Season 41 of the hit reality competition series “The Challenge,” titled “Vets & New Threats,” continues with Episode 10 on Wednesday, October 1 (10/1/2025), at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
Cord-cutters can sign up for Philo (7-day free trial), DirecTV (5-day free trial) or other streaming services listed below to stream the episode live and on demand.
In tonight’s episode, “A War Brewing,” “The players compete in their first challenge as permanent partners, and trivia is the staple; TJ’s favorite, but they have never seen it done like this before; TJ introduces a huge twist that could throw a wrench in the game.”
Where to watch ‘The Challenge: Vets & New Threats’ live and on demand for free
Viewers without a cable subscription can watch “The Challenge: Vets & New Threats” live and on demand for free by using several streaming platforms that offer MTV, including Philo (7-day free trial), DirecTV (5-day free trial) and Fubo (5-day free trial).
We think Philo is the best option for Challenge fans, with the lengthiest free trial and cheapest monthly rate.
Sling’s Blue package also includes MTV and offers half off the first month of service.
What are the differences between the streaming services?
Philo – This is the best name for budget live TV around. You get 70+ channels and unlimited DVR for just $33/month, and it’s currently offering a 7-day free trial. You won’t find a ton of sports options on Philo, but if you love entertainment and lifestyle channels like Paramount Network, Comedy Central, BET and more, the price can’t be beat.
Read more: Why we think Philo’s free trial on its streaming service is best in class
DirecTV – Watch live TV from major broadcast and popular cable networks. Enjoy local and national live sports, breaking news and must-see shows the moment they air. Included: unlimited cloud DVR storage space so you can record as many shows as you want and stream them from wherever you go. DTV starts at $34.99 per month after a 5-day free trial when you shop their customizable genre packs.
Fubo – Fubo offers one of the widest selections of channels among live TV streaming services. More than 220 channels, including all the sports and entertainment you love, plus sports add-ons for those niche networks you rely on, and it all starts with a 5-day free trial and $30 off the first month of service.
Sling – One of the best deals in live TV streaming at just $45.99/month, offering customizable channel lineups for sports, news and entertainment. Now, Sling adds even more value with passes that let you stream live TV without a subscription: just $4.99 for a day, $9.99 for the weekend or $14.99 for a full week. These one-time payments are perfect if you just want to watch a single show, live game or special event. No commitment, no auto-renewal, just affordable access when you need it.
What is ‘The Challenge: Vets & New Threats’ about?
According to the series’ official logline per Variety, “For 40 seasons, generations of battle-hardened Veterans have fought relentlessly for the ultimate prize: the title of Challenge Champion.
“This season, fresh faces and new threats have entered the arena with one goal: to upend the old order and take it all. The Vets, driven by legacy and pride, will need to adapt fast. Their established hierarchy is crumbling, and leaning on past alliances, and experience is no longer reliable—it’s about navigating the ever-shifting landscape of alliances, betrayals, and unknown threats.
“To win, Veterans and New Threats will be forced to work together, unless they’re forced to turn on each other. Nothing is guaranteed.”
Who is in ‘The Challenge’ Season 41 cast?
The returning vets include some of the greatest to ever play the game, including fan favorites like CT Tamburello and Johnny Bananas, controversial characters like Turbo and Ashley Mitchell and even newly minted “vets” like new couple Olivia Kaiser and Theo Campbell. On the new threats side, expect a bevy of competitors from other Paramount properties, like “Survivor,” “The Amazing Race” and “Big Brother.”
What happened last time on ‘The Challenge’?
“Does Anyone Want to Confess?” kicks off with one of the seasons highly-teased fights: Ashley vs. Aneesa. The edit definitely shows Ashley as the bully here, talking smack and body shaming Aneesa for, evidently, no reason at all. Ashley is a messy drunk, and this is no exception. Aneesa gives her a deserved talking to that looked briefly like it might escalate into more, but defuses without getting physical.
It’s mini-final time, and the prize here is a final distribution of points that will determine which players get first selection of their partners for the rest of the game. TJ calls it the Lock-In.
It’s certainly grueling. An array of challenges is spaced up a mountain path. There’s an equation, an eating challenge, a spinning puzzle, and chain lengths puzzle and a riddle.
Ultimately, the one worth talking the most about is the eating puzzle, because it turns into a massive (if inconsequential) test of character. Many of our Challengers attempt to cheat here, including, most-visibly, Dee (caught on camera) and Jonna (who decides that if everyone else is cheating, she might as well cheat too). It appears that Will, Turbo, CT and admirably, America, refuse to cheat. This causes America to come in last place, but she ate every damn bite. The cheaters instead attempt to surreptitiously pitch their peppers and onions into the shrubs behind them. But it’s very easy for production to spot this.
Turbo wins, CT comes in second for the men, a great result after a difficult season, and Sydney wins for the New Threats and the ladies (although she does admit to some light cheating later). But none of it matters. TJ reveals that due to the rampant cheating, no one will be getting points, and the results of the mini-final are moot. From a viewer perspective, this sucks. No justice, and what did we even watch for? However, I suspect the cheating was rampant enough, and the degrees of cheating variable enough, that there was just no good way to quickly come up with a solution that only punished the cheaters. For example, if Sydney really only pitched away a sliver of her onion, like she claims, while Dee tossed most of the feast, do they deserve the same punishment?
Later, there’s a celebratory dinner for making it halfway, but not everyone is celebrating, especially Will, who makes his opinions very clear. This temper hasn’t served Will well in the past, but I have to agree with him. This feels extremely unjust for him (because it would have given him better placement) and anyone else who actually made the effort to complete the eating portion of the mini-final. It seems, however, that the rest of the house is more annoyed that he killed the vibe at dinner.
There’s some jockeying for partners here at the end, but ultimately, all that matters is the top few picks, because once they’re off the board, choices become limited. These are the final pairings, and the pick order:
Michaela picks Cedric
Olivia picks Will
Yeremi picks Aviv
Sydney picks Turbo
Aneesa picks Jake
Adrienne picks Theo
Justin picks Nany
Leo picks Ashley
CT picks Tay
America picks Leroy
Dee picks Derrick
Gabe picks Jonna