How ‘The Real World’ & ‘Road Rules’ Helped Define ‘The Challenge’ Forever

Back in 1992, reality television changed forever as The Real World debuted on MTV. Three years later, a sister series called Road Rules found itself as the next phenomenon. The real twenty-somethings had their lives taped and became stars. Production company Bunim/Murray decided to capitalize on their success and unite the shows by bringing former cast members from both programs together and having them engage in some physical challenges, all for the love of money. And thus, The Challenge was born! Though it has evolved quite drastically over the decades, The Challenge as fans know it today would not be possible had it not been for The Real World and Road Rules and the trailblazers of those franchises.

MTV was primarily a network where music videos reigned supreme. As the network expanded beyond music-centric programming, shows featuring young adults helped reshape its image. Bunim/Murray was tasked to create an unscripted television show inspired by the 1973 PBS documentary An American Family. They came up with The Real World, where a group of strangers were picked to live in a house as their lives are documented. Season after season, a new set of individuals would be plucked and dropped into a new city. The social experiment became one of the biggest and longest-lasting series MTV has ever known.

The sister program of the flagship show, Road Rules, took the concept of The Real World but spun it by giving a group of strangers an RV where they would go on a weeks-long adventure. Both shows were immensely successful for MTV and Bunim/Murray, so that a seed of an idea later known as The Challenge was introduced in Road Rules, when the current cast would battle the most recent The Real World cast in a series of challenges. The crossover proved successful. Bunim/Murray tried bringing an All Star Real World cast together to experience their own Road Rules journey. This then shifted to an alumni-filled The Real World vs Road Rules challenge and then to the better known The Challenge. Even with quite the evolution since its debut in 1998, The Challenge as it is today would not still be around had it not been for the shows and their groundbreaking alum.

In the early days of The Challenge, when it first launched, the series would feature six alums from The Real World and six alums of Road Rules as they traveled the country and battled in a series of tasks before winning their handsome reward. This was also the generation when the official title was The Real World/Road Rules Challenge, a title that would stick until Season 19. The show versus show format remained until Season 5, which truly served as the game changer. While it was a battle between the two franchises, Season 5 was titled Battle of the Seasons, where sixteen teams of two of The Real World and Road Rules alumni were sent to Mexico and battled as teams. The Inner Circle, a term that would loom large over the franchise for seasons, would then have the opportunity to vote out one team. The “battle” moniker and vote out structure would be the element that would stick ever since.

The Challenge

TV-14

Where to Watch

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Features 24 strong competitors competing for the title as they face the ultimate willpower test with unusual forms and shocking twists.

Release Date

June 1, 1998

Cast

T.J. Lavin , Cara Maria Sorbello , Johnny ‘Bananas’ Devenanzio , Aneesa Ferreira

Main Genre

Reality

Creator(s)

Jonathan Murray , Mary-Ellis Bunim

The Stars of ‘The Real World’ and ‘Road Rules’ Were the Face of ‘The Challenge’

As a companion program when The Real World and Road Rules aired, alums of both series would patiently wait for their call for their trip to paradise for their chance to compete on The Challenge. Like all reality television programs that create All Star-style shows, the more seasons that air, the larger the pool to pick from grows. Some of the real people chosen to partake in The Real World or Road Rules left their experiences behind them at the conclusion of filming and returned to their civilian lives. But for those who seek out more than their fifteen-minutes of fame, they try to make their mark on their original show in order to lay claim to a casting spot on The Challenge.

Both major Bunim/Murray programs found mild success for some of their cast members before the debut of The Challenge. The Real World: New York‘s Eric Neis became an MTV personality prior his quick stints on The Challenge. Kit Hoover made her television debut on the first season of Road Rules and never needed to appear on The Challenge before becoming a large media personality, currently as a host of Access Hollywood. While there were a few anomalies, post-show appearances on The Challenge did launch massive success in the world of entertainment. Mike Mizanin from The Real World: Back to New York not only became a superstar thanks to his personality on The Challenge, but his future alterego, “The Miz,” was literally born on the program. Theo Vonkurnatowski originally appeared on Road Rules: Maximum Velocity Tour with four appearances on The Challenge before leaving to try his hand at stand-up comedy and podcasting, now known as Theo Von.

