Stop teasing us, MTV! Last week you were toying with the idea of another Battle of the Exes, this week you’re talking about Rivals.
Clearly, this is more of a promo for Paramount+ than anything else, so don’t get your hopes up too quickly.
Similar to Exes, the pandemic will still play a role in casting for Season 38. The pairs on Rivals are contingent upon both partners appearing on the show. If one person has a positive COVID test (or pregnancy test if they bother to check), their partner will be ineligible to compete.
Of course, if Rivals 2 taught us anything, the Rivals pairs are kind of flexible. Production can turn one confessional or tweet and turn it into a pairing. So I’d say this format is more likely than Exes.
There is an additional complication with Rivals, and it has nothing to do with the pandemic. People already complain about competitors throwing missions and not caring about winning. Assuming the teams on Rivals 4 are same-sex, only one sex would really matter each week. That could make episodes drag more than they already do.
There are ways around this, but I doubt MTV is putting much thought into it. Rivals 4 or Exes 3 are very unlikely. If anything, we’re more likely to get a blend of the two akin to Final Final Reckoning.
Stop Being Polite 