The Challenge Season 39 Release Date, Cast, Trailer And More Details

MTV's "The Challenge" may be one of the longest-running reality competition shows on the scene, but it's still just as full of life as the day it touched down on the network in 1998. After years upon years of installments, the series is finally gearing up for Season 39 — and this newest edition of the classic competition show looks to be an exhilarating celebration of everything that has come before.

Ahead of its release, early details on "The Challenge" Season 39 are giving eager fans a taste of what to expect from the show's latest outing. Information on the premiere date, the cast of competitors, and more has already been made available. However, perhaps the juicest detail of all is the unique twist that Season 39 is set to employ, which is sure to intrigue those who have kept up with the series through the years. Here's the complete rundown on "The Challenge" Season 39.

"The Challenge" has never been a show to go off the air without new episodes for lengthy periods of time, and this pattern holds true with the release of Season 39. Just under eight months since Season 38, titled "Ride or Dies," reached its brutal conclusion in March 2023, Season 39 is jumping onto the scene. More specifically, it's slated to premiere on October 25 and air episodes on a regular weekly schedule until the end of the season.

For those that just can't possibly wait until the big day for "The Challenge" Season 39's premiere, MTV has thrown a bit of an early bone. On October 18, exactly one week before the season proper begins, the network will air an exclusive launch special with a sneak peek at what's to come, including an introduction to the newest installment's full cast of competitors.

While "The Challenge" has evolved in many ways over the years, its core premise remains the same as the day it started. Just like every season before it, Season 39 features a cast of competitors duking it out in various wacky challenges in the hopes of not getting eliminated and becoming the contestant or team to make it to the end and win a massive cash prize. Of course, there are plenty of melodramatic twists and turns on the road to victory to spice up the proceedings.

Like many other seasons, "The Challenge" Season 39 features its own unique twist. The new season, titled "Battle for a New Champion," features a panel of 24 returning "The Challenge" contestants who lost during their original appearance on the show or one of its various spin-offs. However, that's not to say the season won't feature any returning champions. 10 winners from "The Challenge" history will pop up to face off against the contestants in surprise elimination rounds. All told, it's shaping up to be an eventful season.

T.J. Lavin once again returns as host for "The Challenge" Season 39. As mentioned prior, the new season will feature 24 contestants from the show's history who lost during their respective original appearances. The full list, along with the seasons they originally appeared in, is as follows:

• Jessica Brody ("Australia")

• Berna Canbeldek (Season 37)

• Ed Eason (Season 37)

• Big T Fazakerley (Seasons 34 — 37)

• Michele Fitzgerald (Seasons 37 — 38)

• Asaf Goren (Season 35)

• Horacio Gutiérrez (Season 38)

• Callum Izzard ("UK")

• Moriah Jadea (Season 38)

• Jujuy Jiménez ("Argentina," "World Championship")

• Olivia Kaiser (Season 38)

• Corey Lay (Season 37)

• James Lock ("UK")

• Nurys Mateo (Season 38)

• Hughie Maughan (Season 37)

• Emanuel Neagu (Season 37)

• Chauncey Palmer (Season 38)

• Melissa Reeves (Seasons 31 — 32, 35)

• Ravyn Rochelle (Season 38)

• Colleen Schneider (Season 38)

• Jay Starrett (Seasons 35 — 36, 38)

• Ciarran Stott ("Australia")

• Kyland Young ("USA 1")

• Zara Zoffany ("UK," "World Championship")

Meanwhile, the list of the 10 returning champions who will appear as obstacles in Season 39's elimination challenges is as follows:

• Kaycee Clark (Seasons 35 — 38)

• Kaz Crossley ("UK," "World Championship")

• Tori Deal (Seasons 30, 32, 34 — 38, "Champs vs. Stars 1")

• Brad Fiorenza (Seasons 9 — 11, 13, 15, 17 — 18, 20, 31 — 32)

• Cara Maria Sorbello (Seasons 19 — 25, 27, 29 — 34, "Champs vs. Pros")

• Laurel Stucky (Seasons 19 — 21, 25, 29, 34, 38)

• CT Tamburello (Seasons 8, 10, 13 — 15, 17, 21 — 22, 24 — 26, 29 — 37, "Champs vs. Pros," "Champs vs. Stars 1")

• Darrell Taylor (Seasons 7 — 8, 10, 12, 18 — 19, 29 — 30, 36, 38, "Champs vs. Pros")

• Devin Walker (Seasons 28, 30 — 32, 36 — 38)

• Jordan Wiseley (Seasons 24 — 26, 30, 34 — 35, 38, "Champs vs. Pros")

A few weeks before the premiere of Season 39 of "The Challenge," MTV released the first official trailer for the latest iteration of the reality series. On the surface, it seems that the upcoming season of "The Challenge" will offer up more of the death-defying, body-testing games, stunts, and fights that have made the show so popular. Indeed, the trailer teases a number of intense events: Teams swim around in giant metal balls dropping other balls on ground-level targets, engage in mud-wrestling, and try to haul one of their own up a wall while entirely caked in dirt.

But in addition to spinning on walls, trying to stay aloft on shaky surfaces, navigating speeding trucks, and avoiding fire, this season will offer multiple twists. Season 39's 24 competitors have all previously competed without winning. Now they're playing to win — and to do so, they'll have to defeat "challenge legends" who have sworn to do whatever it takes to defend their status and keep these upstarts out of the winners' circle.

Luckily for newcomers to "The Challenge," watching previous seasons of the show isn't at all necessary to understand and enjoy the newer installments. That being said, "The Challenge" Season 39's major twist of exclusively including past contestants makes it a bit of a unique case compared to most other entries. Simply put, those who have seen the competitor's original appearances will have more context for their respective history with the series prior to entering Season 39.

While many different past seasons of "The Challenge" are represented in Season 39's list of competitors and returning champions, this fresh outing appears to build the most off of the events of Seasons 37 and 38, which immediately preceded it. Again, watching those two seasons isn't necessary by any stretch, but doing so will give audiences context for a sizable chunk of the challengers this time around.

Regardless of if fans want to refresh themselves on the past of specific competitors in "The Challenge" Season 39 or simply need something to fill the time until the new season releases, it's worth taking a peek at past installments of the show. Fortunately, fans with a basic subscription to Paramount+ can easily stream the vast majority of the show, as the streaming service hosts every mainline season of the series from Season 10 onwards.

There are other options for those without a Paramount+ subscription. Other digital storefronts, such as Amazon Prime Video, the iTunes store, the Microsoft store, Vudu, and the Google Play store, similarly have seasons and individual episodes of the show available for digital purchase. Many of these storefronts offer both high-definition and standard-definition versions of the series, which are priced accordingly. Viewers can also watch select episodes from the series for free on MTV's official website.