The Challenge has changed a lot since Dirty Thirty premiered in 2017. New champions emerged, casting went global, and the prize pool hit $1 million. Oh, and there were explosions. Many, many explosions.
The real million-dollar question: Which Challenge season in the 30s was the best?
Of course, this answer depends on who you ask, and there are many factors to consider. So, I am going to rank each season on five metrics:
Casting: This includes the balance of rookies and fresh faces, whether people fit into the theme, and whether the competitors generated excitement.
Length of the season: This includes the number of episodes, ability to fill time with worthwhile content, and pacing of the season (including cliffhangers).
Format: This focuses on whether viewers could understand what was happening, the twists, and how the story progressed
Storylines: This looks at the meaningful storylines that came from the season, whether they continued old narratives or begun new plot lines, and whether or not cast members were used well.
Competitions: This looks at the daily challenges, eliminations, and the final. Points will be added for great concepts and points will be deducted if the competitions were meaningless and didn’t impact the progress of the game.
10. Battle for a New Champion
Casting: 4
Length: 1
Format: 5
Storylines: 6
Competitions: 6
Average: 4.4
It felt like production wanted this season to be the spiritual successor to Invasion, but the final product was confusing. The all-rookie cast was a mistake, and while there were some great competitors, there were just as many confusing ones. Some of the Champion appearances were exciting, but the biggest issue was the fact that we went weeks without a single person leaving. However, the conquest stage was really fast-paced and fun, and the final was an improvement from the three seasons prior.
9. Ride or Dies
Casting: 5
Length: 2
Format: 7
Storylines: 4
Competitions: 5
Average: 4.6
This season started off strong, but once all of the teams were in the game, it started to drag. Episodes were filled with endless Tori/Jordan drama, and many of the most exciting returners (Laurel, Kailah, Turbo) left fairly early. However, the casting was an improvement from Spies, Lies and Allies, and it was nice to see that teams began as pairs and ended as pairs. That said, the team stage in the middle of the game was unnecessary — almost as unnecessary as that 100-hour final.
8. Double Agents
Casting: 7
Length: 3
Format: 4
Storylines: 5
Competitions: 5
Average: 4.8
This season had a seriously confusing cast, but it’s hard to deny some of the excitement it generated with the return of Theresa and by bringing in an Olympian. Some of the competitions were cool, but the biggest issues were the emphasis on the spy theme and gold skull twist, which led to people volunteering for eliminations. This was also the first 19-episode, 90-minute season, which was long, but felt more appropriate given the fact that it was filmed during peak-COVID. Plus, it was cool to see Amber B., a true rookie, win a season that was not geared toward rookies.
7. Spies, Lies and Allies
Casting: 2
Length: 3
Format: 7
Storylines: 7
Competitions: 6
Average: 5
This was a fairly lackluster season, but after rewatching it, I view it in a much more favorably than my initial viewing. After two skull-based seasons, competitors actually wanted to do well in competitions so they’d avoid elimination and their partners wouldn’t get stolen. Also, it was the first time we saw a three-team format since Cutthroat, and it was executed fairly well. The biggest blemish on the season is the casting. Aside from Amanda, all of the veterans felt stale and many of the rookies felt utterly random (aside from the Survivor cast members). Still, these people had some drama, and it was nice to see CT finally get a back-to-back win after all of his seasons on the show.
6. Total Madness
Casting: 7
Length: 5
Format: 6
Storylines: 7
Competitions: 5
Average: 6
From the start, this season had a fairly interesting cast, though there weren’t many shocking additions to the group, and the skull twist was a welcome addition at first — especially following War of the Worlds 2. Then, we learned that the cast would just manipulate the game so everyone had the chance to get a skull, and it became less exciting. This hurt the level of competition, but that was initially compensated by the drama. Then, the Dee incident happened, MTV edited the villain out of their season, and it got less interesting. Rewatching this season has an eerie feel to it, knowing filming predated lockdowns, and so much drama has impacted the cast since it aired.
