Younger fans are more familiar with fresh faces like Horacio Gutierrez Jr., Michele Fitzgerald, and Nurys Mateo.
I think Im around 19 or 20 Challenges at this point.
Im happy to be home.
The Challenge 40: Battle of the ErasJONNE RORIZ
Its a big deal.
Thats probably the most obvious thing, and it was great to see it come to fruition.
It was no easy feat.
The previous season was built entirely around younger competitors who had never won.
Paramount and BMP [Bunim/Murray Productions] are always trying to foster the next generation, if you will.
There are a couple of different ways that we do that.
And yes, it has all worked in our favor.
There are obviously availability issues with all those guys.
And when you get to era one, youre my age.
We all started this stuff a million years ago together.
And so to be able to field these teams and actually realize this concept was exciting for us.
Do you think this season could have happened withoutAll Stars?
Tamburello, Johnny Bananas, and More
What criteria were you using when casting?
The highest win records?
People with potential for great storylines?We really went with our most popular kids.
And I call them kids, even though obviously some of them are the same age that I am.
These are some of our most famous and most popular kids.
Im sure you tried.Yeah.
And there are scheduling conflicts all the time.
Obviously, these people are adults now.
They have their own lives.
They have their own jobs.
The 8-week commitment to go on these shows is a real commitment.
And so, unfortunately, some people just cant make it work.
You go the sentimental route.
And after that, theres not much more that you’ve got the option to really do.
So I beg and plead, and then I accept.
Wes says hes retired, but weve heard that from people before.
Do you think anybody is truly retired?I cant speak for Wes.
But Ive known Wes for years and years and years.
I imagine that Bananas and C.T.
were both very high on your list.
Theyve become the face of the show in many ways.Yeah.
Those guys are great.
And then also Rachel Robinson.
We wanted big names with both the guys and the girls.
And she was available, and she was able to do it.
So we were excited to get her back and she was everything that we wanted and more.
Its been great having Cara back after all these years.Yeah.
And shes back with vigor.
Laurel seems to have found yet another gear.
She destroyed everyone onAll Stars 4, men and women.Yeah.
Shes just a freak.
Shes very, very, very bright.
I think shes a veterinarian now.
And she has this athletic prowess that nobody really can touch.
Most reality shows bring in different people each time.
So yeah, it is a very unique unicorn in entertainment.
Its in Vietnam this season.
We want to add value to peoples overall experience.
The challengers never know where they are going until they arrive at the airport.
Why is that?Its not as well kept a secret as it used to be.
Thats true even for locations.
We want to keep them wondering whats next.
The logistics of flying 40 people out of the country must be tricky.
Last minute issues must come up all the time.We have to keep backups as a result of that.
We see Jordan arrive at the very end of the launch special.
How does the alternate system work?
Are people in hotel rooms or do you fly them in last minute?It depends.
Weve done it both ways.
Weve had alternates that stay at home, and then weve also had alternates that we fly out.
It honestly depends on the place, convenience, and everything else.
But we usually keep them on for a week or two.
And if they arent with us, they are on alert.
You very quickly go from 40 cast members to 32.
And I think that thats what we really want to see out of it.
Is your harder than it used to be because of social media and all the Challengepodcasts?
Every little thing is dissected in ways they werent before.I dont think that it makes the process harder.
It certainly brings more people into the fold.
Its almost like having the glass window at the restaurant where you see all the cooks in the kitchen.
Its something that we just have to adapt to because thats the way the world is now.
Tell me about coming up with eliminations for this season.
Did you want to showcase some of the classic ones?Yes.
Hall Brawl would be a perfect example of that.
Typically, Hall Brawl, the first iteration of that, it ended up being that.
It ended up being Big Zach [Nichols] against CJ [Koegel], right?
So thats unintentional, but thats just, unfortunately, the way that the game developed.
But what weve tried to do is mitigate that while still being able to have these big headbangers.
Its also about speed.
Its also about cunning.
Whats your average day like on a challenge day?Its a very, very long day.
The whole production process is a hard, hard life.
But its an exciting life at the same time.
We were up very early in Vietnam because of the heat.
We didnt want the kids to fry in the Vietnam heat of the mid-day.
Thats a long process because once they arrive, obviously, we have to do all of our intros.
Then we have TJ actually explain the game, which we then have to execute.
The movement of 250 people to make that happen is very complicated.
And then you obviously have to deal with the elements.
And so its a lot of exertion.
But its also very enjoyable.
Im not complaining about the job.
I have the greatest job in the world.
Thats because as the weeks go by, we shoot two to three episodes per week.
So, we have to prototype the next challenge that follows the elimination.
Then, we will immediately go test and prototype the challenge for the next day.
Then we come back and start the entire production process for that elimination that night.
Theyre 16-hour days at their best.
Every location has its own issues.
We had a lot of issues that came up very late.
There have been times when weve had to change locations within 24 hours.
Thats after we spent three or four days setting something up.
Someone goes, you’re able to no longer shoot here.
That is probably my least favorite part because its just very, very difficult.
Nothing like that happens anymore.No.
We dont let them.
And thats for their own protection too.
Just to be a player on this show is not easy.
I dont know that people really appreciate what these kids surrender to be able to do this.
It is a hard 40-day beat down for the guy that make it all the way to the end.
They certainly werent draconian, as he might have suggested.
And you have to be places at certain times.
Thats not fair to say, but its not what you would do if you were on your own.
Its a pretty old castle theyre in.
Where were the bathrooms?The bathrooms were modular.
They were put in after the fact, but everyone had their own, private bathrooms.
But were they modular to the building, yes.
That seems more comfortable than the bunker onTotal Madness.I thought so.
And so I was actually surprised to hear that he was so unhappy with this situation.
Because I was like, Man, the bunker was a lot worse.
But again, thats his opinion and thats quite fine.
Youve been on the show a long time.
What are the biggest changes youve seen?Its really about how people play the game.
It used to basically be a spring break episode.
We started out with campy games and everyone just partying.
And it now has evolved into a thoughtful game, and very competitive, and I like that.
How do you stop spoilers from getting out?
That must drive you insane.We havent figured that out.
I dont know how to stop that.
I dont know what punitive measure could be placed that would be possible.
I really dont know.
Its very frustrating, especially the kids that make it all the way to the end.
Like I said, theyve lived this life that wasnt their own for 40 days.
But I hope that most people dont look at that stuff.
I never mind seeing the initial cast list when to leaks out on ship-out day.
But I do whatever possible to avoid any game spoilers.
It ruins the fun of the whole thing.I hope that most people think of it that way.
Theyre like, I know that its there, but Im not going to look at it.
I just hope that thats the case.
And our kids are doing very, very well on these other competition shows.
I think that speaks to our game.
And so Im proud of them when they do well.
What Trishelle and CT did on Traitors was amazing.
They were against these heavyweights from so many shows, and they ran circles around them.I know.
I thought it was awesome.
And those two are great at the game.
It makes you puff your chest out a little and go, See?
We are doing things that other people dont.
CT has really grown over the years.
Hes so radically different than the CT we met in his early seasons.Yeah.
I think being a dad does that.
Dad CT is a very, very different character than single CT from back in his late 20s.
By then, my children will be able to start becoming challengers.
It wont be too long before we have challengers in their sixties.
That would be amazing, the senior PGA version ofThe Challenge.
