Longest Breaks between Origin Show and Debut on The Challenge for MTV Alumni ⏳ NovaRogue Follow Mar 6 · 5 min read

At long last the drought is over.

Finally, MTV has officially announced Season 35 of The Challenge, entitled “Total Madness” (formerly known as Battle for Independence, formerly known as Apocalypse).

And this cast actually has debuts on it I know, in contrast to the newbies on War of the Worlds 2 and half of the Prospects on WotW1. Instead of random YouTube alumni, telenovela extras, and first-night boots, we have huge personalities from well-established and much-watched shows.

This includes four stars from Big Brother 20 — Kaycee, Fessy, Bayleigh, and Swaggy C — and our first crossover from US Survivor (by way of Ex on the Beach 2), Jay Starrett.

BB20 is considered the best recent US season, and Survivor has absolutely massive viewership, so these are slam dunks in terms of casting — and I can’t wait for future stars that they have opened the door for. I 100% expect Haleigh Broucher soon and am hoping hard for Brett Robinson— both from BB20. Survivor is brimming with talent ripe for the picking too, like Cydney Gillon (32), Michaela Bradshaw (33&34), Chris Noble (36), Natalia Azoqa (37), Alec Merlino (37), Lauren O’Connell (38), Dean Kowalski (39)…

Of course, MTV couldn’t help themselves, so we do have one first-boot relative-nobody, in Jenn(ifer) Lee from The Amazing Race. But she has 270,000 Instagram followers, looks great in a bikini, and was on TAR29 — a recent season — so it does make casting sense. This is also our first Amazing Race crossover, so that’s exciting too.

But the most unexpected debut is none other than Asaf Goren. He’s been on a bunch of reality shows — So You Think You Can Dance, Big Brother VIP, Worst Cooks in America, RuPaul’s Drag Race (as a Pit Crew member) — and is a proud Israeli, a new country not yet represented on The Challenge, which has been trying to appeal to a broader global audience by introducing personalities from around the world. Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Turkey, Australia, the UK, and now Israel. So I do get it.

Most Challenge fans will remember Asaf from Are You the One 4, the same season as Tori Deal. The two even had a lil showmance, and also appeared on AYTO Second Chances, but not paired together. AYTO4 premiered in June 2016, meaning it’s been nearly 4 years since his Asaf’s introduction on MTV to his debut on The Challenge. (Granted, AYTO Second Chances began airing in March 2017, so he’s really been off MTV’s radar for only 3 years).

Which reminded me of Chuck Mowery, who popped up out of nowhere on Final Reckoning, paired with his ex Britni Thornton, nearly 3 years after his season aired (AYTO3 started in September 2015 and Final Reckoning premiered in July 2018).

Which made me wonder about other long breaks between original MTV show and a debut on The Challenge. So I’ve collected some of the most delayed newbies to show up on Departure Day, for your reading pleasure. (NB that this is in reverse chronological order, not based on who had the longest break, and only those with a minimum of 2 years)

Asaf Goren

Original Show: Are You the One 4, Are You the One Second Chances

Challenge Debut: Total Madness

Break from MTV: ~3 years since AYTO SC; ~3.75 years since AYTO4

Chuck Mowery

Original Show: Are You the One 3

Challenge Debut: Final Reckoning

Break from MTV: ~2.75 years since AYTO3