The recent airing of The Challenge: Double Agents finale gave MTV one of its biggest ratings hits in some time, and also provided a major hit when it came to social interaction.
The finale brought the thrilling conclusion to the Season 36 final, as four teams were competing for a grand prize of $900,000 in Iceland. One team consisting of two competitors, split that money, with the second-place team leaving with $100,000.
Based on the numbers, it was quite popular with viewers, as they not only were watching, but also mentioning it heavily on social media.
Numbers show The Challenge: Double Agents finale popularity
For The Challenge Season 36 final, MTV split the competitors’ journey across Iceland into two parts, spanning two episodes. That was different from Season 35, Total Madness, where the final was condensed into one final episode.
However, the official season finale episode was Double Agents Episode 19, when the Season 36 winners made it to host TJ Lavin at the finish spot first and claimed $900,000.
Based on a report from Deadline, it was The Challenge franchise’s best demo share in 15 years. It scored a 1.12 adults 18-49 Live+Same Day rating and a 5.2 share. The Live+Same Day viewership was 990,000, per Deadline’s report.
It was also MTV’s highest-rated season in the past eight years as it averaged a .94 demo rating. In addition to that, Season 36 had a total viewers average of 891,000, which marked the franchise’s best in six years.
The Double Agents season also did well when it came to social media interaction. Deadline reported that Season 36 of The Challenge had over 3.6M social interactions, a 50 percent increase over Season 35. That made Double Agents the No. 2 most social competition reality show behind only RuPaul’s Drag Race.
Fans enjoying Paramount Plus spinoff, awaiting Season 37
The Double Agents finale has now aired, with the Season 36 winners revealed at the final. Now many of the season’s cast members will appear on the upcoming two-part Double Agents reunion special. That begins on Wednesday, April 28, on MTV.
Even as The Challenge: Double Agents season was winding down, viewers began enjoying a spinoff series called The Challenge: All Stars, which arrived on Paramount Plus. The cast features 22 OG competitors picked from the 36 seasons of the show, who made their debuts back on MTV’s The Real World, Road Rules, and Fresh Meat shows.
The spinoff consists of nine episodes that arrive Thursday mornings on the Paramount Plus streaming network. As of this report, viewership numbers haven’t been reported or announced anywhere, but one has to imagine the show has been quite popular based on social media discussions. The spinoff’s trailer also reached over five million views on YouTube within a short period of time.
The All Stars spinoff should conclude some time in early June. Meanwhile, The Challenge Season 37 is rumored to have started filming, so most likely, fans will have a new regular season of the MTV show sometime soon in 2021.
The Challenge: Double Agents reunion airs Wednesday, April 28, at 8/7c on MTV.