The Death, Taxes, and Bananas podcast is back at it. This week, Leroy joined Johnny to talk about their experiences on Vets & New Threats — a season they’ve both been eliminated from.
Near the end of the episode (around the 1 hour, 19 min mark), Bananas talked with Leroy about returning in the future. Leroy anticipates he’d need a long break before coming back to the competition. He’d like to take two years to prepare mentally and physically for his next season. But, Bananas says Leroy may not have that option.
The seven-time champ feels season 42 will determine the fate of the show. Mostly because MTV is doing quite poorly as a network. Bananas referenced the fact that MTV is shutting down many of its UK stations (though the flagship MTV UK network is not going away), and ratings in the US have not been great.
According to Bananas, and this may just be speculation, the next season will air on Paramount, making it important for the show to perform well and prove its value to the streaming service. As such, he advises Leroy not to take such a lengthy break.
If we’re being honest, the news is not a shock. It wasn’t a matter of if the Challenge would move to Paramount, it was a matter of when. But it does add some uncertainty to the show’s future. It has been a staple on MTV for decades, but a network shift will put it under more scrutiny and the show’s value could be reassessed.
Keep in mind, Bananas doesn’t know everything, but he does have access to a lot of insider info, so his statements likely aren’t utterly baseless. If anything, this is probably good news for a lot of Challenge fans, because they’ve been eager to watch the show on Paramount rather than subscribe to cable.
Bananas also called for entertaining competitors to return to the show and for viewers to tune in. He wants the season to be “too big to fail.”
Still, Leroy maintains that he really doesn’t feel mentally ready to come back next season. But let’s read between the lines — this could just be an excuse for Kam to make a comeback and Leroy to stay home with the kids.
Stop Being Polite 
Is it a coincidence that Jordan and some controversial players are running “champ camp” while this news comes out? What even is champ camp supposed to be? Is there something more coming for that for Jordan or those who particpate?