How to watch ‘The Challenge’ Season 41 for free: Stream live today

MTV’s long-running reality competition series “The Challenge” Season 41, titled “Vets & New Threats,” has reached the end, and the eight finalists are locked in. Here’s everything you need to know to watch the new season.

This season features a cast split between 16 returning veterans and 16 rookie competitors from shows like “Survivor,” “Big Brother,” “Love Island” and more. Together, they’ll face a reimagined format for the ultimate title: Challenge Champion.

Where to watch ‘The Challenge: Vets & New Threats’ live and on demand for free

Viewers without a cable subscription can watch “The Challenge: Vets & New Threats” live and on demand for free by using several streaming platforms that offer MTV, including Philo (7-day free trial) and DirecTV (5-day free trial).

We think Philo is the best option for Challenge fans, with the lengthiest free trial and cheapest monthly rate.

Fubo also includes MTV and offers $20 off the first month of service, and Sling includes the channel at half off your first month, but no free trials are offered.

When does ‘The Challenge’ Season 41 premiere?

Season 41 premiered Wednesday, July 30, at 8 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on MTV.

But the action technically kicked off a week earlier with a special preview episode. “The Challenge: Vets & New Threats – Day Zero” aired on Wednesday, July 23, offering a sneak peek into the cast, format and early dynamics. That special episode is now available to stream on Philo, DirecTV and Fubo.

What time does ‘The Challenge’ air?

New episodes will air weekly on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

Following the tradition of recent seasons, each episode will run approximately 90 minutes.

What channel is ‘The Challenge’ on?

Catch the show on its home network: MTV.

To watch live, you’ll need a cable subscription or a live TV streaming service that includes MTV in its package, such as Philo, DirecTV or Fubo.

What is ‘The Challenge: Vets & New Threats’ about?

According to the series’ official synopsis per Variety, “For 40 seasons, generations of battle-hardened Veterans have fought relentlessly for the ultimate prize: the title of Challenge Champion.

“This season, fresh faces and new threats have entered the arena with one goal: to upend the old order and take it all. The Vets, driven by legacy and pride, will need to adapt fast. Their established hierarchy is crumbling, and leaning on past alliances, and experience is no longer reliable—it’s about navigating the ever-shifting landscape of alliances, betrayals and unknown threats.

“To win, Veterans and New Threats will be forced to work together, unless they’re forced to turn on each other. Nothing is guaranteed.”

Watch the trailer below:

The Challenge Season 41 episode recaps

What happened last time on “The Challenge: Vets & New Threats”? Read below for the story of the season so far:

Episode 17: Ten Toes Down

After the tensions flared last week, it’s no surprise that everyone is still running hot to start the new week. Will and Aviv each leave letters behind for former partners and friends. Aviv wishes Yeremi the best, while Will takes parting shots at Nany.

The challengers hit the club, and Nany is in a foul mood, and not interested in shouldering the blame for what happened to Will. It’s clear she feels some type of way, but she refuses to take accountability, instead pinning the whole thing on Michaela and Cedric, because apparently Cedric was Will’s best buddy and Cedric told him nothing. This is a bit beside the point, because ultimately, Nany still could have had a more direct impact on the result, but Michaela and Cedric decide to pick fights with everyone in the house, and the other Challengers seize on the opportunity to paint the duo as a clear threat (and likely nominee) in the upcoming Daily.

There’s also some bickering here between Sydney and Turbo. It’s clear that despite their success as a team, they are not getting along particularly well.

At the final Daily, teams must correctly assign country names across global maps while biking between the maps while chained together. The bikes and chains are less of an obstacle than the maps themselves. Turbo and Sydney win it, Cedric and Michaela come in dead last. With only three teams left for nomination, it’s clear that Nany and Justin will go in against Cedric and Michaela.

The final elimination of the season is a classic: Balls In. The variation this time is that both partners play at the same time. There’s not much to say here. Cedric and Michaela run over Nany and Justin like a bulldozer. The final looms, and the teams heading that way are:

• Olivia & Yeremi
• Theo & Adrienne
• Cedric & Michaela
• Turbo & Sydney

Episode 16: Am I Being Bamboozled?

There are just six teams left in the house, and all bets, alliances and previously made deals are off this week, as the house endures a shocking shake-up. The remaining 12 players are faced with an uncomfortable reality: they’ve left some of the strongest players in the game, including Turbo, Sydney, Michaela and Yeremi, relatively unscathed as the final looms, and something has to be done.

This Daily Challenge forces players into a nearly pitch-black cavern system, armed only with a book of matches, as they attempt to complete a bingo-like number chart to win. The usual suspects are up to their usual gameplay here. Will & Olivia struggle to get along, Turbo & Sydney struggle with the language barrier, Theo demonstrates his inability to take direction, and Michaela & Cedric are completely locked in, finishing first ... or so it appears. After review, despite finishing first, Michaela & Cedric had the least number correct, which means they are a lock for elimination, while Sydney & Turbo overcame their communication challenges to win it all, and are safe this week.

That puts the target squarely on Aviv & Yeremi this week, as nobody wants an ultramarathon runner in the final, and pitting Yeremi’s athleticism against Michaela’s brains seems like a win for everyone else in the house.

The only problem is that the vote, if it carries on the way it’s been going, will come down to a coin flip. With half the house trying to send Theo & Adrienne in for a fifth time, and the other half trying to off Yeremi & Aviv. But the Theo/Olivia side of the house finally gets through to Nany here. Everyone knows the final is one or two challenges away, and the time for alliances is over. It’s later revealed that Nany and Theo made a deal not to say each others names at the nomination (Nany swore on her mother’s grave), and Nany won’t send in her snuggle-buddy, Will, which means Nany is locked in to saying Aviv & Yeremi, which will send them in with a 3-1 vote.

