Season 26 of The Challenge will premiere on Dec. 9. Meet the full cast, which includes rookies like Survivor winner Natalie Anderson and U.S. Olympian Lolo Jones.
“The Challenge” Cuts Ties With Dee Nguyen for “Offensive Comments”
Not even arctic temperatures will stop reality TV contestants from competing for $1 million.
MTV announced on Thursday, Nov. 12 that The Challenge is returning for season 36 on Wednesday, Dec. 9. Called The Challenge: Double Agents, the new season features 30 veteran and rookie contestants as they return to the partner format and compete across 19 new episodes—all of which were shot in Iceland. Anyone have a spare blanket?
According to MTV, the cast “are forced to outsmart each other in a game of secrets, spies and lies” for the sweet, sweet cash prize. While the cast of veterans is stacked with contestants who have played up to 17 times before (hello, CT), it’s the rookies we’re keeping an especially close eye on.
The newbies include Survivor winner Natalie Anderson plus Big Brother‘s Amber Borzotra, America’s Got Talent‘s Joseph Allen, Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother U.K.’s Gabby Allen and U.S. Olympian Lolo Jones.
Ahead of the premiere, MTV will kick things off with The Challenge: Double Agents Declassified, a sneak peek event in which fans will learn more about the cast. The special airs Monday, Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. ET. And if that’s not enough to get you excited, MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast premieres on Thursday, Dec. 10. Hosted by veterans Tori Deal and Aneesa Ferreira (a season 36 contestant), it’ll basically recap and dive into each episode and all of its drama.
In July, The Challenge: Total Madness came to a close when Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Jenny West emerged as the male and female victors of season 35. With that, Bananas took home his seventh Challenge win, which is just insane.
Scroll down to meet the season 36 cast of The Challenge.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Amber Borzotra (Rookie)
Amber is a previous Big Brother contestant.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Amber Martinez (Rookie)
Amber appeared on Are You The One?.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Natalie Anderson (Rookie)
Natalie is a Survivor winner and an Amazing Race alum.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Olivia “Liv” Jawando (Rookie)
Liv appeared on Shipwrecked.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Gabby Allen (Rookie)
Gabby has appeared on Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother U.K.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Joseph Allen (Rookie)
This rookie appeared on America’s Got Talent.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Lio Rush (Rookie)
Lio is a former WWE wrestler.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Lolo Jones (Rookie)
Lolo is a U.S. Olympian and Celebrity Big Brother alum.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Mechie Harris (Rookie)
Mechie is a musician who appeared on Ex on the Beach.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Nam Vo (Rookie)
Nam appeared in Ultimate Beastmaster.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Big T (Veteran)
This is Big T’s third Challenge appearance.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Devin Walker (Veteran)
This is Devin’s fifth appearance on The Challenge.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
CT (Veteran)
CT has appeared on The Challenge 17 times before.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Ashley Mitchell (Veteran)
Ashley has appeared on The Challenge seven times before.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Darrell Taylor (Veteran)
This is Darrell’s ninth Challenge appearance.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Cory Wharton (Veteran)
This is Cory’s eight Challenge appearance.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Jay Starrett (Veteran)
This is Jay’s second time on Challenge.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Aneesa Ferreira (Veteran)
This is Aneesa’s 14th Challenge appearance.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Fessy Shafaat (Veteran)
The Big Brother alum is returning for his second Challenge appearance.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Nelson Thomas (Veteran)
This is Nelson’s third time on The Challenge.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Kam Williams (Veteran)
This is Kam’s fifth Challenge.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Josh Martinez (Veteran)
This is Josh’s fourth Challenge.
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Kaycee Clark (Veteran)
This is Kaycee’s second time on The Challenge.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Leroy Garrett (Veteran)
This is Leroy’s 12th time on The Challenge.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Kyle Christie (Veteran)
Kyle has appeared on The Challenge five times before.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Nicole Zanatta (Veteran)
Nicole has appeared on Challenge twice before.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Nany Gonzalez (Veteran)
This is Nany’s 10th Challenge.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Theresa Gonzalez (Veteran)
Theresa will return for her seventh Challenge appearance.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Tori Deal (Veteran)
This is Tori’s fifth Challenge.
Karen Epstein Photography 2020/MTV
Wes Bergmann (Veteran)
This is Wes’ 14th Challenge appearance.
The Challenge: Double Agents premieres Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. ET.
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