17 surprising things you probably never knew about MTV's 'The Challenge'

The first season of the show was called "Road Rules: All Stars" and featured cast members from MTV's "The Real World" and "Road Rules." 

For the second season, the name was changed to "Real World/Road Rules Challenge," and eventually, the name was shortened to "The Challenge" starting on season 19. 

As with many other industries, the coronavirus pandemic has had a major impact on film and TV production since March 2020.

For "The Challenge," the struggle was finding a way to keep the cast safe as they all lived together and traveled to various locations. 

Showrunner Emer Harkin told Variety in 2020 that everyone in the cast and crew had to quarantine before arrival and test negative every three days during the production of season 36, "The Challenge: Double Agents."

The crew also took over an entire hotel and avoided the traditional finale location change, choosing instead to stay in Iceland for the entirety of the season.

According to the showrunner, they had no positive COVID tests during filming. 

With 37 seasons under its belt, "The Challenge" has to continue evolving and adding new twists to keep players on their toes.

But some of these changes have been more well-received than others. 

Johnny "Bananas" Devananzio has used his experience as a longtime contestant to provide new seasons of the show with some "constructive criticism."

"I have seen as of late the show going in somewhat of a concerning direction," he told E! News in 2021. "I feel like sometimes it if ain't broke, don't fix it. What has always made 'The Challenge' so incredible is its simplicity. You don't need all of the bells and whistles and gimmicks."

"The Challenge" has been filmed in some beautiful and remote locations. Since its premiere in 1998, the show has taken its cast everywhere from Mexico to Iceland to South Africa.

The choice each season is taken very seriously, according to Harkin.

"Traditionally, I scout a couple of months in advance, so I'll go to multiple countries and check what they have on offer," she told Variety in the same 2020 interview.

For "Double Agents" which was filmed during the coronavirus pandemic, that wasn't possible, and she took virtual tours instead.

"Being able to do that virtually was really, really eye-opening [but] it's also quite daunting because you can never underestimate the advantage of having boots on the ground and really seeing and feeling a location," she said.

Although the core of the show stays the same, the location, cast, and theme vary each season. And, according to executive producer Scott Freeman, the theme often dictates the cast. 

Freeman told E! News in 2018 that seasons with partners or teams create certain challenges since they have to ensure all the members they want are available.

He said individual seasons are easier since "we can just cast whoever we want and not have to worry that I can only have you if that person is also there."

Producers are also wary of burning people out "by having them go from show to show so fast," which is one of the reasons they continue bringing in new faces. 

Johnny Bananas started his MTV career in 2006 on "The Real World: Key West." Since then, he's become a fan favorite and a staple on "The Challenge."

In fact, he's become the most prolific cast member, holding the records for most appearances on the show and most wins. 

He's competed on 20 seasons and won seven times.

Before entering the house, contestants are rigorously searched for things that could interfere with the game, including books, alcohol, cell phones, and anything that could be considered a performance enhancer. 

Julie Pizzi, president of entertainment and development for Bunim/Murray Productions, which produces "The Challenge," told E! News in 2019, "We have to know what's in everything."

She added that things as simple as protein pills could be confiscated.

"We basically take almost everything unless it's a very familiar brand," she told the publication.

But the cast still often tries to sneak things in, according to Pizzi.

"They literally try to hide phones in everything," she said. "Like, they'll cut the side of a jacket and put a phone in there."

Since filming for the show often takes place in extremely remote locations, and the contestants can't leave the house on their own, producers typically have food catered in from local restaurants. 

But any alcohol the cast wants to buy out at the bar they have to pay for themselves.

According to show veteran Cory Wharton, season 37 saw even more rules around drinking.

"In the good old days when we used to be able to go to the bar, you could buy a bottle, you could buy whatever you wanted at the bar," he told Us Weekly in 2021. "It was on you [if] you got drunk and sloppy. Now production's trying to control some of that."

He explained that contestants got a limited number of drink tickets for each night.

Originally, "The Challenge" cast was made up of veterans from MTV's "Real World" and "Road Rules." But "Road Rules" ended in 2007 and "Real World" ended in 2019.

Starting with season 12 in 2006, "The Challenge" started casting non-MTV veterans for the first time.

This opened up a new world of casting options for the show, which now looks to various shows in the CBS universe to find new contestants.

CBS' streaming service, Paramount+, brought a new "Challenge" spinoff season called "The Challenge: All Stars."

Many expected seven-time champ Johnny Bananas to be part of the cast, but he was noticeably absent. 

On a 2021 episode of Us Weekly's "Watch With Us" podcast, Johnny Bananas said, "Believe it or not, the first season of 'All Stars,' I was a yes."

The vet has a theory on why he wasn't chosen.

"I think it was too soon after my 'Total Madness' win, and I think that they are trying to maybe create a little bit of space between the flagship 'Challenge' and 'All Stars,'" he said. 

On most seasons, the players spend several nights out at a local club, and Harkin told Variety in the same 2020 interview that those nights are important for the show.

"It's something we deemed important because it's really good for them to be able to let loose, let their hair down and relax after a challenge," she said. "I think that's definitely diluted if you're just partying in your living room, or where you ate your breakfast that morning."

While filming during the pandemic, producers decided to build a club at the "Challenge" house so the cast could still have the experience of a night out.

Chris "CT" Tamburello has been on the show for almost two decades.

On earlier seasons, he was known for fighting and being aggressive. Even though he's grown a lot, he told Rolling Stone in 2018 that it feels like he's still got a target on his back. 

"I sometimes think that I'm in the shadows of the old me. I'm not that guy anymore," he said. "I guess some people still look at me in the same way and there's this intimidation factor."

"The Challenge" still has its fair share of drunken nights, fights, and hookups. But veterans of the show say it used to be even wilder. 

In the same 2018 interview with Rolling Stone, Tamburello said, "Back in the day, it was one giant party. It was like a vacation."

He recalled one late night when producers had to remind the cast that there was a challenge the next morning.

"I remember being like, 'Oh, right. That's why we're here,'" he told the publication. "Now it's almost become a professional sport. It's not a vacation anymore."

Players can be eliminated for reasons that have nothing to do with a challenge, most notably, getting into a physical altercation with someone from the cast or crew. 

On occasion, some players cross a line they can't come back from and have not been asked to return for future seasons.

For example, MTV said it cut ties with Dee Nguyen in 2020 due to her "offensive comments about the Black Lives Matter movement," per Deadline. 

Players like Camila Nakagawa, Turabi "Turbo" Çamkıran, and Nia Moore have also not been asked to return after getting into altercations with players or crew members on their last appearance. 

Occasionally, the show will partner with a company for a particular challenge, like Burger King or P3 Protein Packs.

Season 37, "The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies" even collaborated with the show's parent company, Paramount, for a special "Top Gun"- themed challenge. 

Under Armour had been a long-running partner of the franchise, providing all of the clothing for the cast. But "The Challenge: All Stars" changed that for the first time, swapping Under Armour for Reebok.

Fans have come to know "The Challenge" for its globe-spanning locales, so they may be surprised to know that the show has actually been filmed in the US six times, which is more than any other country.

But the show hasn't been filmed in the US since "Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes 2" in 2004.

Mexico is the runner-up, with five seasons of "The Challenge" filmed there.

On the most recent season, "Spies, Lies, and Allies," the show celebrated its 500th episode.

Host TJ Lavin took a moment before one of the challenges to acknowledge the achievement and thank the cast and viewers for continuing to make the show successful.