5. Vendettas
Casting: 8
Length: 8
Format: 4
Storylines: 9
Competitions: 7
Average: 7.2
As the second installment of the trilogy, Vendettas felt like a middle child without its own identity. It was a messy format that made no sense, but somehow, it was fun to watch. There are many memorable moments from this season, including Cara Maria’s fling with Kyle, Devin’s plot to remove Bananas from the game, and Kayleigh’s luggage getting tossed. Some moments felt forced, like the mercenaries and only having one winner, but that doesn’t make the season any less interesting. It was also a pivotal moment for the franchise, becoming the first season with non-MTV cast members on it and it ushered in the British invasion.
4. War of the Worlds
Casting: 7
Length: 9
Format: 6
Storylines: 7
Competitions: 8
Average: 7.4
Following Final Reckoning, MTV vowed to make a season with fewer cliffhangers — and they actually followed through with the plan. This cast felt like it had many big veteran names on it, though they were mostly recycled from the prior season, and the rookies were an interesting group. Many of them were from the US (odd for a war of the worlds theme), but the UK cast members really stood out and gave the season a breath of fresh air. There was a lot of drama, though there was way too much emphasis on the Kyle/ Paulie feud, and I think a lot of people were upset that there was only one winner when the season initially centered around pairings.
3. War of the Worlds 2
Casting: 7
Length: 9
Format: 6
Storylines: 9
Competitions: 7
Average: 7.6
This may be the last time we ever see a season that just has two teams, and while it wasn’t a huge success, there was so much tension between cast members that the format almost didn’t matter. This was our first season with 90-minute episodes, but with so much drama, it was a welcome change. This cast was similar to War of the Worlds 1 — plus Laurel, Tori, and Jordan — and those three really rocked the boat. Cara Maria’s alliance dominated the game, despite being regarded as fairly unlikeable, but Jordan proved he was a fighter. It was also interesting to see the UK team win, even though there was only one Brit remaining, and the end of the season was mostly satisfying.
2. Final Reckoning
Casting: 9
Length: 7
Format: 7
Storylines: 10
Competitions: 8
Average: 8.2
Final Reckoning felt like the end of an era, but in the messiest way possible. The season managed to amass more vendettas than Vendettas and get dirtier than Dirty Thirty. If you love the show for drama, this is the season for you, but the competitions aren’t anything to sleep on. We saw a lot of great eliminations and daily challenges, though the redemption format left a lot to be desired. As the season aired, people complained that casting was very repetitive, there were too many cliffhangers, and the mercenary twist was unfair. While there’s truth to these claims, in retrospect, the season is a masterpiece when you stream it. Plus, Ashley keeping the $1 million prize for herself will be a moment that lives in reality TV history.
1. Dirty Thirty
Casting: 10
Length: 9
Format: 8
Storylines: 8
Competitions: 9
Average: 8.8
We need to give MTV credit where it’s due, this season felt like an event — everything from the promo tour at the beginning to the million-dollar prize at the end. The cast was a great mix of heavy hitters from the new and old schools, plus the surprising returns of people like Veronica and Derrick. The double-cross was the perfect way to inject drama into the season, and it definitely gave us some memorable moments. While the season is marred by Camila’s ugliest outburst, it successfully made the show feel exciting again and it really upped the ante compared to prior seasons.
I’ve also ranked all the spinoffs from the “30s” era. Check out that list for more details on the spinoffs. Here’s my list of all 23 flagship seasons and spinoffs ranked.
23. The Challenge UK
22. The Challenge Argentina
21. Champs vs. Stars
20. Champs vs. Pros
19. The Challenge USA 1
18. Battle for a New Champion
17. The Challenge Australia
16. Ride or Dies
15. Double Agents
14. Spies, Lies and Allies
13. Total Madness
12. All Stars 1
11. World Championship
10. All Stars 3
9. Vendettas
8. Champs vs. Stars 2
7. War of the Worlds
6. All Stars 4
5. The Challenge USA 2
4. War of the Worlds 2
3. All Stars 2
2. Final Reckoning
1. Dirty Thirty
Stop Being Polite 