The Challenge: Double Agents has a diverse cast. If you look at the cast, you might not see diversity among races, but the age differences might not be as obvious.
This season features two records: Oldest person to compete on The Challenge and oldest rookie debut.
Darrell is the older person to ever appear on The Challenge (narrowly). He joins Mark and Veronica as a 40-year-old Challenge competitor. However, depending on how far it makes it in the season, he turn 41 on the season. Additionally, CT comes onto The Challenge at age 40, but he is younger than Darrell.
Lolo is the oldest rookie debut at the age of 38. Natalie Anderson is also a notably older debut at the age of 34.
Meanwhile, Liv Jawando is the youngest person to ever debut on The Challenge. She was born in 1999. While she will be 21 on this season, we have seen people come onto Challenges at age 18.
With this variety in ages, it raises the question of whether or not we need age limits on the show. After Big Brother: All Star, it seems like older people have some interest in the show.
At this point, there doesn’t really need to be an age limit, but new cast members should have some potential to blossom into storylines. Darrell has prior seasons under his belt and he has history with people on the show. Despite the fact that he’s now in his 40’s, he’s in great shape and woven into the fabric of Challenge history. He can return after five seasons away and immerse himself into gameplay like he never missed a season.
Lolo could be a misstep for The Challenge. She’s strong, but there are a lot of reasons why she might not be a longterm investment. She’s an Olympian, and once pandemic restrictions are lifted she might not want to stay on The Challenge. At the same time, fitness is integral to her career so she will be Challenge-ready for years to come.
Of course, the younger people don’t have these concerns. Liv is pregnant now, but she could return after giving birth. She’s so young that she’s fully capable of playing the game for years to come.
Personally, I am not a fan of any type of age restriction at this point. However, I’d prefer to avoid random rookies coming onto the show for one season then disappearing. I’d rather see rookies who can invest time into the franchise. Many people are coming onto the show with random television resumes. Viewers are going to be unfamiliar with many of them, so if they disappear after a single season they seem like random recruits with no purpose in the history of the franchise.
Stop Being Polite 