MTV’s The Challenge is nearly back with its newest season, Ride or Dies, which will be the 38th installment of the franchise.
The new season will feature cast members working with individuals with whom they share a strong bond. That could include a family member, relative, or significant other.
With that, there will be returning veteran cast members, some of whom are former champions and others who have nearly won a season.
The vets will feature fan favorites, including Johnny Bananas, Aneesa Ferreira, Nany Gonzalez, Jordan Wiseley, Nelson Thomas, and Tori Deal.
There will also be rookies competing in hopes of making a name for themselves and winning that big prize money in their debut seasons.
A synopsis for the upcoming launch special and a preview video recently arrived online. Here are the latest details of what’s on the way.
What is The Challenge: Ride or Dies launch special?
With recent seasons of MTV’s The Challenge, there have been launch specials to introduce the cast. That was especially helpful with Season 37, Spies, Lies & Allies, due to the large number of rookies joining the show from all over the world.
Only one of those rookies, Survivor USA’s Michele Fitzgerald, is back for Season 38. The 38th season will introduce new international rookies, including Horacio Gutierrez, Emmy Russ, Colleen Schneider, and Kim Tranka.
Some will have veteran teammates, but others will work with rookie partners. Fans should get an introduction to the rookies in the upcoming special.
See more details about The Challenge: Ride or Dies partners ahead of the launch special.
The launch special, Ready to Ride, arrives on Monday, October 12. A description of the special, which is officially The Challenge Season 38, Episode 0, is available online.
“Competitors will have the unprecedented opportunity to work with someone they trust – their best friend, their sibling, their life partner, their Ride or Die. Six Challenge legends size up their competition in the upcoming season,” the IMDB synopsis reads.
The special will run for approximately 60 minutes on MTV, beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Time. Based on details about the season’s premiere episode, that will arrive on Wednesday, October 12, also beginning at 8 p.m. ET, with a run time of approximately 90 minutes.
Launch special preview video features OG legends
The Challenge: Ride or Dies launch special has a group of veteran cast members in a roundtable discussion about the upcoming season’s biggest threats.
Based on a preview video released on The Challenge’s social media, those six vets are Bananas, Nany, Aneesa, Jordan, Darrell Taylor, and Veronica Portillo.
These OGs appeared in MTV’s documentary, The Challenge: Untold History, which aired six episodes over three weeks. Several OGs are also part of the Heavy Hitters teams in Season 38.
Early in the launch special preview video, the OGs look at one of the teams that could be a threat in Ride or Dies. That team consists of Free Agents winner Laurel and her teammate, rookie Jakk Maddox.
A quick segment previews the team and shows highlight footage, with Jakk and Laurel Stucky commenting on what makes them a strong team.
There are also insights given by the various vets as Bananas asks the other OGs what everyone is excited about or nervous about seeing as they head into this new season.
Darrell is appearing in his 10th regular season of The Challenge, and on the heels of All Stars 3, his third-straight spinoff season. He said his daughter gave him valuable advice ahead of his latest MTV season.
“I’ve been trying to do some meditation. I did tell my daughter, ‘I will do my best,’ and I’m just not trying to let her down. She told me that ‘You gotta get uncomfortable to grow,'” Darrell informed his castmates.
Check out the full preview clip below, which also features insights from Nany and Jordan ahead of the special.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies launch special airs at 8/7c on Monday, October 10, on MTV. The Challenge: Ride or Dies premieres Wednesday, October 12, at 8/7c on MTV.