Why Isn’t Emanuel on Season 40?

Season 40 has started filming, and the cast covers most eras of The Challenge. But, one thing is lacking from the most recent era: the “new champion.”

It seems a bit peculiar that the newest champion would be omitted from the cast. While the season is not an all-winners season, the cast is stacked with a large number of people who have won a Challenge before. Over half the of the competitors have at least one title.

After all, viewers did watch a 19-episode season without any Challenge mainstays on the cast for Emanuel to get his title. It feels like the whole “Battle for a New Champion” theme was a waste if the new winner isn’t part of the cast on the milestone 40th season.

We can’t say for sure why Emanuel didn’t make the cut, but there are three likely contributing factors.

Firstly, following the filming of Battle for a New Champion, Emanuel’s reputation has been tarnished a bit. Nurys has called him “the worst human,” and he’s said/ liked things on social media that aren’t politically correct (like this instance of misogyny). While I don’t think he’s someone that the show is trying to completely silence, his actions have raised a few eyebrows.

Secondly, there are only 10 cast members who debuted from seasons 31-39, and we’re only seeing five people who appeared on Battle for a New Champion. With the limited number of cast members, it doesn’t really feel necessary to force Emanuel into the mix. He’s not the most popular winner we’ve seen in recent years, and there really isn’t a lot of demand to see him come back.

Perhaps the most important point: He has no real storyline coming into this season. While it’s not required to be deeply intertwined in Challenge drama (arguably, Theo and Jenny aren’t), the five returners from Battle for a New Champion have a lot of unfinished business. Nurys, Kyland, and Horacio ended the season as friends, while Olivia and Michele seem to be outside of this group.

Meanwhile, Emanuel came to win season 39, and he did. There isn’t much unfinished business, and production can wrap up his story nicely.

Beyond these three reasons, it also feels like production is moving away from international contenders on the show. There are only two UK competitors on season 40, and they may not want to invest in someone like Emanuel in the future. But, that’s just speculation, and just because Emanuel isn’t on season 40 doesn’t mean he won’t ever be back.