The Challenge Season 38: Here's What We Can Tell Fans So Far

Since 1998 and throughout the course of an impressive 37 seasons, "The Challenge" (formerly called "Real World/Road Rules Challenge") has captivated audiences with intense physical competitions and interpersonal drama. Throughout its 37 seasons, all-stars from "The Challenge" and other reality television shows, like "Big Brother," "Survivor," and "Amazing Race," have appeared on the MTV show, per GQ. Each season of the show has a special theme, like "Rivals" or "Battle of the Exes" that helps viewers distinguish one season from the next, according to E! News.

Each series is filmed in a different intriguing location, like Iceland and Argentina. As GQ reports, these interesting locations, coupled with the intense physical challenges — in one season, the contestants had to dive deep into the icy waters of Iceland to retrieve puzzle pieces with only a limited supply of oxygen — and captivating cast members, makes for one of the most beloved reality television shows of all time. "You push yourself past the limit, and you just do it because you have to," "The Challenge" host TJ Lavin told GQ. "That's the direction we were trying to go. Having a show that's filled with drama is all well and good. There's a place for that, but competition shows are where it's at now."

Read on to find out more about the 38th season of "The Challenge," which premiered on October 12.

As previously mentioned, though the cast of each season has been different, they typically include past members of older seasons of "The Challenge," along with cast members from reality shows like "Big Brother," "Amazing Race," and "Love Island," per GQ. TJ Lavin, a former professional BMX rider who has been hosting the show for the past 15 years, returns to host the new season of "The Challenge" and will also host Season 39, which has also been greenlit (via Variety). 

In September 2022, the cast of "The Challenge: Ride or Dies" was confirmed by MTV. Per Entertainment Weekly, this season's lineup of contestants, and their partners, include Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio and Nany Gonzalez, Jordan Wiseley and Aneesa Ferreira, Darrell Taylor and Veronica Portillo, Kaycee Clark and Kenny Clark, Amber Borzotra and Chauncey Palmer, Nam Vo and Emmy Russ, Tori Deal and Devin Walker. Fessy Shaffaat and Moriah Jadea, Laurel Stucky and Jakk Maddox, Kailah Bird and Sam Bird, Turabi "Turbo" Çamkıran and Tamara Alfaro, Nelson Thomas and Nurys Mateo, Jay Starrett and Michele Fitzgerald, Horacio Gutierrez and Olivia Kaiser, Kim Traenka and Colleen Schneider, Johnny Middlebrooks and Ravyn Rochelle, Tommy Bracco and Analyse Talavera. 

Ahead of the new season's premiere, fans had been waiting in anticipation of "The Challenge" Season 38 trailer to get their first proper look at the new series. On September 15, MTV finally dropped the full "The Challenge: Ride or Dies" trailer — and it certainly did not disappoint. 

Throughout the two-minute teaser clip, this season's lineup of contestants is shown taking part in some extreme challenges, including jumping in between moving cars, zip lining, and completing some seriously intense obstacle courses. To the delight of reality TV fans, the trailer also teases some high-level drama, too. "This season, you're gonna need support," host TJ Lavin says in the trailer. "Luckily for you, you got to bring your own," he adds. 

Viewers were quick to comment on the full trailer, and it seems that, for the most part, fans were very excited. "It looks fun," one user wrote on YouTube. "Even the theme is cool. It's simple but makes so much sense." Another fan added, "Honestly, this looks a whole lot better than last season. I'm optimistic about this season." 

While casting announcements for Season 38 of "The Challenge" were revealed first, rumors still swirled about the twist taking place in the new season. GamerVev, who often posts spoilers for "The Challenge" shows on Twitter, reported. "There will be non-tv cast members on 'The Challenge' 38." Per GamerVev's apparent insider information, the spouses, partners, siblings, friends, and parents of "The Challenge" stars are joining them on the latest season of the hit MTV series. This theory was backed up by ScreenRant when the outlet reported that the theme for Season 38 will be "Ride or Dies," and that "friends, family, and significant others" of the returning veterans will play a role in the new season.

According to ScreenRant, these non-TV cast members are set to include "Chauncey Palmer (Amber B's boyfriend), Jakk Maddox ("Ex on the Peak" and Laurel's friend), Sam Bird ("Love Island UK" and Kailah's husband), James Simon (Aneesa's friend), Kenny Clark (Kaycee's brother), and Tamara Alfaro (Turbo's girlfriend)." 

As any "Challenge" fan knows, just because a favorite cast member is set to film, that doesn't mean they're guaranteed to compete. The show makes sure to have alternate cast members ready in case someone needs to drop out for personal reasons. According to Cheat Sheet, Corey Lay, Josh Martinez, Emy Alupei, and Emannuel Neagu were rumored to have been sent home before cameras started rolling. It's certainly disappointing for them, but as Johnny Bananas says, "All's fair in love, war, and 'The Challenge.'"

While Martinez and Lay's removal was presumably the result of too many cast members, Alupei's removal is rumored to be tied to a past controversy. Video resurfaced of the rapper's 2016 performance on "The X-Factor," where she performed a song by Nicki Minaj and rapped the n-word several times. The resulting controversy resulted in her being cut, along with her would-be "Challenge" partner Neagu.

The Romanian apologized for her performance on Instagram, saying, "During the broadcast, I sang all of the words to her song including words that are very offensive in western culture ... I am sorry from my heart for saying these words in the song. I now understand the impact and heaviness of using this word and how offensive my performance was to an entire community."

Of course, Challengers have returned from controversies in the past. Maybe in the future, Alupei will have a chance to reunite with "Uncle C.T."

As for the winner of "The Challenge" Season 38, some insider accounts claim to know who walked away victorious. With that said, some major spoilers lie ahead — so look away now if you'd prefer to find out while watching the show. 

As per Cheat Sheet, a spoiler account has claimed that Johnny and Nany, Horacio and Olivia, Jordan and Aneesa, and Devin and Tori all reached the final stage of "The Challenge" Season 38. 

The finals reportedly ran for a total of five days and culminated in a puzzle right before the finish line. According to the insiders, Nany and Johnny finished in second place, while Tori and Devin finished in the all-important top spot, securing their first win. 

In addition to the tense final stage, an insider also claimed that a lot of drama, and some hookups, also took place in the house.

Throughout Season 38, it seems the challenges weren't the only source of drama among the contestants. According to Cheat Sheet, a spoiler account claimed that plenty of romance was in the air this time around, including between Johnny and Nury, whose alleged hookup did not go down well with Johnny's partner, Ravyn. 

Elsewhere, Nelson and Olivia are believed to have gotten very close indeed throughout the season, while Fessy enjoyed multiple "flings" with Colleen and Laurel. The insider has also claimed that Tori and Jordan — who were previously engaged to be married — "rekindled their romance." 

If spoiler accounts offer any indication, fans have a lot of drama to look forward to throughout the show's 38th run. 

With the brand new series having premiered on October 12, longtime fans might be inspired to revisit older seasons of "The Challenge." Luckily for those wanting to enjoy episodes gone by, there are several streaming platforms on which you can do so. This includes Amazon Prime Video, which currently lists Seasons 1 through 37 on the platform. Elsewhere, "The Challenge" fans can also find older seasons of the hit MTV reality-competition series on both Netflix and the Paramount Plus streaming service. 

It seems that revisiting the hugely popular and long-running series is a common occurrence among fans of the show. "Whenever I wanna watch good TV, I just rewatch The Challenge," wrote one dedicated fan on Twitter, while another user commented, "I subscribed to Paramount + just to rewatch The Challenge seasons."