Nany convinces herself that the honorable thing to do here is to inform Aviv ahead of time. That’s a respectable angle, but it means you have to deal with the consequences. At the vote, those become clear, when Yeremi stakes a claim on Olivia. From his perspective, he has nothing to lose. He’s either 100% going in due to a house vote, 100% going in because he loses to Will, or 50% going in because he beats Will, returns to the vote, and forces a coin flip. The math is clear, no matter how much Nany and Olivia try to make him feel stupid. It’s even advantageous for Aviv, because it forces a voting shakeup, which, again, is better than a 100% chance to go into the sand.

Yeremi beats Will up the mountain. It’s not a big surprise, but despite some of Will’s personality shortcomings, he takes it on the chin. What he doesn’t handle well is what happens next, now that Will is partnered with Aviv, and Yeremi is partnered with Olivia.

Theo & Adrienne vote for Will & Aviv because Theo has agreed not to say Nany & Justin, and Theo is never going to name Olivia (& Yeremi). Will & Aviv are torn based on relationships. This is a pivotal moment, where Will looks to Nany for guidance, and Nany completely shuts down. Aviv wants to name Nany, which is fair because Nany essentially betrayed their alliance. Will wants to save Nany and name Olivia & Yeremi, but Nany offers him no reassurance that she will save him due to her deal with Theo. It’s a tough spot for Nany, but it’s a hole she dug herself, and it makes her estimation of Will abundantly clear, and Will picks up on it. He is justifiably hurt, and he doesn’t take rejection well, but it makes for can’t miss Challenge drama. Ultimately, Will says Nany & Justin, and Nany says Will & Aviv. Hearts are broken, emotions flare, but the damage is irreparable. Yeremi & Olivia name Nany & Justin, and the nominations go to a coin flip, resulting in Will & Aviv heading into the sand.

At this elimination, partners are forced into a cramped airplane bathroom together, where they must solve two puzzles. It’s stressful, but even with a completely missed piece on their first check, Michaela and Cedric obliterate the untested duo of Will & Aviv, and they are sent packing.

Episode 15: The Best Birthday Present

There are just seven teams left to start the episode, with the house still favoring the Nany & Justin-led alliance that also includes Michaela & Cedric, Turbo & Sydney and Aviv & Yeremi. The firmly-established opposing side, now clearly led by Theo & Adrienne as Olivia & Will fade into the background, also includes Aneesa & Jake.

There’s early rumbling by the Nany alliance that playing the middle is the best path forward, because if you win and/or lose, that takes a number out of the voting. This challenge, however, is not well-suited for that strategy, because it’s hard to tell who’s winning or losing when you’re being timed and the times aren’t revealed.

The Daily has one partner unravel a heavy chain from around a beat-up old van, then the other partner has to drift their way around some targets while being towed at 25 mph. The physics are the biggest problem here, because it seems very easy for you to accidentally flip your van.

Despite their enmity, Olivia and Will pull out the win here (even with Olivia’s scary crash). Theo puts on his best bonehead mask and tries to cheat from inside the vehicle, helping Adrienne’s chain along. This has gotta be one of the dumbest things I’ve ever seen a competitor do on The Challenge. Apart from the fact that Adrienne was telling him to stop because it wasn’t helpful, he was also warned four times by TJ to stop touching the chain. Adrienne was justified in her anger when TJ finally DQed them and sent them straight to elimination.

With Olivia & Will on top and Adrienne & Theo on the bottom, that means Aneesa & Jake are all but guaranteed to go into elimination. Aneesa makes some attempts to persuade Nany and Aviv to keep her safe, but it was never really going anywhere. Nany has not let up on her frustration with Aneesa from earlier in the season, and Aviv knows that flipping to Aneesa’s side would put her in danger this late in the game.

The vote goes as expected, but TJ makes it clear that he is not happy with the “play the middle” strategy. Though it never becomes clear if he’s going to act on that. Aneesa & Jake are headed in against Theo & Adrienne.

Pulling a heavy cable seems to be the theme this week, as this elimination again tasks competitors with unraveling something. This time, it’s a spool of three electrical cables. The other theme? Theo refusing to listen to Adrienne. What more does this woman have to do to convince you to do things her way?! Turns out, threatening to give up entirely is Theo’s threshold. The moment Adrienne literally threatens to walk away, he finally sees reason, and starts listening, and they are able to come from behind and win their fourth elimination, sending Aneesa & Jake packing (and on Jake’s birthday, no less).

Episode 14: We Have to Boogie!

Early on, there’s some chatter about deliberately avoiding winning as a strategy, to help guarantee your ability to vote on both sides of the house. Ultimately, however, winning is still the safest bet.

The daily has challengers perform a series of tasks including deciphering runes, solving a math equation, wading through frigid water, entering a lock combination underwater and solving a tricky geometric puzzle.

Michaela and Cedric get it done first, because brains are supreme in this challenge. Meanwhile, Turbo appears to be going hypothermic in the water, while Olivia and Will are bickering, as usual. But it’s Leo and Ashley who truly unravel here. The cold water hampers Leo’s ability to crack the lock, and Ashley seems to crash out so hard she is totally unable to help. They come in last, and are destined for elimination.

