There’s an art to assembling a Challenge cast. Many fans think they can do a better job than producers, which isn’t always a hard conclusion to reach.
Going through Challenge history, the show has cast some odd people. While every season gives us rookies and veterans, and some of those people flop, if you put yourself in production’s shoes, you can often see what they wanted to achieve. Take Lio on Double Agents as an example — he didn’t do much that season, but in the age of COVID, the Challenge was trying to brand itself as a pseudo sport. A WWE wrestler seemed to fit into that vision, even if the dream never took form.
This list is for people who don’t seem to fit an any mold. Were they going to bring drama? No. Were they returning with a compelling storyline? Again, no. And were they stiff competition? Definitely not.
Brooke LaBarbera (The Duel 2)
The Duel 2 seemed designed to put top competitors against each other. It gave athletes a chance to shine — so how did Brooke get here? She performed terribly on the Gauntlet 3, unlike other wild-card picks (like Ryan), who had shown potential. To make matters worse, Brooke was all about peace and love this time around, and she stayed true to character, which wasn’t compelling TV.
Frank & Bananas (Rivals 2)
By the time Rivals 2 rolled around, the producers were known for being quite liberal with their definitions of “rivals,” “exes,” and “season.” There were a fair number of odd picks here — like Leroy and Ty — but Frank and Bananas had never done a season together. There was some drama on Twitter, but without footage to back it up, there was no real narrative to air on TV.
Emilee Fitzpatrick (Free Agents)
Similar to The Duel 2, Free Agents was designed to showcase athleticism. The installment had a sports-related theme, so why is this the season producers brought back Emilee? She did poorly on Cutthroat, and while that shouldn’t end a Challenge career, there was no reason to believe Emilee would add to the hype of Free Agents.
Thomas & Simone (Rivals 3)
Rivals 3 is a cast full of weak rivalries, but the decision to cast Tom and Simone may be the most perplexing. The two did get into a petty fight in Panama while playing a drinking game during Battle of the Exes 2. We saw it on the season trailer, but production cut the fight from the final edit. If producers don’t think the fight was important enough to make the final edit, why is this team important enough to get cast on Rivals 3?
Brad & Kyle (Final Reckoning)
This pairing is a prime example of production trying to jam two players where they just don’t fit. Both Brad and Kyle had great storylines on Vendettas, but these narratives barely overlapped. Both of them had better options for partners, but instead, they were forced together so they could return to the show. This made them one of the strongest teams at the beginning of the season, further highlighting that there was no real tension between them.
Jenn Lee (Total Madness)
Before Jenn, The Challenge had never had an Amazing Race alumnus, so it was an odd choice to start with her. She was the first person eliminated on her season, so she wasn’t super memorable, and predictably, she wasn’t a strong competitor. She was very disconnected from the other rookies; she never did well in challenges, and rumor has it she was difficult for producers to work with. By the time the first female elimination rolled around, girls were begging to compete against Jenn because she was so easy to defeat.
Joseph Allen (Double Agents)
By season 36, viewers knew there were no boundaries when casting rookies, and that was made clear when they invited an America’s Got Talent performer onto the show. Joseph was a singer, not an athlete, and that was obvious when it came time to compete. To make matters worse, all he did that season was sleep in the club and lick mustard.
Averey Tressler (Rivals 3)
There’s no doubt Averey was excited to compete on Battle of the Eras, but this was meant to be a monumental season that assembled key representatives from each era. Era 3 gave us a lot of big names, and Averey wasn’t one of them. While she did perform fairly well, fans expected to see someone like Nany, Kailah, or Ashley represent the era, not a player with untapped potential.
Jamie Murray (The Gauntlet 2) & Camila Nakagawa (Battle of the Seasons)
These two are different than the rest of the list. While Jamie was a strong competitor, and Camila was basically the total package in 2012, they just didn’t fit the themes. Jamie wasn’t a rookie, and Camila wasn’t from Fresh Meat. Did production think we wouldn’t notice?
Stop Being Polite 