'The Challenge: Final Reckoning' Completes An Epic Trilogy In The MTV Series

What’s sure to be an explosive reunion with the cast of The Challenge: Final Reckoning hasn’t aired yet, but it was a long and intense season that had viewers on the edges of their seats almost constantly. Up until the end when Ashley Mitchell chose to keep the winnings for herself when given the chance to split the cool million with her partner, it was a wild ride. Naturally, fans are probably wondering: when is the next season of The Challenge? For those who watch the show every season, they might know that it typically airs twice per year with a few months to several months in between finale and premiere dates.

As of right now, there hasn't been an official premiere date for the next season or what the subtitle will be, but what is known is that The Reckoning marked the end of the most recent trilogy on The Challenge. Reality Blurred reported back in June that MTV announced this season would be "the conclusion of the series trilogy," which likely had some fans concerned over the fate of the show overall. Luckily, that doesn't mean The Challenge was cancelled, but instead that whatever comes next will be a whole new beginning.

Final Reckoning included some players from the past two seasons of The Challenge and their actions in the previous seasons impacted challenges and punishments they faced during the third part of the trilogy. So while that’s finally over, it probably just means that when the next season of The Challenge premieres, it will focus on a new cast. In past seasons, when one installment premiered in June or July, the next season picked up the following January. If The Challenge follows that pattern this time around, then the next season could premiere as soon as January 2019. But since there hasn't been an official announcement just yet, that’s all speculation.

The Challenge has been an MTV staple for 20 years and Final Reckoning was Season 32, so I don't see the show going anywhere. And apparently, ideas are always being tossed around for new seasons and challenges to put different groups of contestants through.

In January, co-creator Jonathan Murray told Rolling Stone that if one idea doesn't work for one season, they put it on the back-burner for the next. "There’s probably four or five ideas that we would be considering the next one and only one of them will be used," he said. "We might have an idea that doesn’t make sense for 32, but it’s perfect for [Season] 33."

Julie Pizzi, the president of Entertainment & Development for Bunim-Murray Productions, added, "Every time we’re doing one, we’re thinking about the next one." So while there hasn't been an announcement about Season 33 or when the next season of The Challenge will premiere, there’s little doubt that there will be one.

According to Reality Blurred, the Season 33 cast is currently filming in Namibia, which would make a January premiere date possible. If not, February or March aren't inconceivable, given past premiere dates. The website also reported that former Big Brother 19 winner Josh Martinez is participating in the new season. But since none of this has yet been confirmed by MTV, I’d take it with a grain of salt, no matter how exciting it sounds.

If the plan is to have a winter season of The Challenge air next, it would make sense for Season 33 to be filming now in order to have the season edited and ready for airing next year. But until then, I’ll be hoping that Season 33 will be the start of a new trilogy to introduce epic competitors to the game once again.

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