With two members of the Nany/Ashley alliance winning and losing the challenge, it leaves the house roughly 50/50 at the vote, with Theo and Adrienne the obvious target for one side, and an increasingly sick Turbo and Sydney the target for the other. Adrienne makes a misguided attempt to threaten/cajole Aviv at club night. Aviv has a big overreaction to this, because honestly, what else is this woman supposed to do? Just accept her fate and go into the sand for the fourth week in a row?

Theo’s side of the house seems to convince themselves that they have a strategy to guarantee that the vote goes for Aviv and Yeremi. But ... it all hinges on Nany voting their way, and she isn’t even in on the plan.

That is until Theo surprises her with the news that if she just votes for Aviv and Yeremi, she can save her No. 1 (Turbo) from having to go into elimination or rely on a coin flip.

Nany says that’s f---ed up, but, again, what choices does Theo have? He’s been in the sand three weeks in a row, who can really blame him for a hail Mary here? Well, the vote goes exactly as you’d expect, forcing a coin flip to decide between Theo and Adrienne or Sydney and Turbo. Turns out Theo’s psychic was right, and he wouldn’t have to go into the sand a fourth time.

Nany confronts Theo after the vote, but ultimately, it seems like she’s more mad at herself than him. The reality is, she could have been the vote that swung the house away from Turbo, but she chose not to do that to make a point, or something. Turbo doesn’t seem bothered, despite appearing to draw closer to deaths door with every breath.

At the elimination, Leo and Turbo must race to collect heavy cannonballs and deposit them in a wheel to slowly lift Ashley and Sydney up a pulley system. The women collect numbers, and then must descend and use those numbers to solve a puzzle.

Ashley is convinced she has the puzzle figured out before she even gets to it. But her initial assumptions don’t pan out, and once Turbo and Sydney catch up, the elimination is back to ground zero. Ultimately, Turbo activates and realizes that they must use the collected numbers to create equations resulting in the hidden number in the middle, and despite a clear lead in the physical portion, Leo and Ashley are sent packing.

Episode 13: They Are Like Cockroaches

Out the gate, we have drama between Olivia and Will not getting along. This is also an extreme case of “you already know who’s going home because they get the most emotional screen time early in the episode” with America and Leroy getting calls home.

This grueling daily challenge tasks players with transporting heavy hay bales to two poles, building a tower with them, and scaling it to claim a key. Twice. Then digging through more hay bales to unearth a treasure chest which unlocks with the key.

Jake is convinced that if he and Aneesa go to the opposite pole first, it will benefit them somehow. It ... sort of does? It’s hard to tell, but it definitely confuses Leroy enough that he’s surprised when they finish ahead of him. But did that surprise actually give them an edge?

Anyway, Nany and Justin pull off an unlikely win here given the raw strength required for the task. Unfortunately for Theo and Adrienne, they finish a close second. Will and Olivia bicker the whole time, but finish middle of the pack, and the race for second-to-last is down to Leroy/America and Turbo/Sydney. Turbo and Sydney pull it off, sending Leroy and America straight to the sand.

There’s some chatter at the house that things are not going well between Sydney and Turbo, and if you’ve been paying attention on social media, you know that their partnership is a little concerning. Production has not done a good job highlighting that, so it feels a bit baffling to watch them struggle here, when they were previously billed as one of the top power duos.

Jake appeals to Leo to make a play at nominations and vote for Sydney and Turbo instead of Theo and Adrienne. Elsewhere, Will and Olivia both internally debate the merits of staking a claim, as they are both unhappy with the other as a partner.

Ultimately, neither of these things pan out. No one wants to risk staking a claim and losing, and Ashley has Leo on a leash. It’s Leroy and America vs. Theo and Adrienne (the cockroaches).

I like this elimination because it highlights the importance of communication, which can be a tough skill to test. Unfortunately, neither of these teams are any good at it, but Theo and Adrienne are slightly less awful. Partners are put on a merry-go-round that spins slowly past two puzzles per team. They have to solve the puzzles as they spin. Theo and Adrienne do manage to get one of them done but after 45 minutes, production steps in to give each player a full minute at the puzzle before moving on. Leroy and America finally manage one, but Theo and Adrienne are ahead on the other, and take the win.

Episode 12: Punch You in Your Face

TJ starts by teasing the “sickest challenge yet.” The social dynamic here is basically everyone vs. the tiny Olivia Alliance.

Theo is gunning for Turbo, and vice versa after Turbo and Olivia’s effective manipulation of Gabe last week.

This week’s challenge is “Running Man” themed, and Glen Powell, star of the new reboot, introduces it. The basics:

• Pairs must grab a key, then figure out which box car it unlocks.
• After unlocking, they must unravel a knot of ropes and chains to open the boxcar.
• Inside the boxcar is a car the teams drive to a checkpoint.
• At the checkpoint, they must use mechanics tools to take apart the hood of the car.
• Inside the hood is a “tracking device” (sure), that they must race to the final objective and deposit to win.

Aviv and Yeremi are the first to untangle their crate, while Will and Olivia are are struggling to communicate. Some pairs, including Nany and Justin, struggle when they discover the car is a stick shift, but many opt to push their cars to get around that.

Aviv and Yeremi carry their momentum all the way through, and finish first, while Dee and Derrick come in dead last. The exact opposite result from last week. At the finish line, Michaela starts beefing with Olivia because she claims Theo tried to cheat by depositing his tracker before his partner crossed the finish line.

Everyone assumes Theo and Adrienne will be the house vote, but that Theo will choose to stake a claim to avoid going in. Leroy takes the opportunity to make a masterstroke. He plants a decoy that Aneesa and Jake will be the house vote, and it works perfectly. Aneesa takes the bait, Theo thinks he’s free and clear, and at the elimination, he declines to stake a claim.

