the All-Stars spinoff on Paramount+ that came on afterwards. The show is finally receiving the much overdue respect it's more than deserving of as the first reality-based competition based series on U.S. television - two years before the debut of both Survivor and Big Brother, which happens to air on sister network CBS and for which alumni of both shows joined The Challenge prior to the ViacomCBS re-merger.
But that's only just the competition aspect of The Challenge: it's reality TV after all... and this is the genre as MTV does it: as much as hardcore fans might frown upon it, the drama that takes place among the competitors gets just as much or even more airtime in the episodes than the action. There's plenty of soap opera-worth fights, hookups and the like, and yet there's still time to fit in strategy talk, the process of elimination and who will impress whoever is in power to stay out of the chamber -- and that's why starting a couple years ago episodes were expanded to 90 minutes. And there's been various formats in the show's thirty-six regular seasons (and a few spinoff ones too), which has seen it rotate among team and individual formats depending upon the makeup of each particular season's cast.
As this blogger has been focusing efforts on his Olympic fandom and staying true to watching this season as clean as possible without being spoiled one bit-- to be honest I have no idea of which format they'll be using this season. But all indications are that this season will be a team-based challenge along the lines of what we had on War of the Worlds II and many other seasons of the past. Something that is a good thing is that the skulls are not returning, which makes the possibilities of players to skate to the end more of a probability if the cards go their way. But there may be some things that we are not fully aware of around here, and things will change as whatever twists to the game may come the cast's way by TJ's patented "Teej-bombs", and everything else as well.
MEET THE CHALLENGERS
The cast of this Spies, Lies & Allies Challenge truly takes on the old adage that there is something for everyone -- at least on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. This fall's group of personalities are many: 113 total Challenge appearances for the fifteen players who've done these shows before, almost twenty titles on this show & various reality competition shows around the dial, more representation from franchises across the entire ViacomCBS suite, and a rookie field of nineteen whose headliner already has her followers back home in Africa anxious for her debut in front of a worldwide audience.
► THE HEAVY HITTERS
● ANEESA - Sure, Aneesa made it past the halfway point of every one of her Challenge starts during the past decade (Rivals 1) and then made it to the All-Stars final, but other than that what else is there for the longest-tenured Challenger to still do the main show? There's the confessionals, meme-worthy face reactions, being only one to win eliminations on the regular series in three different decades with 10 wins there, and mastering puzzles. But after finishing last in that spinoff final, are we staring at her last stand on this show? We'll have to see about that...
● ASHLEY - You just can't tell which kind of Ashley has made it onto a Challenge... but when you come into this season the same way as last as the one girl with a title ring on her ring, then that's something. She's always a threat when she competes -- especially when she's made it to the final and practiced for one in mini-finals like the one where she beasted the field last time out. Now that she has a key ally back in the fold, Ashley will no doubt have more support by her side as she tries to shut down those haters who can only stare at not only those two titles, but also that secure safe with $1.2M inside.
● CORY - After getting sent home from Final Reckoning, that fight on the bus seemed almost like a blessing in disguise for Cory. After taking both Wars home in 2019 he returned for Total Madness and, as we wrote here in our last season preview, it felt like the turning point in what was an underwhelming Challenge career. After 3rd last summer, Cory followed it up by flying under the radar before taking down Darrell in a late elimination and winning the semifinal challenge to partner with Kam in the final and finish 2nd. Now he eyes his first crown, but it may be a tough road to come.
● CT - When you're the defending champ, it carries a lot of weight... but after joining Bananas and Darrell as 4-time kings of the castle CT probably won't even have to worry about it that much. Going into his 19th season he's already more than solidified his incredible legacy, though much of the credit for his Double Agents title might go to his partner -- a nice bounce-back after his early exit on Madness. CT has the belt once again, and given how he's not quite ready to become an at-home dad full-time just yet, going back-to-back and getting #5 perhaps might be the ideal scenario to sail off into the sunset.
● FESSY - It's safe to say that Feysal is now the one challenger in this new generation that you'd love to hate... and the percentage of that is just around those who've gotten their shot where you live. After what we saw his first go, what happened with being a sophomore on Double Agents more than solidified his status as a villain -- all you really need is to watch THAT elimination. Making two straight finals in his first two seasons would be a good thing, but then again the final proved that you can't always back up that talk. Fessy will have to change his attitude if he'd want his approval ratings to go up.
