"Such a fan favorite" - The Challenge All Stars showrunner Emer Harkin talks about bringing the Rivals concept back

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The Challenge: All Stars Cast (Image via Instagram/ @thechallenge)
The Challenge: All Stars Cast (Image via Instagram/ @thechallenge)

Emer Harkin, The Challenge: All Stars showrunner, recently revealed the reasoning behind bringing back the 'Rivals' theme. It was loved by the fans most when it first debuted, and thus, is a huge surprise for the viewers to see it on All Stars Season 5.

The Challenge: All Stars season 5 released its first episode on January 29, 2025, and moved back to its home channel MTV from Paramount Plus.

Emer recently sat down for an interview with Variety and shared the ideas of the production team for this installment. Viewers had seen the Rivals theme for the first time in 2011, which pairs two members who have to compete against each other.

What is causing drama this season is that these rivals have been rivals in real life with some being arch nemesis while the others are exes who haven't spoken to each other since their breakups. Talking about the same, Emer said,

"It was a long, long, long walk down memory lane and then talking to everybody to see what’s been happening since other seasons. It was really about authentic rivalries and a real and meaningful entry point. It’s such a fan favorite season so we just want to do it justice.”

The Challenge: All Stars Showrunner Emer Harkin explains the Rivals theme

It has been a long time since the concept of Rivals debuted, and bringing it back now, on a spinoff, that is, All Stars, instead of the flagship series, surprised the fans. When asked about the same, Emer explained,

"We’ve all been dying to do “Rivals” for so long. We’ve been waiting for the most opportune moment. With 'Challenge 40' being such a huge season and the fact that we were expanding our casting in 40 to include so many all stars, we really felt like this was the opportune moment to further set “All Stars” apart, and bring back one of the most beloved formats of all time."

The casting for The Rivals is also quite dramatic. Together as pairs competing against each other, we see Steve Meinke and Adam Larson. The two had appeared on The Challenge: All Stars season 4, but their friendship did not work out.

The other opponents that we see are Veronica Portillo and Katie Doyle. They have been competing for more than 10 years now since they were seen on TV in 2004. The exes featured in the season are Ashley Kelsey and Dario Medrano.

According to media reports, the two were smitten with each other once, but since their bad breakup, haven't spoken to each other. In The Challenge: All Stars, they have been paired together, which fans suspect might cause them to bring back their past.

Explaining about the casting and their decision to make the pairs, Emer said,

"We went through every relationship, all the nuances, all the ups, the downs, the highs and lows, for virtually every cast member across the entire franchise. It’s an enormous undertaking. We really wanted to focus on authentic rivalries."

Another change that has come with the new All Stars season is how it shifted from Paramount Plus to MTV. Emer says that the team is "delighted" about this shift. They feel as if it is paying "homage" to the legacy of the franchise on a channel where it all started first.


The Challenge: All Stars airs on MTV at 8 PM Eastern Time on Wednesdays.

Edited by Debanjana
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