The Challenge: USA Cast Reunites Legendary CBS Reality Stars
"The Challenge" is expanding in ways fans of the competition series might never have imagined. After 22 years of airing only on MTV, a spinoff was created for OG players to be aired on Paramount+ exclusively. "The Challenge: All-Stars" is currently in its third season, but it's far from being the last spinoff of the original show. According to Variety, four more "Challenge" spinoffs were ordered: "The Challenge: CBS," "The Challenge: U.K.," "The Challenge: Argentina," and "The Challenge: Australia." The former will debut on CBS, while the latter three will only be available on Paramount+ for subscribers.
According to MTV, "The Challenge: CBS" has officially been rebranded to "The Challenge: USA," and it seems like the move was to fall more in line with the country-specific theme seen in the Paramount+ series. Once all of those seasons air, cast members from each will join together to battle in "The Challenge: War of the Worlds" for a shocking sixth spinoff. While there are plenty of rumors floating around regarding who the cast members are on the country-specific shows, "The Challenge: USA" is the first to drop its official cast list via MTV. This series is bringing together fan-favorite reality stars from hit CBS programs "Love Island," "Survivor," "The Amazing Race," and "Big Brother."
28 CBS reality stars will appear on The Challenge: USA
"The Challenge: USA" has a lengthy list of stars competing, with a roster consisting of 28 reality personalities. Joining the "Challenge" family from "Survivor" is Domenick Abbate (Season 36), Tasha Fox (Seasons 28 and 31), Tyson Apostol (Seasons 18, 20, 27, and 40), Ben Driebergen (Season 35 and 40), Sarah Lacina (Season 28, 34, and 40), Danny McCray (Season 41), Shan Smith (Season 41), and Desi Williams (Season 35). This impressive list of "Survivor" cast members includes three show winners: Apostol, Driebergen, and Lacina.
The CBS show with the most alumni heading to "The Challenge: USA" is "Big Brother." The former houseguests competing on the new show are David Alexander (Seasons 21 and 22), Azah Awasum (Season 23), Alyssa Lopez (Season 23), Tiffany Mitchell (Season 23), Enzo Palumbo (Seasons 12 and 22), Xavier Prather (Season 23), Angela Rummans (Season 20), Derek Xiao (Season 23), and Kyland Young (Season 23). Only one winner, Prather, is among the "Big Brother" contestants, but a shocking six of them all hail from the same season, which could mean a major alliance is brewing.
Joining "The Challenge: USA" via "Love Island" is Kyra Green (Season 1), Cashel Barnett (Season 1), Melvin "Cinco" Holland Jr. (Season 3), Javonny Vega (Season 3), Shannon St. Clair (Season 3), Justine Ndiba (Season 2), Cashay Proudfoot (Season 3) and Cely Vazquez (Season 2). Ndiba is the only winner among the "Love Island" group, but most of the focus from these cast members will be on their tumultuous former relationships.
With just three competitors, "The Amazing Race" has the smallest pool of former contestants competing on "The Challenge: USA." Cayla Platt (Season 33), Leo Temory (Seasons 23, 24, and 31), and winner James Wallington (Season 32) all have their work cut out for them in the world of alliance building. There will be no MTV stars competing in the new series, but MTV legend T.J. Lavin will host it.
"The Challenge: USA" premiers July 6 at 9:30 p.m. EST on CBS.