● NANY - This is Nany's 11th Challenge and to think that she went to the end on Double Agents in just surviving an elimination with a smaller player, winning no dailies all season and making her 2nd final a more competitive one was a remarkable feat. It was her best chance to finally get that W, and while she may not have won it certainly made it known that Nany's first title might come sooner rather than later -- and that is, if there is an easier road to the marathon for the cash than it seems. She's again by herself here, but she should be more than motivated after what happened in Iceland.
● NELSON - Yes, what happened to him the last time we saw him was down right dirty, unexpected and one of the most shady things we've ever seen on this show, and we're sure that he is pretty much still not over that betrayal. But there's more to that on the mind of Nelson coming into SLA: he has an additional ally back with him again here along with his usual band of brothers supporting him, and him getting backdoored by Fessy will more than motivate him. But we can't forget: he's single and has a reputation for getting into it with others and getting it on with the ladies.
● TORI - When she started her Challenge career, Tori made it to the end on Dirty 30 and War of the Worlds 2... and we were set to call her "the real deal" here. But since then she hasn't been back to the end, and she's gone home early in the last two seasons in upsetting fashion in the elimination chamber. Yes, she is athletic, able to handle most every aspect of this game... but what's had those being skeptical of her has been been her social game by emphasizing herself more than her competitors. If she wants her first ring, Tori may need to form bonds with others aside from her podcast colleague.
► THE RETURNEES
● AMANDA - The Popoff Queen is back... but we have no idea of what kind of challenger has returned. Since we last saw Amanda, she helped to keep us all healthy as a nurse after she welcomed her first baby amidst her own love drama which we told you about here last year. In her five starts, she's generally not been as athletic and was at a disadvantage in heights comps, but Amanda made up for those as a scrapper in elimination, mastering mental and puzzle games, and winning the most dailies on Final Reckoning in spite of partner dysfunction, proving that she can be capable of going all the way to the end.
● BIG T 🇬🇧 - Big T has come quite a ways from her humble beginnings on WOTW2 to now being a prominent face of the next generation of Challengers and its international contingent. After that one & done trip to Thailand, she began to train hard for this to get better... and after proving that despite her size she can be a great asset when it comes to swimming which should be part of this season by the Croatian sea. And after seeing Snooki surprise the Jersey OG's last week, we're also blessed that Tula is also that life of the party amidst the madness that is a Challenge house.
● DEVIN - Like his FR partner, Devin took 2019 in Challenge Nation off to fly out to the Ex On The Beach villa, but as it was on Dirty 30 four years ago he will not have his #1 supporter in Wes by his side -- but in having a few AYTO allies in the Gingerman's place he won't be alone. We all know that he's not the most intimidating competitor on the physical side, but it's on the mental & political sides that he will be a presence... and he's had his moments in the elimination chamber too. We sure can't wait to see what kind of chaos Big D has for us in Croatia -- and the foamers will be on order.
● JOSH - For someone who's been a penchant for drama all his life on our reality TV screens, Josh has had his moments on The Challenge too. But it seems now that the Big Brother champ is finally start to really prove himself: he followed up deep runs on WOTW2 and Total Madness by winning his first elimination on Double Agents, and he only went out by just the sheer power of the eventual champ. Still, that still hasn't shut down his skeptics who love to seem him cry than compete... but given that this is a team game now, Joshua would love to shut them down on the victory podium.
● KAYCEE - Kaycee sure loves to take on the role of being the one player who loves to fly under every else's radar... and what we got to see in her first two seasons has seen remarkable in playing such a flawless game while everyone else has focused on those in her Big Brother alliance. Aside from what happened in the Agents final, she had five total dailies wins during the winter & spring and took down Theresa in the Crater. But if she would want to take it to the next level and win this altogether, Kaycee will want to think of doing some wheeling & dealing -- good thing she's got some allies.
● KYLE 🇬🇧 - As the one veteran Brit who's been on every Challenge in its international era, Kyle knows what it's like to be loved on both sides of the Atlantic. But now, he will enter this season as our new father-to-be as the wild man who we've seen on here is about to be more focused on competing for a growing family back home in the Northeast of England. Yes, we should what we know and love about him in humor and intimidation, but now that a first baby Christie is headed his way expect a new kind of Kyle to come into this new game.
