The Challenge: All Stars: A Star Studded Ar-Rival (MTV, Wednesday, January 29, 2025)

The Challenge

The fifth season of The Challenge: All Stars aims to crank up the drama by pitting 26 veteran competitors against their most bitter rivals. It’s a twist that seems designed to unearth old grudges and test the limits of forced collaboration. While the allure of a $300,000 grand prize might encourage some semblance of teamwork, viewers can reasonably expect plenty of backstabbing, sabotage, and screaming matches. After all, these are “All Stars,” and they didn’t earn that title by playing nice.

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The premiere, hot on the heels of the season 40 reunion specials and titled “A Star Studded Ar-Rival,” sets the stage for a season of potential fireworks. The success of this twist hinges entirely on the casting and the pairings, of course. A stale rivalry or a manufactured feud will fall flat, but some truly inspired combinations could result in TV gold—or at least, TV bronze. Will long-simmering tensions finally boil over? Will alliances crumble under the weight of past betrayals? Only time will tell, which, in reality TV time, is approximately one episode.

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The Challenge: All Stars premieres Wednesday, January 29, at 8:00 PM on MTV.

Andrew Martins, reviewer, recapper, deep diver, scifi specialist. Thinks Blakes 7 is better than Star Trek. Yes I do go to fan conventions and no I don't dress up. Well okay maybe I do a bit.