The Challenge Season 34 Preliminary Information
Location: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Theme: N/A
Cast:
Cara Maria Sorbello (Fresh Meat II)
Laurel Stucky (Fresh Meat II)
Tori Deal (Are You The One? Season 4)
Kam Williams (Are You The One? Season 5)
Georgia Harrison (Love Island UK)
Nany Gonzalez (Real World: Las Vegas 2011)
Ashley Mitchell (Real World: Ex-Plosion)
Natalie Duran (American Ninja Warrior)
Dee Nguyen (Geordie Shore)
Kayleigh Morris (Ex On The Beach UK)
Zahida Allen (Ex On The Beach UK)
Nicole Bass (Ex On The Beach UK)
Tula Fazakerley (Shipwrecked UK)
Jennifer West (Survival Of The Fittest UK)
Esther Falana (BKCHATLDN)
John Devenanzio (Real World: Key West)
Wes Bergmann (Real World: Austin)
Chris Tamburello (Real World: Paris)
Turabi Camkiran (Survivor Turkey)
Jordan Wiseley (Real World: Portland)
Theo Campbell (Love Island UK)
Joss Mooney (Ex On The Beach UK)
Zach Nichols (Real World: San Diego 2011)
Paul Calafiore (Big Brother 18)
Kyle Christie (Ex On The Beach UK)
Stephen Bear (Shipwrecked UK)
Leroy Garrett (Real World: Las Vegas 2011)
Rogan O’Connor (Ex On The Beach UK)
Josh Martinez (Big Brother 19)
Idris Virgo (Love Island UK)
Sean Lineker (Shipwrecked UK)
Notes:
o The male cast looks pretty solid so far, and should certainly be very competitive. Between Turbo, Jordan, Joss, Paulie, Theo, and Wes; each of them could dominate a final and that isn’t including someone such as Zach, Johnny, or Leroy appearing in prime shape or someone such as one of the rookies, Bear, Kyle, or Rogan showing up in killer shape. It should be extremely competitive, and how the politics sort itself out with Johnny vs. Wes seemingly being a storyline and only Leroy really would seem to be locked in as a Johnny ally while Wes doesn’t really have any of his traditional allies should make for an interesting storyline.
o The female cast also looks awesome, with a variety of competitors who have shown to be top tier threats or have the potential to be. Cara has now made four finals in a row and her political prowess combined with her strength makes her a favorite any season she is on. However, she has former rival turned a best friend to back to rival Laurel on the season, who seems like she could be on a mission to end Cara’s consecutive finals streak. Outside of them, how the next tier of women shakes out between Ninja, Smashley, Tori Deal, Georgia, Kam, Nany, Da’Vonne, Dee, and the rookies should be interesting.
o While the cast looks good there were a few notable omissions I would have switched around. Hunter Barfield sticks out as the main one I have a gripe with, he has connections to so many of the players on this cast (Smashley, Georgia, Nany, Bear, Wes, Johnny, Joss, Jordan) and creates storylines every single time he is on TV. However, he has made numerous comments about struggling to recover psychologically from Smashley taking the money from him and has a child on the way so taking a break makes sense. Melissa Reeves is another cast member who would seem to make a lot of sense. The show is leaning into the British cast members more than ever and I think Melissa is more entertaining than either of Kayleigh or Zahida and has more competitive potential. The usual candidates of forgotten veterans Derrick Kosinski, Darrell, Sarah Patterson, and Emily Schromm are of course disappointing but seeing Tony Raines and Kailah Casillas seemingly pushed into similar territory is notable.
o As far as a possible theme, there have been a few guesses but nothing concrete yet. I think a mostly individual format is most likely, especially considering the direction the show has been moving lately with the past three seasons having, in essence, an individual winner. However, a team format of Rookies vs. Veterans (Gauntlet) or US vs the World also makes sense; although even in that circumstance I see the show breaking into individuals two-thirds of the way through. Personally, I would really enjoy a teams of four format based on a combination of rivals and exes. Some examples of teams provided below:
Johnny/Nany/Kayleigh/Zach
Cara Maria/Paulie/Kyle/Faith
Wes/Georgia/Bear/Ninja
Leroy/Kam/Theo/Zahida
o Initially, it was reported Gus Smyrnios would be on the cast. However, it was later revealed it was actually CT. Also, Da’Vonne Rogers was originally reported as on the cast, but now it appears she never was and another woman from the UK to be named later is on the cast. Esther Falana was added to get the cast to its likely end point.
o At this point, I would expect the season to begin airing in the late summer, but that is not concrete.
All credit for information goes to PinkRose of Vevmo and NovaRogue of Reddit.