● NAM 🇩🇪 - To say that Nam had a productive rookie season would be an understatement -- he had to endure the drama of being paired with a much more well-known athlete partner, and he had his season cut short by an injured back... not to mention coming in with a language disadvantage. But given his past experience on Beast Master, we feel that the Nam who made it to the end on Netflix's entry into Ninja territory should serve him well... and because of the team nature of this season he should finally be able to fully showcase what he can do.
► THE FAMILIAR ROOKIES
● MICHAELA - Five years ago on Survivor, Michaela came to Millennials vs. Gen X where she became a favorite of the fandom in doing what Challenge fans love: charismatic when talking to the camera and telling it like it is to the castaways. She also excelled competitively on the ground, in the water and even physically... but it was the most well-known alum of that season to MTV fans who took her out before the tribe merge. No wonder why Allan Aguirre has her at the top of his rookie power rankings, and all signs point to Michaela's transition to The Challenge be more smoother.
● MICHELE - Michele is the first Survivor castaway to come onto The Challenge as a champion having being voted Sole Survivor on Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty in 2015... and thus enters this game having won $1 million. In its modern era, she has been one of its best players: in Kaoh Rong and on its most recent season Winners at War, she was never voted off the island -- owing to her strong social game and ability to solve puzzles and swim to offset her lack of athleticism needed for a Challenge. Still, so many fans have clamored for Michele to cross onto this show, and now that wish is granted.
● TOMMY - Well, we have TWO Sole Survivors on SLA: Tommy won Season 39 - Island of the Idols - two years ago, where despite not winning individual immunity his social game won him its most recent regular season. He differs from everyone else but can relate to most All-Stars as a married man and an elementary teacher back on Long Island, and it's that brain of his that should serve Tommy well as does his size advantage... it's having to change his strategy up to a whole different game than it was in Fiji that will be one to watch for this gentle giant ginger.
● JEREMIAH - A year ago later this month, Jeremiah found himself in Las Vegas when the pandemic forced Love Island USA to come inland to the Strip, as he was one of the original eleven who moved in on day 1 at The Cromwell -- but who moved out the next week. Growing up he got to play football in his Mississippi hometown, and he will have to rely on that athletic background if he wants to make a good impression in his debut... and since there's love in the air here he may do even more. And after he followed Challengers on IG, Drake is more than anxious for Jeremiah's Challenge debut.
● LAUREN 🇬🇧 - Last year also in where Season 2 of Double Shot at Love went down, Lauren braved a pandemic to fly from Oxford, England to Vegas when Jeremiah left Hotel Love Island -- but she spent just a week before being dumped at the end of week 2. She's lived much of this recent time on our shores being an Insta-model... but even now the judges are out if she is being truthful. Still, she got to exhibit a bit of a cutthroat persona trying to win those hearts on the Strip, and if you need to succeed in this game, Lauren might have those chops necessary for it.
● COREY - The time we're in offers the perfect backdrop for Corey L. to join Challenge Nation: along with being a former track athlete & football player, him joining a small handful of those who've done this show as a Black gay man will more than motivate him. He isn't just a Challenge and reality TV fan who also did a show himself on a rival streaming service: he is also a personal trainer who has fought a lot in his life to get to where he is. No wonder why Corey has Karamo Brown, Portlander Marlon and many others in the reality world on his side here.
● GABO 🇭🇺 - As the first member of the global Shore system to come onto a U.S. MTV show from a version not in the English language, Gabo is part of its Polish cousin Warsaw Shore. Before joining the show in Mielno in the northwest of Hungary two years ago, he was a bodybuilder competing around the country - along the lines of what we had with Alan on War of the Worlds. But what he might lack in that field as a competitor on here as well as being stoic enough to possibly go deep unnoticed, Gabo might make up for his charm to the ladies here in Croatia.
● KELZ 🇬🇧 - If there was one serious guy in the first Too Hot to Handle villa, it was Londoner Kelz who did what he can to make sure everyone in paradise didn't hook up as much as possible to save the cash. But besides being the accountant, he stands 6'6" and 200 lbs. -- and he played American football in its local league and won its title six times. But it's one thing to fall in love in stream-ville -- and The Challenge is a different animal that's more than just living in paradise: everything that takes place here happens in a snap... and the question is Kelz will be ready for this.