The vote goes 5-3 for Theo and Adrienne, exactly as predicted. Aneesa doesn’t seem too upset at Leroy’s deception, maybe a little impressed, actually.

At the elimination, it’s man vs. man, woman vs. woman, as partners must slide out on a thick wooden pole and have a sitting pillow fight over muddy water. Best out of 5. Theo bests Derrick five in a row, while Dee handles Adrienne just as well. Notably, Adrienne at least manages to stay on her pole for the full fifth round. This should have been the tie breaker, but production says it still counts as a draw.

A coin flip determines that it’s Theo vs. Derrick for the sudden death, and they must do it standing. This gives Derrick a previously unseen advantage, with the lower center of gravity. If he had done nothing at all, he might have won, but he gets greedy for the KO, and takes a swing, sending himself toppling into the water.

Episode 11: King of Kamikaze

Adrienne and Theo won the elimination, but Theo has his guard up, because he knows it’s easy to keep throwing the same people in over and over. Derrick is also worried, because he knows what an outsider he is in the house. Elsewhere, Jonna and Gabe are still struggling to communicate. Gabe is rerunning his old attitude towards Nia, and there’s nothing Jonna can do to get through to him.

This Daily Challenge has partners transporting big barrels and stumps with huge tension bands wrapped around them. Then, they have to use the bands to bind a huge plastic pipe in place so that one partner can walk to the end of it and retrieve a winning piece.

In a surprising turn of events, Derrick and Dee take first place here, while Yeremi and Aviv finish last. It comes down to that pair and Gabe and Jonna, but despite some bickering, Gabe manages to get it done.

Back at the house, the alliance of Michaela, Nany and Ashley decide on a “say nothing” strategy. They know who is panicking, they know they have numbers, and that if they keep mum, the rest of the players will do their work for them. It doesn’t quite go their way, however. They want Aneesa and Jake voted in.

However, due to Theo’s panicking about going back in, he (and Olivia) effectively manipulate Gabe into staking a claim. They suggest that the only way to keep himself out of the Arena is by being partnered up with a core member of the other alliance. At nomination, Gabe acts on this, and stakes a claim on Nany. Nany is not thrilled, Michaela acts like Gabe should have known better, but the deed is done. Gabe and Justin are headed back up the mountain, must solve a puzzle, and run back down.

Justin gets the puzzle done way faster and beats Gabe, verbally jabbing at him the whole way. That means Gabe and Jonna are headed to elimination. When they get there, it’s obvious that this is tailor made for Yeremi. One partner climbs a net and removes the pegs. The other puts the pegs in as they climb up a wall. Yeremi rock climbs in his free time, and while Jonna and Aviv are basically evenly matched, Yeremi runs away with it against Gabe.

It does appear that Gabe realizes how badly he’s been played at the end here, and feels genuinely remorseful about putting Jonna through what he did.

Episode 10: War is Brewing

This week, we finally get to see who chose partners well, and who is going to pay for their choice.

Things kick off highlighting some of the bitterness between the “Closet Alliance” (Olivia’s team) and the “Bedroom Alliance” (... Nany and Ashley’s team, wait, how did they become top dogs?). A lot of lines have been crossed, and this is a clear powder keg.

At the Daily Challenge, the new “permanent” teams are put to the test with a trivia contest doubling as and endurance test and tripling as a heights over water test. Players climb a stair machine that increases in speed with ever wrong answer. You need brains and athletics here, and unfortunately for CT and Tay, that combined duo appears to have neither. They both bail early, and they both get zero correct, so they are a lock for elimination.

Sydney shows her dominance again with 12 correct answers, but it’s the Michaela/Cedric power couple that takes this one, and is safe this week. They no longer get to nominate anyone, incidentally, so they are excluded from the house vote.

Back at the house, another diversionary fight occurs between Nany and Aneesa. Aneesa is still understandably sore from her spat with Ashley, and she finally lets Nany know that she is hurt that Nany appears to have taken Ashleys side. Nany flips a lid, and things nearly get physical as she screams at Aneesa for failing to move on. I think Aneesa’s feelings are justified here, and Nany’s reaction is overblown, but I suppose its valid that holding onto the grudge isn’t getting anyone anywhere. Anyway, Aneesa somehow ends up being the one to apologize to the whole house at the vote and what’s more frustrating there is that I’m sure Nany doesn’t have the emotional maturity to realize that she owes everyone at least as much of an apology, if not a bigger one.

Elsewhere, Gabe and Jonna aren’t clicking. This feels familiar from Gabe, but at least he keeps his mouth shut this time. Jonna is overanalyzing and trying too hard to get Gabe to think politically, and ultimately Gabe just doesn’t think highly enough of her to let her have any sort of sway.

At the vote, there’s an attempt to make it between America & Leroy and Adrienne & Theo. Everyone just likes Leroy way too much for that to ever pan out, and instead, it’s five votes for Adrienne & Theo.

TJ also reveals the “stake your claim” twist where everyone can challenge another player for their partner once for the rest of the season, but losing has the disastrous results of sending you directly into elimination. Gabe passes in this instance, noting that he doesn’t want to make waves this early in the second half.

At the Arena, one partner is blindfolded on a canon while the other partner has to verbally guide them to line up shots. Both the men are coaches, while the women are blindfolded. Theo is a better coach than CT (or just has a better eye) early on, but CT nearly catches up. The final score is 6-7 (don’t) against CT and Tay, so they head home.

Episode 9: Does Anyone Want to Confess?