While the show may have lost these big names, they were able to cultivate their own group of legends. The retention rate of faces on The Challenge has allowed nostalgia to be the backbone of the program. Looking back at the 39 regular seasons and three different spin-offs, the legends that have come back season after season garnered instant recognition. The Challenge’s love-to-hate villain Johnny Bananas, a moniker that was born thanks to The Challenge, has made a long, illustrious career almost solely on The Challenge. His desire to win and create impeccable television moments has kept viewers coming back for more. Bananas, originally from The Real World: Key West, had a slow start as a Challenge competitor, but after back to back victories on The Island and The Ruins, his presence had been made, and his seasonal toasts were synonymous to the show.

Every villain needs a rival of equal villainous form. Enter Wes Bergmann from The Real World: Austin. Wes’s soul mission was to be the Bananas destroyer. Whenever the pair appeared on the program together, they would manage to split the house into alliances. Of course, the trifecta would not be complete without Chris “CT” Tamburello of The Real World: Paris. The original bad boy of The Challenge, CT has allowed his journey on the show to display immense personal growth, all while showcasing his incredible competitive prowess. Anessa Ferreira, originally from The Real World: Chicago, took on the underdog role who was determined to win a single season. Unfortunately, fans have yet to see Anessa snag a victory in her seventeen seasons.

As for Road Rules, their entries on the show have not had such a continuous tenure on The Challenge, though those who have participated off and on have aided to the program’s success. Mark Long, from the original Road Rules, has participated as a competitor and host, but helped bring The Challenge: All Stars on Paramount+ to life as an executive producer. The series, which reunited some of the OG cast to try their hand at The Challenge again, has been a huge fan favorite and has continued to prove the longevity of The Challenge relies on the stars of the past. Road Rules: Campus Crawl’s Darrell Taylor had four victories in his first four appearances, something that seems to be forgotten due to Darrell’s subdued persona. And yet the tried and true family man’s familiar face was the grounding presence between the giant personalities.

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‘Fresh Meat’ Reinvigorated ‘The Challenge’ for the Best

As Road Rules started to simmer down its run and The Real World altered from a 30-minute to 60-minute runtime, a new generation of challengers was integral to keeping the show afloat. While it would be years before the show would introduce new reality TV franchises into the fold, Fresh Meat and its sequel Fresh Meat II was exactly how the show could bring in new blood with long-term appeal. A couple of promising standouts, including Kenny Santucci and Evan Starkman, both from the first edition of Fresh Meat, but once they found themselves embroiled in some legal troubles, their strong performance as competitors was trumped by the allegations. Perhaps a trial run on a previous franchise was their downfall. A rising star came from the feel-good story of Diem Brown and her romance with CT Tamburello, but sadly, ovarian cancer took her too soon. Thankfully, Fresh Meat II brought formidable women whose long-standing rivalry propelled the new generation of The Challenge to great heights. Cara Maria Sorbello and Laurel Stucky became dominating forces and bridged the gap from the origins of The Challenge to the evolving program it grew into.

Rather than more Fresh Meat editions of The Challenge, the show decided to crossover and place cast members of other MTV intellectual properties, not necessarily Bunim/Murray programs. In 2014, The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II, the twenty-sixth edition of the show, welcomed alum from Are You the One? This broke the seal as future seasons then brought in stars from around the globe and their versions of Ex on the Beach, Big Brother, Survivor, among many more. Unlike The Real World and Road Rules, stars from these other shows were more supplemental cast members as opposed to the show’s future. While a couple of names have broken out for multiple runs, many of the international stars were simply casualties of their rookie roles.

Call it The Real World/Road Challenge or The Challenge, The Real World and Road Rules were the backbone to the series’ success. Young adults became household names after breaking out from their original runs. Some made The Challenge their livelihood. It was the reality television show American Dream! While the flagship franchise on MTV has no signs of stopping, The Challenge: USA on CBS and The Challenge: All Stars have maintained why the show is so popular and why the names who made the show keep it relevant. The Challenge: All Stars has filmed a fourth season. When will it see the light of day? That’s uncertain. But fans are eager to see some of their long-lost Challenge friends take on TJ Lavin‘s challenges one more time. For now, a new champion will be revealed on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion. Will their reign help foster the next generation? Time will tell!

The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion currently airs on MTV. Past seasons of The Challenge are available to stream on Paramount+

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