2025 Challenge Predictions

Another year has come to a close. Last year, 2024, marked a milestone for The Challenge as the show filmed and premiered its 40th season. We also got the long awaited premiere for All Stars 4 and we watched as Battle for a New Champion finished airing.

Compared to other recent years, this hasn’t been the most eventful time for The Challenge. We didn’t see any new spin-offs, and we didn’t get a new installment of The Challenge: USA. 

Just like I’ve done for prior years, I’m going to make some predictions for the upcoming year: 2025. These are just educated guesses, mostly rooted in rumors and the limited information we have. Likely, I will be wrong, but this list is meant to be fun, so take everything with a grain of salt. 

1. The return of rookies

Battle of the Eras gave viewers a cast filled with fan favorites and old school returns. It was a treat for dedicated fans, but the lack of new competitors isn’t sustainable for The Challenge. 

Gamer has mentioned that season 41 is expected to have a good number of rookies, but I’ve always expected this would be the case. I anticipate seeing a few people from Survivor and Big Brother make the jump from CBS to MTV. I’d also expect that we’ll see people from international reality shows join the franchise. 

2. All Stars continues, but with fresher faces

We’ve already heard a couple chirps about All Stars 6, and it feels like there’s a good chance it will be filmed in 2025. However, it will feel more like All Stars: Rivals and less like the original installment. Expect to see more people from Big Brother, Are You the One, and other non-MTV shows. I’d also expect a couple semi-old-school returns, but most likely people from Era 3 or later.

3. A Challenger finds success off the franchise

Shows like The Traitors and House of Villains have given Challengers the chance to appear on non-MTV reality shows. Wes, Bananas, CT, and Trishelle have all made the transition, but they’re the likely suspects. This could be the year that someone else from The Challenge gets on a reality show. Maybe Amanda or Devin will be on House of Villains or maybe Ashley and Veronica compete on The Traitors. The possibilities are endless, but it could be time for a less-likely face to represent the franchise. 

4. Spin offs become less relevant 

For a moment, it seemed that competitors from The Challenge UK, Australia, and Argentina were going to infiltrate the main series. At this point, if they haven’t made their debuts, it seems unlikely. These spin-offs will be treated like failed experiments and will be left in the past. Some have already been taken off Paramount+. 

I wouldn’t expect The Challenge: USA 3, but I also wouldn’t dismiss cast members from USA 1 & 2 from appearing on the main series. Those competitors were on shows produced  by Paramount, so they’re still relevant when it comes to casting. 

5. 2024’s cycle roughly continues

I anticipate one season of the main series will film in the first half of 2025 and air during the second half of the year. We know All Stars 5 will air in early 2025, but I’d expect All Stars 6 will film in the second half of the year and air in 2026. 

6. Surprise returns aren’t that surprising 

After Battle of the Eras I wouldn’t expect production to dig too deep when recruiting returners. Maybe someone like Ashley or Wes will make a main series return, but I doubt production will recruit someone who hasn’t done the show in 5+ years. Assuming All Stars 6 films, we might get a couple semi-old-school returns, but I wouldn’t expect Challenge legends (think Evelyn or Coral). Rather, we’ll be likely to see people who will use the franchise to reestablish themselves (think Carley or Trey). 

7. The Vacation Alliance (and more) take a Challenge break

I’d expect many of the current Challenge mainstays will want to take some time off. People like Tori, Kaycee, Laurel, and Bananas may be fatigued. Shows can take up to 3 months to fully film, and it’s a big time commitment. That time commitment will remain for fans, too. Expect the main series to remain 90 minutes long with 19 episodes or more.