We kick things off here with one of the seasons highly-teased fights: Ashley vs. Aneesa. The edit definitely shows Ashley as the bully here, talking smack and body shaming Aneesa for, evidently, no reason at all. Ashley is a messy drunk, and this is no exception. Aneesa gives her a deserved talking to that looked briefly like it might escalate into more, but defuses without getting physical.

It’s mini-final time, and the prize here is a final distribution of points that will determine which players get first selection of their partners for the rest of the game. TJ calls it the Lock-In.

It’s certainly grueling. An array of challenges is spaced up a mountain path. There’s an equation, an eating challenge, a spinning puzzle, and chain lengths puzzle and a riddle.

Ultimately, the one worth talking the most about is the eating puzzle, because it turns into a massive (if inconsequential) test of character. Many of our Challengers attempt to cheat here, including, most-visibly, Dee (caught on camera) and Jonna (who decides that if everyone else is cheating, she might as well cheat too). It appears that Will, Turbo, CT and admirably, America, refuse to cheat. This causes America to come in last place, but she ate every damn bite. The cheaters instead attempt to surreptitiously pitch their peppers and onions into the shrubs behind them. But it’s very easy for production to spot this.

Turbo wins, CT comes in second for the men, a great result after a difficult season, and Sydney wins for the New Threats and the ladies (although she does admit to some light cheating later). But none of it matters. TJ reveals that due to the rampant cheating, no one will be getting points, and the results of the mini-final are moot. From a viewer perspective, this sucks. No justice, and what did we even watch for? However, I suspect the cheating was rampant enough, and the degrees of cheating variable enough, that there was just no good way to quickly come up with a solution that only punished the cheaters. For example, if Sydney really only pitched away a sliver of her onion, like she claims, while Dee tossed most of the feast, do they deserve the same punishment?

Later, there’s a celebratory dinner for making it halfway, but not everyone is celebrating, especially Will, who makes his opinions very clear. This temper hasn’t served Will well in the past, but I have to agree with him. This feels extremely unjust for him (because it would have given him better placement) and anyone else who actually made the effort to complete the eating portion of the mini-final. It seems, however, that the rest of the house is more annoyed that he killed the vibe at dinner.

There’s some jockeying for partners here at the end, but ultimately, all that matters is the top few picks, because once they’re off the board, choices become limited. These are the final pairings, and the pick order:

1. Michaela picks Cedric
2. Olivia picks Will
3. Yeremi picks Aviv
4. Sydney picks Turbo
5. Aneesa picks Jake
6. Adrienne picks Theo
7. Justin picks Nany
8. Leo picks Ashley
9. CT picks Tay
10. America picks Leroy
11. Dee picks Derrick
12. Gabe picks Jonna

Episode 8: Justice for Leka

Yeah, ok.

This episode was packed with injustices, but if there’s one thing it did not feature, it was any modicum of justice for Leka.

Theo has a swollen knee, and is awaiting the results of an MRI to determine if he can even compete. Because of this, he becomes the de facto hangnail, and Will gets to compete with Dee as a partner.

The narrative premise is that all the players are targeting CT for what he did to Leka in Episode 6. Except if anything is made abundantly clear in episode 8, it’s that CT did not throw the Daily in episode 8.

This is another heights over water Daily, and everyone has eyes on CT to see if he suddenly has it in him to climb. Guess what, he doesn’t. Somehow, despite failing to climb up, and dealing with a partner who deliberately throws to guarantee CT goes to elimination, everyone still somehow thinks that CT karmically deserves this for Leka’s elimination from the game. It’s pretty wild groupthink.

Sydney and Yeremi devour this Daily, proving just how valuable athleticism is on this particular season. Yeremi has sites dead set on Derek and Derrick, both of whom have gladly put a target on him this season.

Olivia has a pouty pity party because her reign of popularity seems to be at an end with the elimination of Izzy. All the new threats have turned against her, and not many of the vets seem to be backing her any more either. Add to that the thing with Theo, and she’s very down in the dumps here.

Club night has some fairly uninteresting politicking. Derek makes a vague suggesting that he’s a better future partner to some of the people in their alliance to Yeremi and Sydney. Yeremi clearly is having none of that.

At the nomination, Yeremi and Sydney nominate Derek Chavez, and there’s not much to say about this one. Turbo had a big outburst at Derek for being fake earlier in the episode, and while Turbo’s take there is more reactionary than accurate, it’s a sentiment that’s also felt elsewhere in the house, especially for Justin.

Theo is medically cleared, so it’s put to a vote, and Derek loses in a landslide where only Jonna votes for Theo because of her friendship with Derek. Kudos to Jonna for sticking to her guns there, even though this would have been a very easy place to betray a friend.

Well, it’s CT vs. Derek in the elimination, and man, CT just seems super down on himself this episode. There’s a ton of negative energy directed his way, including some outright mockery during the Daily. He knows he’s out of shape, he knows the house is against him, and he knows he’s bound for elimination, and what’s disheartening is, it seems like the house has effectively bullied him into thinking he deserves this. Whether or not that’s the case, it’s sort of a bad look for everyone on the season, and you can tell he’s feeling it.

This elimination is a pole wrestle. Derek is immediately nervous, and let’s face it, he’s got good reason to be. CT is huge. CT is strong. CT is an elimination king. Derek puts up a real fight in round 1, but CT ultimately takes it. In Round 2, Derek is complete gassed, and this one is over mercifully quick. CT doesn’t even look happy about it.

Did we get “justice for Leka?” Not in my book.

TJ reveals that next week’s Daily is an individual. I smell a mini final around the corner.

Episode 7: At Least Someone Is Getting Laid!

