‘The Challenge’ Showrunner Addresses Fans’ Season 39 Questions, Teases ‘Bomb’ Season 40

The Challenge‘s latest season, subtitled Battle for a New Champion, has officially come to an end. This season was unique in that contenders from prior seasons, none of whom have won a season of The Challenge, vied for the chance to become the franchise’s next champion. While the fan response to this idea was mixed, judging by the passionate responses (on both sides) about some of the season’s outcomes, it seems like viewers were indeed engaged.

PopCulture.com recently spoke with The Challenge‘s showrunner Emer Harkin, who worked on Season 39 and has produced numerous Challenge seasons and spinoffs, who answered fans’ most pressing questions about Battle for a New Champion. Furthermore, Harkin teased the “bomb” things to come in the franchise’s upcoming landmark Season 40.

When fans initially saw who would be competing on Season 39, there was a fair bit of criticism from those who love watching their favorite vets, such as Cory Wharton or Nany Gonzalez, come back season after season. On the other side of the coin, some wondered why competitors from seasons in the distant past, who would fit the non-champion theme, weren’t included. According to Harkin, the casting talks were “exhaustive” and during the casting process, they did consider non-champs from every season of The Challenge. 

“We could have gone all the way back to season one through season 38. And we literally did,” the producer said. “That is exactly what we did. We wrote down the name of any person who had never won, and then we just started delineating who was available, who’s still interested, who would fit the bill, who would be… And then it’s also piecing everybody together, and do we have an appetite for an international component? Do we have an appetite for some of these older stars?”

She continued, “And so it’s a huge complicated jigsaw, but literally anybody that had ever been on a Challenge show was considered. And then we just whittle it down. We start with the absolutely must-haves and then what are we missing? What do we need more of? What do we need less of? And we just clinically whittle it down from there.”

With the cast in place, the production team then had to turn to what the season would actually entail. Amidst these discussions, they decided that only one individual would be crowned a champion at the end of the season. Since this season provided a great opportunity to get some new champs in the mix, was it ever a consideration that there would be more than one Season 39 champion? Harkin said that they thought about “every single outcome.” 

“We talk about all the things that you ask and wonder and then we just commit to our point of view based on a million factors, audience research, what is befitting of the format,” Harkin explained. “We were trying to create a new champion. That’s the whole impetus for the season. And so having multiple champions would’ve obviously changed the show and it would’ve been “Battle for Several Champions,” so it just didn’t quite have the same ring to it. So we just were happy to double down and really reward the best player of the season.”

With Season 39 in the books, The Challenge world has now set its sights on its landmark Season 40. Harkin did tease that fans are in for a treat with the next flagship season, saying that it “won’t disappoint.” She said, “It is going to be bomb. It is huge. It is exciting and I am confident it won’t disappoint. It is a cast unlike any that we’ve seen on the main season, main series, for a very long time, and I am so stoked to be a part of it and just so proud to get our beloved show to 40 seasons. What an achievement. We’re all stoked.”