'The Challenge' Season 34 Schedule Will Give Fans More Blood, Sweat, & Tears

The Challenge Season 34 is going to be a game changer. Not only is the season a continuation of War of the Worlds, but it will usher in longer episodes. Before now, episodes were an hour long each, but this season, they will be 90 minutes. This means more drama and competition among these players, some of whom already have it out for one another. But even dedicated fans might be wondering when The Challenge is on this season.

Season 34 premieres on Aug. 28 at 9 p.m. ET on MTV and will air on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET after that. It was originally supposed to air at 8 p.m. ET, but that would have put it against Survivor, and this could have been one reason why the show changed up its schedule a bit. But with these supersized episodes this season, it's going to be hard to miss an episode without missing too much content.

The theme for The Challenge Season 34 is similar the warring theme of last season. This time, however, the cast is divided into the US team and the UK team. So instead of warring with other two person teams like last season, this season offers two teams who are out to prove themselves as the stronger opponents. The show legit needs 90 minutes each week to wade through all of the inevitable drama to get to the action.

Although some of the cast members this season competed against each other last season on the first War of the Worlds installment, they are ready to play against each other, even if it means being pitted against friends.

The Challenge vets Cara Maria and Paulie, who are more famous for starting their relationship on the show than their actual game play, recently talked about the upcoming Challenge season on the Watch With Us podcast. They teased their part in all of the best strategies this season and while I'm sure they will also be *that* couple who sneaks off to hook up after the competitions, they definitely sound confident.

"You will get to see a different side of me," Paulie said. "Maybe a little strategy, maybe bringing in some masterful Big Brother play to The Challenge."

Cara added that "Paulie had a hand" in almost everything viewers will see go down this season. Sure, Jan. Those are some big claims, and I have a feeling all of the returning vets went into this season's game with the intention of outdoing everyone else.

The players on the UK team have just as much of a reason to want to prove themselves on The Challenge. They are still relatively new to the game and while a rookie did win last season, none of the UK team players walked away with the grand prize money. If Paulie and Cara went into War of the Worlds 2 with the goal of coming out on top, then I’m betting the UK players went into the game in the hopes of proving themselves worthy of their own titles as Challenge veterans.

These new supersized episodes could make it easier for the newbies to be heard this season and for those who were introduced last season to take the spotlight a little more. What’s not clear, however, is if the longer episodes mean a shorter season. The Challenge seasons usually span anywhere from 15 to 19 episodes. Given that Season 34 is going to premiere later in the summer than is typical and the episodes are longer, the season could be cut a little shorter. Still, even if that happens, it means more competitions each episode and that’s never a bad thing.

Right now, I’m just glad that Season 34 has taken on such a big change in its episodes and if things work out this season, I wouldn't be surprised if all future seasons feature similarly longer episodes.

The Challenge airs on Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on MTV.