There is a lot of attention given to Nany and Will’s increasing cupcaking this episode, which makes me wonder if it’s going to have some serious fallout down the line. After starting the episode in full cuddle, the two star in a full-on nightcam, censored sex scene following club night. But I’m jumping ahead.

At the Daily, a go-karting Grand Prix, one partner does laps while the other tries to solve a timed puzzle. Once they complete the puzzle, they switch roles, lather rinse repeat, until four puzzles are complete. If the puzzle solver can’t get it done in time, however, the driver must do more laps.

Despite driving like Bowser in Mario Kart, the Aneesa-CT pair bring their puzzle solving skills to bear to look like early winners here. But the last puzzle is the equalizer that everyone gets stuck on. Everyone except, that is, Nany and Leo. For being the only team to solve the puzzle, this is one of the most well-earned Daily wins of the season so far, and puts Leo in command for the second week straight. Yeremi and Tay finish last and it’s a women’s elimination, so Tay is returning to the sand.

On the bus ride, promises are made to give Tay “whoever she wants” in the sand. Jonna is named as a vet target early, but at club night, Sydney campaigns for Izzy, despite her fellow rookie status, because everyone knows she’s working with Olivia. An all-ladies temporary alliance of Nany, Ashley, Aviv, Sydney, America and Dee unite around the idea of forcing the house to vote around Jonna and Izzy.

Elsewhere, Olivia, CT and Theo work towards getting Dee and Sydney as nominees. One thing is clear, there is no consensus this week.

At the vote, Leo and Nany save Ashley and Theo. Aneesa kicks things off by voting for Dee, and Derek follows suit. Turbo (Dee’s partner) takes this personally, because Turbo takes everything personally. Ultimately, Izzy is the nominee after a 4-3-2-2-1-1 vote that is all over the place. Hey remember when everyone told Tay she could have whoever she wants? Think she wanted her best buddy Izzy? Trust no one.

This is a convoluted elimination, but ultimately, Izzy and Tay must shoot baskets, then stack bricks as the ball returns to them through a maze. There are two hoops, with the upper hoop being a requirement to score on before the last column of bricks can be stacked. An early error by Izzy sets her behind for basically the entire elimination, and her stacks topple twice. Tay runs away with it.

TJ’s big reveal, after new partners are chosen, is that “very soon” the two people with the most points will get first pick of partner every week for the rest of the season.

Episode 6: Is He Throwing It?

Welcome to the least just episode of the season. The Daily Challenge sets the stage for the episode, where CT seems unable to climb the ladder to get out of the water, forcing Leka to complete the entire daily herself. Much is made of whether CT is throwing this Challenge. CT says he has some PTSD after his fall into the water in Season 40, which led to him being carted off in an ambulance. A lot of people are not buying it, but it’s sort of hard to see what benefit he has from deliberately sabotaging here, other than guaranteeing that it’s a rookie who goes into the arena.

Indeed, that’s what happens. Despite Leka’s ability to get it done, the fact that her partner didn’t climb the ladder is seen as a failure to progress, according to production. So Leka will be headed to elimination. Meanwhile, DI athletes Sydney and Leo take the win.

Back at the house, Turbo and CT have a loud argument about whether CT threw the Challenge. Turbo is a hothead, and CT is feeling the heat. Turbo is frustrated on Leka’s behalf, and lays into CT in insulting fashion. This hits CT right in the ego.

Leo has a plan to get all the rookies on the same side, and use Izzy as a decoy ahead of club night. Izzy looks uncomfortable with this, and that makes sense, becuase she’s genuinely an Olivia ally. Naturally, this gets out, a rubs Olivia the wrong way.

Olivia goes to Leo to try to make a deal, but Theo is having none of it. He has no real assurance other than blind trust in Olivia, and that’s not good enough for him. And he tells her as much.

In conversing with her veteran alliance, Aneesa once again makes it clear that her allegiance is to Olivia. We’ve all seen the trailers. We know something big is coming between Aneesa and Ashley (and maybe Nany). It’s only a matter of time.

At the nomination, Leo torches everyone’s time with a meandering speech about friendship, all of which leads to his ultimate nomination of Aneesa to face judgment by the jury, blindsiding just about everyone (including Izzy). The vote is tight once again, and it comes down to Leroy and Izzy to make the final vote. That’s when Leroy takes a stand. There’s no way in hell he’s voting against Aneesa to force another coin flip tie. That means Izzy either has to join him in voting against her most staunch ally, Olivia, or risk seeing what happens when a team can’t agree. Ultimately, she makes a smart choice for her own game, and agrees to vote for Olivia, rather than risk the unknown.

So, it’s Olivia vs. Leka in the elimination, but really, they’re just competing against themselves. Each Challenger must climb a rolling slide, hit the button on one side, climb back, and do it all over again as many times as they can within five minutes. Leka bets her past as a DI athlete for the Buffalo Bulls will get her the win here, but despite an early lead, she gasses out around attempt No. 6, and Olivia’s slightly slower and steadier pace keeps her going for a final count of 10-8 in favor of Olivia.

Episode 5: Pride Comes Before the Fall

Cara Maria reveals that she must return home after an upsetting phone call with her aunt. The house bids her farewell, and Leo is left wondering what will become of him.

TJ answers that question at the Daily Challenge, where he introduces Two-time All-Stars champion Jonna is joining the season to fill Cara’s shoes. Cara hadn’t exactly made waves this season, so it will be interesting to see what Jonna brings to the table. Michaela doesn’t take her seriously, Ashley doesn’t seem to either, but Jonna feels a strong connection with Derek Chavez.