● PRISCILLA 🇬🇧 - When Love Island UK went down to South Africa for series 6 a year ago, Priscilla came to Casa Amor in week 3 and later entered the main villa before going home two weeks later. She's been a pageant contestant, a holder of a college business degree, a model with a 100k IG following, a dancer, and she's also active as a former high jumper and outdoor enthusiast. She is more than able to handle the physical aspects of this game which players need to do well here, and Priscilla is a rare combination on here of beauty and brawn -- and she has a good chance to go deep here.
● HUGHIE 🇬🇧 - Two years ago, America was introduced to Bear... and now it's the turn of another icon of British reality TV to stamp his flag on our side of the Atlantic: Hughie is actually Irish, but he already is a Big Brother runner-up, competed on their version of Dancing with the Stars and got a tattoo on its How Far is Tattoo Far?. He's become that much more popular on OnlyFans, but he's also just the 2nd Brit of LGBT orientation to compete on The Challenge. He's outspoken and loves to stir the pot, but also has some experience in the ring... and we can't wait to see what Hughie is made of.
► THE NEWBIE NEWBIES
● LOGAN 🇪🇸 - Logan comes to us from the nation of Spain, where in addition to hosting seasons of shows we love on both sides of the ocean have also had local versions of their own -- including Survivor where he finished in 2nd. With a strong physique, experience in soccer and skateboarding, and training in combat sports, he has an inside chance to perhaps reign supreme thanks to the skills he needs for dailies and eliminations on cardio, balance and ability to handle a hall brawl, plus the stamina he had on the island that could help him in a final. No wonder why Logan is Allan's preseason rookie fave.
● EMMANUEL 🇷🇴 - He comes to us from the Romanian version of Survivor, but already Emmanuel has become not only a runner-up on that show, but also showed off his vocal chops on their version of The X-Factor... even glancing at his hair you'd think he'd be like Jordan - but that's where their comparisons end. As a skilled athlete thanks to being a soccer goalie, he excelled in quickness, weight and hand-eye coordination on the island -- and those are all needed for a game like this... even the love aspect perhaps? It's a good chance Emmanuel may win as a rookie on here.
● EMY 🇷🇴 - Emy is, like Logan and Emmanuel, a Survivor alum... she may not have been a standout castaway like them on her version in Romania, but from the drama standpoint she was first class en route to a top-6 finish plus an immunity challenge win. But like the ladder, she is also a musician: a rapper who's a huge draw on YouTube and social media with six-figure followings. Before flying to the Croatian coast, she studied the game of our defending champ, and thanks to having an instant alliance with her castmate, Emy might have more to offer than those here.
● BERNA 🇩🇪 - When Turbo reigned supreme on War of the Worlds, he had already achieved icon status in his native Turkey thanks to being a multiple champion on Survivor Turkey. On a few of his seasons he competed alongside Berna, who has become popular in that country thanks to competing on there and their own Got Talent, but who actually calls Germany her home. But she is more than that: having a good balance, precision, finesse and a good listener allowed her to thrive on that show -- she's even done celeb boxing events on the sids. Berna should fit very fine in this Challenge house.
● BETTINA 🇸🇪 - In Scandinavia, Bettina is a bona-fide reality icon: she's done seven reality dating shows in Sweden and Norway, and even won her native country's own Love Island and Paradise Island. But if you loved Kayleigh, Melissa or Ashley on her Real World, you will likely enjoy the hot mess that is this lady: she can charm you, but can also be as cutthroat and cunning as any in this genre. She even pulled off Bananas on the ladder show above: she took all the money for herself on one season in Paradise... Bettina should find her way here just easily.
● TRACY 🇩🇪 - Tracy is, like Bettina, a veteran of the German Love Island and who also made her way as her nation's favorite couple in the villa. On the outside she is that shy lady who's had time in law studies and loves to do some yoga -- and for which those who saw her on the show wasn't as appealing as everyone else in the Casa. But on the inside you'll find someone who has a wild side after hours and the kind of competitive edge that's also seen her do some karate too... and Tracy may have a surprise waiting for us.
