The Challenge is back for Season 42 and it’s more cutthroat than ever! Now on its new home on Paramount+, the long-running reality competition franchise has the potential to reach a whole new audience, and its stars are ready for change. 7x champion Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio is “excited” for the future of the series. “The changes and the additions Paramount+ has made to the show are gonna have a very positive outcome,” said Devenanzio. “I love my new mom and dad.”

While The Challenge: Cutthroat may look and feel a bit different, the drama remains the same. After butting heads in The Challenge 41, Devenanzio, Michele Fitzgerald and Tori Deal all ended up on Team Orange this season. “At first, we all thought, ‘this is a great idea; let’s start fresh,’” said Deal. “Then we all felt like the rug was pulled out from under us after the rules of the games were explained.” Fitzgerald agreed with Deal: “There was no time to figure out the full repair for what had been fractured previously.”

One person who could bring the trio of veterans together? The Challenge rookie and Love Island USA alum Deb Chubb, who could be the series’ next breakout star. “If there will be another season of The Challenge—when there will be another season—she will be on it,” said Fitzgerald. “She comes across as non-intimidating and then performs really well at everything,” added Deal. Devenanzio agreed. “Being competitive on The Challenge is easy, but Deb is totally herself and that’s hard,” said Devenanzio. He added: “She’s got the most unhinged personality. That’s why she fits in so well with our team. We are all a bit deranged.”

Deal, Devenanzio, Fitzgerald and Chubb hopped on a Zoom with Decider to talk about the season, discuss the “Boston Mumble Scumbag” version of Chris “CT” Tamburello, and more.

DECIDER: The Challenge is now on Paramount+, so everyone can swear now! Bananas, what was it like to have that freedom in your confessionals and beyond?

JOHNNY “BANANAS” DEVENANZIO: I’m stoked. Listen, I am so excited to be under the umbrella of a new mother ship. The changes and the additions Paramount+ has made to the show are gonna have a very positive outcome. Swearing, obviously, being one of them [laughs]. I love my new mom and dad.

Tori and Michelle, how open were you to hearing what Bananas had to say following the events of last season? Were you ready to start fresh?

TORI DEAL: Yes! At first, we all thought, “this is a great idea; let’s start fresh!” Then we all felt like the rug was pulled out from under us after the rules of the games were explained. Michelle was in a worse spot than I was, let’s be real [laughs]. But you know, I’ll let her speak to that, but the new rules and being on the same team were not part of our plan.

MICHELE FITZGERALD: We wanted to rebuild our relationship. I initially thought, “oh, we’re gonna be on separate teams and then we can see how to navigate this.” But no, we were all picked to be on the same team and thrown right into the fire. There was no time to figure out the full repair for what had been fractured previously. Tori and I don’t have a problem with Bananas. I don’t think he has a problem with us, but we still needed time after last season to sort our stuff out. You can’t figure it all out on day one. So yeah, it was a tricky situation.

JB: Getting stuffed onto the same team—and being put in the position that we got put into right out of the gate—just forced us to deal. It’s like, instead of going through like 10 years of psychotherapy, we all just did Ayahuasca together and hashed everything out within 24 hours. We became a better team because of it.

Bananas, in the first episode, you get into a dust-up with CT! How surprised were you when he balked about voting for a stalemate and letting fate decide?

JB: Listen, I’m never surprised by CT., If there’s one person who knows CT’s MO, it’s me. I know how this guy operates. I knew that he wasn’t going to put himself in a position where in any way, shape or form he was gonna be at risk. I knew it was a shitty situation for us to be in as a team right out of the gate. We had to decide who, between myself and him, would be up for elimination. I was totally fine with leaving it up to the powers that be and to fate for the betterment and for the morale of the team. He didn’t have that same mindset.

He knew that he would be able to use some emotional and psychological manipulation to get the team members to do what he wanted them to do. And he did. Though, I will say I feel like everything happens for a reason. I was not happy about the way everything l went down, but I reminded myself and everybody else of who I am and what I’m capable of right out of the gate. That challenge was a blessing in disguise. It immediately made the future of the game a little easier for me to navigate.

Your calling this version of CT a “Boston Mumble Scumbag” might be the best confessional of the season so far. 



JB: I mean, there’s no better way to describe him when he’s in that mode. Listen, here’s what’s so funny about him. I know what he’s doing, but when you look at someone who’s never had a conversation with him that’s game-related…it’s like watching a person trying to understand quantum physics. They’re like: “what is fucking happening? I’ve listened to this guy for 15 minutes, and I have no idea what I just listened to?” It’s funny watching people experience that for the first time. That is part of his strategy almost.

Tori and Michele, it warmed my heart to see you two hype up Deb before elimination in Episode 2. Do you think Deb has what it takes to be The Challenge’s next breakout star?vI think so?

MF: Yeah, she is! She *is* a Challenge star. She went through the rookie gauntlet. If there will be another season of The Challenge—when there will be another season—she will be on it.

TD: I agree. She seemed so aloof and uninterested in competing at first [laughs]. Then, when she would actually go down in the sand, she’d kill it. I’m not going to spoil what she’s good at, but you’re going to be surprised. She comes across as non-intimidating and then performs really well at everything.

JB: Have you seen the movie The Incredibles? Baby Jack Jack? Yeah, that’s Deb on competition days. She’s a little ball of fire. Being competitive on The Challenge is easy, but Deb is totally herself and that’s hard. She’s eccentric. She doesn’t give a shit. She’s got the most unhinged personality. That’s why she fits so well into our team, because we are all a bit deranged.

MF: What also sets Deb apart from the other rookies is that she didn’t come in with any ego or something to prove. She didn’t need her hand held. She would just adapt to the situation and try her best. She is such a great person to have on a team. She’s also a great competitor without taking it too damn seriously. She is our ray of sunlight. We love her.

Deb, after all these kind words from the vets, how do you look back on your first experience on The Challenge?

DEB CHUBB: First of all, I can’t believe it. I didn’t really know much about my team mates going into the show. Then, after the show was over, I did my research and realized that it is crazy the team that I ended up on. I learned something from every one of them.

My rookie season was the best-case scenario. It was so much fun. I really impressed myself, which was one of the reasons I wanted to do the show. Now I’m like, “If I go back, I want to train beforehand, and really give it my all.” I don’t think I’d take anything any more seriously [laughs], but I would just have more “I’m here to compete” vibes.

The first two episodes of The Challenge: Cutthroat are now streaming on Paramount+