We know filming for Season 42 has wrapped — it’s been over for a few months. But as of now, we’re still waiting on an announcement.
While the footage has been sitting in production’s hands for a few months so far, this isn’t the longest window between production wrapping and a season airing (at least, not yet). There have been a few seasons when fans felt like they spent more time waiting for the season to air than watching it.
The Gauntlet 2
In the early Challenge days, two seasons were filmed each year — one in the summer and one in the fall. The summer season would typically premiere in September or October (like The Gauntlet, Battle of the Sexes 2, and The Duel). The Gauntlet 2 broke this cycle and premiered in December, making fans wait an extra two months. To make matters worse, MTV teased the season at the 2005 VMAs that aired in late August.
Subsequently, Fresh Meat didn’t premiere until late May, despite having filmed in October and November 2005.
The Gauntlet 3
MTV only produced one Challenge season in 2007: The Gauntlet 3, filmed in May and June. This was a transitional time for MTV, and many of its shows (like The Real World and The Challenge) transitioned to a one-hour format. This meant we had fewer Gauntlet 3 episodes, and the season sat in the editing room for about six months before it premiered in January 2008.
Sadly, but interestingly, Frankie Abernathy died in June 2007. Brad and Robin recorded tributes that were aired during MTV news segments, and they were filmed on the Gauntlet 3 set
Battle of the Exes 2
This season started filming in August 2014, and it didn’t air until January 2015. While this isn’t a huge gap, real-life events made the in-between time feel longer than it actually was. Two cast members, Diem Brown and Ryan Knight, died in this window, and fans questioned whether the season would ever see the light of day. In fact, when MTV shared the news of Diem’s passing, they used her Battle of the Exes 2 cast photo before the season was even announced.
Fortunately, we did see the season, and production did a good job of respectfully including Diem and Knight.
Total Madness
A lot can change between a season’s filming and a season’s airing. The Challenge 35 started production in October 2019 and wrapped in mid-December. It premiered in early April, 2020, leaving viewers with an approximate 5-month waiting period. But the latter half of that was marked by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It felt like time was crawling, and by the time Total Madness finally debuted, viewers were itching for new content. These world events also let MTV rebrand The Challenge as America’s fifth sport — an irritating effort, but one that was successful during Total Madness.
All Stars 4
The fourth All Stars installment was filmed in early 2023, and it didn’t air until April 2024. This means we had to wait over a year before the final day of filming and the first episode’s premiere. Two seasons, Battle for a New Champion and USA 2, were filmed and fully aired during All Stars 4’s waiting period.
Laurel and Cara Maria gave a playful nod to this long wait during the Battle for a New Champion reunion. I doubt they anticipated such a long break between filming and airing, and let’s hope we never see another gap this long.
