Cutthroat 2: Why is the Format Returning After 16 Years?

Era 2 ended with The Challenge season 20: Cutthroat. Now that we’re in Era 5, the season is getting an unexpected sequel— 16 years later.

This is a seemingly random decision for the upcoming season. The Challenge has never waited this long for the second installment of a format, and it’s not like there have been people begging for the Cutthroat format to return (well, not too many). 

At this point in Challenge history, it’s hard to know if Cutthroat 2 is a good decision. Many fans of the show liked the original Cutthroat, but it wasn’t a wild success. Ratings were modest, and the season was sandwiched between Fresh Meat 2, a season with below-average ratings, and Rivals, a season that helped ratings surge. 

It should also be noted that almost every season after Cutthroat had a subtitle that described its format: Rivals paired enemies, War of the Worlds made US competitors face international opponents, and Vets & New Threats made Challenge alumni work with rookies. On the surface, it seems odd that we’d get a non-discript format for season 42.

The best explanation: This decision probably relates to the streaming era. While the main series usually had descriptive subtitles, seasons on Paramount+ have been vague. The Challenge USA 1 and 2 were very different games, but both just had a “USA” tagline. All Stars 1-4 were just labeled with a numeral, but once that franchise moved to MTV, it had a “Rivals” tagline.

Cutthroat 2 is the perfect balance between fan service and non-descriptiveness. Challenge fans hear “Cutthroat,” and they know it’s a 3-team format, but that’s only because they’ve seen season 20. If you’re unfamiliar with the franchise, “Cutthroat” means absolutely nothing. 

According to Gamer, Cutthroat 2 will be different from the original. Most notably, there are only 24 competitors, giving us three teams with eight players. There will also be blue, gray, and orange teams, with the orange team replacing the original format’s red team. 

While production may have its reasons for picking the Cutthroat 2 format, it feels like a random format (though it does add context to some casting decisions). I don’t think this is necessarily a bad choice, just a random one.