Cara Maria Sorbello is used to taking on extreme physical challenges in front of large audiences.
The Lawrence native was a fan-favorite on MTV’s “The Challenge,” where she was also a two-time champion and considered one of the best players in the game’s history. But after abruptly leaving the reality contest in August, Sorbello is back on a new game show — one she considers not as difficult as “The Challenge.”
“‘99 to Beat’ was so freaking cool, such a departure from a little less stress from ‘The Challenge’ and so all these other experiences,” Sorbello said in an exclusive interview with MassLive.
“99 to Beat,” a game show based on the Belgian show of the same name, premiered on Wednesday, Sept. 24, on Fox.
Hosted by Ken Jeong and Erin Andrews, the show has 100 contestants compete in simple games to avoid coming in last. The show features a mix of ordinary people and reality television personalities, and the final contestant wins $1 million.
While this seems like an incredibly stressful situation, Sorbello said it’s still much easier than her time on “The Challenge” and other physically demanding contests.
“‘The Challenge’ is major PTSD. You were doing crazy stunts. You’re harnessed over buildings. You’re jumping from semi-truck to semi-truck. You’re eating horrible things. You’re racing for days without eating across deserts and mountains. It is extreme,” she said.
“Whereas ’99 to Beat,’ … it’s children’s games. Stuff that you could do with stuff from your kitchen, in your garage. You can put it together, play these little games with your family. It doesn’t matter how in shape you are. It doesn’t matter how old you are. It doesn’t matter what kind of experience you have. Like, anybody can compete in ’99 to Beat,’” Sorbello added. “But even from all the experience that we come through, you never know who’s going to do well on what. It is the most crazy stuff that we’ve had to do, and I think a lot of people will have. It’s going to be really fun to watch.”
Sorbello added that “99 to Beat” also differs from “The Challenge” because “there’s no politics and stuff. It’s just straight gameplay and you just hope you don’t come in last.”
Years before she was first introduced to reality television fans on “The Challenge: Fresh Meat II” in 2010, Sorbello was spending her Halloweens in Salem and studying at Endicott College in Beverly.
She also worked at WaterWorks in Quincy’s Marina Bay and tended bar and DJ’d throughout the Boston area.
One of her highlights in college was competing in a bikini contest at Ocean Club to get featured in Barstool Magazine — which she eventually got in. She also recalled partying with Dave Portnoy.
“I lived the life out there. That’s home,” Sorbello said, mentioning that her dad, cousins and the majority of people she grew up with still live in the area.
Meanwhile, her mother died in April, which many believe was the reason Sorbello left “The Challenge” months later.
As she continues to compete on reality shows and even venture into acting, Sorbello said fans still remind her of some of her most iconic moments.
“Everybody always comes up to me, and for the most part, they always talk about my win on ‘Vendetta’s,’ when I was the first solo winner ever on the challenge. They always talk about that,” she said. “And they talk about how Wes poured soda on my head on my second season, and I tell them that was a million years ago. We’ve gotten past that. I’ve poured soda on him since. We’ve made nice.”
The next episode of “99 to Beat” is slated to air on Fox on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Episodes are available to stream on Hulu the day after they air.