● RENAN 🇧🇪 - The latest from the Ex On The Beach world to come to Challenge land comes to us from its Dutch version. Renan is a model and sex therapist, which allowed him to get it on a bit on two seasons of EOTB in front of viewers in the Netherlands. He also developed the kind of manipulative and cocky persona that makes him sort of their version's answer to Devin here: the villain that those in that speed sport-loving country would love to kick a soccer ball at their set. Renan feels that he has the game he needs to back it up... but will it translate to success?
● ESTHER 🇳🇬 - Big Brother is not only a big thing here and elsewhere, it's also a huge deal in Nigeria: Esther appeared on Season 4 in 2019, where two times she was Head of Household and had a knack for being confrontational. But that is only part of who she is: when she turned 21 she got accepted into its national Bar and who then became a lawyer -- and her experience there and in college will help her in the mental games. She's expanded her CV to adding being a actress, influencer and model... but Esther knows that it'll take more than charm and sneakiness to master this game.
● TACHA 🇳🇬 - And lastly, the social darling of Spies, Lies & Allies: there's no doubt her castmate Tacha personifies the kind of bold personality that we love about MTV Reality -- think, Simone. In that Pepper Dem BB house, she was as ruthless as you can get: the houseguests were plotting every week to get her out because she was busy putting them on blast, but after eight evictions her fanbase saved her up until she got evicted for getting into a physical fight. She is arguably Africa's biggest reality star, and with 7-figure followings on social media there's no doubt she will be guns a-blazing.
As we come to the homeland of this blogger's fellow Twitter friend Neya -- and many of straight off of having binge-watched 20 days' worth of the Olympics like I have, Challenge Nation is already anxious to get this all started. We also got a lot of these burning questions to get off of our chests, including one we asked last winter of how the absence of Johnny Bananas here impact the game -- so is Wes.
There's also these to consider: "Can CT make it one for the thumb?", "Can Cory or Nany finally win their first title?", "How can Tori try to bounce back both in this game and in her love life?", "Will Fessy and Nelson squash things after that betrayal?", "Can these Survivor alums get used to how different The Challenge is?", "What in the world are these newbies who can't speak English saying," or perhaps, "Is America ready for Symply Tacha?" And there's a lot more than these in the next half-year ahead.
Unlike what was the case last time, The Challenge will have a bit of company on our TV landscape when it comes to competition: along with it taking the baton from the Olympics and airing during the most magical time of year of sports fans of the fall, it also shares this night with Big Brother, Love Island and Survivor -- that'll make our TV choices that much more complicated. But with the kind of competition, drama and a cast that is truly global... no wonder why TJ has a feeling that this is the biggest season of The Challenge yet. Bring it on...
🌎 🌍 🌏
DCBLOG has been lucky enough to follow every ebb & flow of The Challenge and television's most-talked about reality shows for the past eight years, and as we're into our ninth year going Inside MTV Reality we'll once serve as its unofficial blog site of record as we'll be bringing you all that goes down in Croatia and beyond in the land of Challenge Nation in our 19th overall season of covering this show.
We provide our own stamp on covering The Challenge by supplementing your favorite podcasts, fantasy leagues and the like with exclusive diaries of how social media saw the episodes in a raw manner on SocialPulse, traditional episode recaps in a different way with our DCBLOG WRAP, and a unique look at the people of Challenge Nation, the MTV Reality family and the almost 30-year history of this world from the unique vantage point that is ExtraTime with the same high-caliber storytelling that most of you got to enjoy while watching Olympic coverage on the Peacock.
And our item of business on here is offer our other preseason tradition: our traditional introduction to the season's rookies in an expanded installment of Who Are These Newbies? Over the next three days (or perhaps into after the premiere airs), we'll take a deeper dive at the big set of nineteen rookies of Spies, Lies & Allies... and we hope you will welcome them with open arms.
Now the catch: unlike other outlets, DCBLOG delays posting our episode coverage for later - as more & more of you are cutting the cord and can't watch the episodes live on Wednesdays, we give you the rest of the week to catch up on watching them before we begin our coverage during the biggest time of the week: the weekend. And by asking you to interact with us on any method of social media you can to spread the word of what we are here, make sure to join us all season long for coverage of The Challenge that you won't find anywhere else... and welcome to this new season.
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