In a grueling Daily, competitors must dig up three massive posts, transport them across a field, then build a field goal with them, which they kick a football through. This is all a cross-promotion with Jordan Peele’s latest football-themed horror movie, “HIM.” Michaela wins the Daily, putting her in control for the second straight week, this time with partner Jake.

Olivia and Ben, who already struggled with the digging and carrying portion, cannot get the field goal kicked. Ben makes more than a dozen attempts before finally Olivia decides to take the shot, and makes it on the first attempt. But it was Derek and Dee who finish dead last, meaning they are locked in for elimination.

Club night is uneventful, but Michaela does make it clear that she intends to let Jake have the final say. It would be nice to see her make some real moves, especially holding power for two weeks in a row, but there is also strategy in holding court, and letting everyone battle among themselves.

Before nomination, Olivia makes a careless comment about not caring if she’s the hangnail. She insists this has been misinterpreted, but I think she just got caught boasting. Either way, many in the house decide it’s as good a reason as any to nominate her and Ben for elimination.

But it’s not that simple. After two rounds of voting, in which Aneesa’s true colors as an Olivia loyalist are revealed, it’s a 6-6 stalemate between Ben and Yeremi. TJ says that means a coin flip will decide it, and Ben loses.

This is a Hall Brawl, with a super-collider twist. Derek and Ben are not the most athletic guys in the house, so this isn’t the biggest headbanger Hall Brawl we’ve seen, but Ben is totally gassed out at this point, if not emotionally drained. Derek takes him to church with back-to-back wins, leaving Olivia as the next hangnail with a big old foot in her mouth.

At the next selection, Michaela is paired with Yeremi in what might be an unstoppable powerhouse team. Nany is also paired with Theo, after Theo called her out during the last house vote.

Episode 4: Wish I’d Been Practicing

It’s a maze with Sudoku puzzles scattered throughout in this week’s Daily Challenge, and it comes down to one simple thing: you either know Sudoku, or you don’t. CT & Adrienne and Ben & Michaela, come out on top, winning their heats. Bananas & Leka make a crucial mistake of wiping their board to start over, because in the event of a timeout, correct progress still counts. That puts them dead last, meaning that Bananas is a lock for elimination.

It’s nice to see a strategist like Michaela in control, but there’s not much to deliberate about here. The best play for every guy is to get Bananas out of the game, and, frankly, Gabe (the hangnail) is a physical specimen with a past in the WWE and football. Not to mention, he’s dug himself a social hole and needs to do something to earn his way out of it. Derek is put up as a burn nomination by Ben & Michaela, because he’s “the most well-protected man in the house.” Even though this proves true, and Gabe is voted in a landslide, Derek is still chagrined to hear his name.

This elimination is a strength- and speed-matters contest, where you have to drop tokens in a bucket while tethered to ropes while your opponent on the other side of the wall has to hold the ropes to prevent you from accomplishing that. Johnny tries his best to use deception and strategy to dupe his opponent. He gets it done in 11 minutes. But whether Johnny is exhausted from going first, or whether Gabe just has more raw muscle than him, Gabe obliterates that time with a 2-minute performance, sending the Bananaman packing.

At the new partner selection, the most notable happening is Gabe and Leka being paired together. This is the first rookie-rookie pair, and with Johnny out of the house, it seems like an immediate and obvious target for anyone looking for low hanging fruit. Neither of them look pleased.

Episode 3: I Am The Challenge

Kicking off with new partners being picked, the most important ones to know are Nia & Gabe, Bananas & America and Olivia & Justin. Gabe is not happy with Nia as a partner for two reasons:

1. He doesn’t appreciate how low in the order he was picked
2. He doesn’t see Nia as a strong contender, due to her performance so far, and the fact that she’s injured.

Nia hears about Gabe’s dissatisfaction, and takes it personally. These rookies need to learn that nothing stays secret in the house. Nia lets Gabe have it with a “how dare you” confrontation. Nia also gets an MRI for her injured knee. Because the results of the MRI are not forthcoming, Nia and Gabe end up being forced to sit out of the Daily Challenge, which means that Nia is a lock for elimination, since it’s a women’s week.

The Challenge breaks partners up. One is tasked with a climbing and diving exercise while the other has to solve a puzzle. There are quite a few DQs here, including Ben, Theo and America, but since Nia is already locked into elimination, it’s not that big of a deal to lose. Instead, all eyes are on the winner, who ends up being the Olivia & Justin duo. Justin is having a statement start to the season, while Olivia is now firmly in control of the leaderboard, with 20 points.

Gabe allows some of the other men to convince him to make peace with Nia. He does this the next day. Nia is glad for his apology, although it’s clear there’s still some hurt feelings.

At the vote, Olivia & Justin choose to save Izzy & Turbo. Michaela is not pleased with this strategy-free decision-making, and lets everyone know it. She takes this game seriously, but it puts a target on her back. Leo also makes a valid speech about the rookies cannibalizing each other, but puts a big target on his back too. The vote comes down to America or Tay (because Tay was previously voted in), and Olivia has enough support to successfully take a shot at Bananas by getting the house to vote in America. Bananas calls this out, and it looks egotistical, but once again, he is correct about why this happened.

At the elimination, the results of Nia’s MRI are in. She is too injured to compete, and will be eliminated by default, sparing America as well. This leaves Gabe as the hangnail heading into episode 4. Instead, we finish with new pairings. Notable pairs include Bananas + Leka, Olivia + Yeremi, Justin + Aviv and Sydney + Turbo.

