In 2022, The Challenge invested in a massive endeavor to make the show a global phenomenon. It branched out to the UK, Australia, and Argentina, and the UK and Australian iterations were ratings bombs (though it was fairly successful in Argentina — just not successful enough for a second season).
The US already had the flagship show on MTV, but that wasn’t enough for the global takeover. So, The Challenge USA was born, earning a spot on CBS’ summer 2022 prime time lineup.
The show was a modest success, likely because it lured in Survivor, Big Brother, Amazing Race, and Love Island fans. The spin offs culminated in the World Championship, and for a moment it seemed like the international adaptations were going to end there.
The Challenge USA 1 didn’t have amazing ratings, but it wasn’t a total flop and television in 2023 was heavily impacted by the Hollywood writers’ strike. CBS relied on reality TV to fill in its summer schedule, and this was the push the network needed to green light The Challenge USA 2.
This season brought six MTV personalities to CBS and dropped the Love Island players, but it was fairly obvious the show existed to fill in holes in CBS’ summer lineup. The Challenge USA 2 had a very inconsistent schedule, and that likely led to it having softer ratings than the first season.
The Challenge was never a runaway success on CBS, but it still wasn’t a total ratings tank. Likely, CBS didn’t feel compelled to make a third season because they had scripted programming back on the air in 2024 and didn’t need The Challenge to beef up its schedule.
The Challenge USA’s cancellation isn’t a huge mystery — it comes down to ratings, and the show didn’t establish itself as must-see TV. But, we did get two full seasons. They were streaming on Paramount+… until they weren’t.
Viewers can no longer find USA 1 or USA 2 on the streaming service, and this is likely a similar scenario to Real World: Homecoming. After its initial airing, there likely wasn’t enough people watching The Challenge: USA on Paramount+. CBS likely got rid of the show because it reduces its number of assets — therefore lowering the streaming service’s value. This has tax implications, so in short, it saves Paramount money.
Still, this is very frustrating for viewers who want to see the show. Luckily, you can still download it on services like Amazon if you’d like, so the show isn’t lost. In fact, it’s probably better to download seasons rather than pay for Paramount+, because many of them are disappearing and you can no longer depend on the service to be a one-stop hub for the franchise.
Stop Being Polite 
I fell in love wth The Challenge usa.. I will say I found it on accident, It was a hit with myself and friends!