Episode 2: We Used to Hook Up

Everyone gets new partners, and it’s great for some and awkward for others. In a masterstroke, Bananas takes Izzy, whose ... cuddle buddy (?) ... Rogan was just sent packing. Izzy is on the UK alliance, it’s a women’s elimination week, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to see why this is the best choice for him. Turbo also lands with Leka, and ...

... that’s relevant because they go on to win this Daily, where dune buggies fly over our challengers heads and they have to spot the patterns on the bottom of each buggy, then replicate this on a puzzle board. This proves nearly impossible. But this Daily is made for veterans, because the real solution is sitting on the puzzle board already, no buggy-watching required. Soon enough, some of the vets spot that the board gives them all the info they need. Turbo & Leka are first to solve it, followed by Will & Olivia, CT & America and Aneesa & Justin. Unfortunately, it’s also a Vet who tanks this challenge: Derrick. That means his partner Blue is a lock for elimination.

Now, the hangnail mechanic. Rather than saving someone, Turbo and Leka get to nominate one team for the “jury.” That team’s female contestant will face the house vote against the hangnail (Adrienne), to determine Blue’s final opponent. They pick Derrick & Tay, which puts Tay in the hot seat. Tay takes it on the chin, and this vote is an 11-1 landslide against her. Adrienne lives to fight another day.

Club night brings out a lot of emotions. Alcohol and emotional regulation are joint culprits. Justin confronts Derek for throwing him in after saying he wouldn’t. Derek has a fair “we just met” response here, but it was still a scummy thing to do. Derek later takes out his sadness on Leo who tricked Derek into buying two drinks by telling him they were two-for-one, then stealing one of the two drinks. Finally, Will is not handling the Bananas-Dee relationship well, because he and Dee “used to hook up.” Will begins red-flagging all over the place, while other Challengers try to calm him down, even going as far as punching a wall and getting a big swollen hand.

In this elimination, Tay and Blue get their hands bound, and are tasked with making contact with a laser beam projected randomly throughout the arena. One plays offense, one plays defense. They both put on a good effort, but Blue gases out before the end, and Tay emerges victorious.

Episode 1: Welcome to the Challenge

In this week’s Daily Challenge, tethered partners retrieve colored balls and climb up and down a muddy slope. Adrienne injures her foot, requiring stitches. Bananas’ and Dee’s chemistry extends to their Daily performance, and they take the first win of the season. This result makes the two sides of the house clear: There’s an old-timey vet team backing Johnny, and a young blood UK-based team backing Olivia. Their beef from last season has not disappeared.

A coin flip determines it will be a men’s elimination. That’s great for Adrienne, since she and Rogan lost the daily, and means she won’t have to fight for her life on an injured foot. Bananas and Dee get to save one team. They think they’re being clever, and choose to save Theo (and his partner Izzy) to keep them out of the house vote. TJ disappoints Johnny by revealing that saved pairs still get to vote. It comes down to a vote between Justin or Jake. Derek Chavez flips his vote to Justin after previously promising to not say his name. That means Bananas’ dream of a UK vs. UK elimination doesn’t pan out.

Justin says he won’t forget Derek’s betrayal. This looks like a strength contest, and an early observer would peg Rogan as a likely winner. But Justin uses his tumbling skill (from his past as a cheerleader) and to roll this disk along the curved track, leaving his veteran opponent in the dust in a win that favors Bananas’ side of the house.

At the end, TJ reveals that Adrienne will now be a “hangnail,” with her partner eliminated, and that she will not participate in the next Daily Challenge.

Episode 0: Day Zero

Vets and new players climb a mountain, letting both sides evaluate the performance of prospective partners. This is intercut with footage of TJ interviewing new threats, while vets watch ominously from behind a mirror, periodically popping up to ask “why are you here?”

Yeremi wins, and gets first choice of partners. He picks Aviv, and the draft continues from there.

Chemistry is immediate between Rogan and Izzy and Johnny and Dee. Dee seems more skeptical, but Johnny locks her in as a partner, so she’s stuck with him.

Who is in The Challenge Season 41 cast?

The returning vets include some of the greatest to ever play the game, including fan favorites like CT Tamburello and Johnny Bananas, controversial characters like Turbo and Ashley Mitchell and even newly minted “vets” like new couple Olivia Kaiser and Theo Campbell. On the new threats side, expect a bevy of competitors from other Paramount properties, like “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” and “Big Brother.”

What they’re saying on r/MTVChallenge Reddit

There’s a great thread for die-hard fans who love player stats, but the long and short of it is:

• Theo- 3rd final in 5 seasons, looking for 1st win. Won 0 dailies and 4 eliminations this season.
• Turbo- 2nd final in 5 seasons, looking for 2nd win. Won 2 dailies and 1 elimination this season
• Olivia- 2nd final in 4 seasons, looking for 1st win. Won 2 dailies and 1 elimination this season
• Michaela- 2nd final in 3 seasons, looking for 1st win. Won 4 dailies and 2 eliminations this season.
• Adrienne- Won 0 dailies and 4 eliminations this season.
• Sydney- Won 4 dailies and 1 elimination this season.
• Cedric- Won 2 dailies and 2 eliminations this season
• Yeremi- Won 2 dailies, 1 elimination and 1 stake a claim challenge.

How many episodes are in ‘The Challenge: Vets & New Threats’?

MTV hasn’t confirmed the number of episodes in “The Challenge: Vets & New Threats,” but based on past seasons, viewers can expect between 18–20 episodes.

When will ‘The Challenge: Vets & New Threats’ finale air?

The exact date for the finale has not been confirmed by MTV either, but past seasons suggest this season will likely run through late fall 2025.

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Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft for this story, based on data provided by MTV. It was reviewed and edited by Syracuse.com.