‘The Challenge: All Stars’ Season 2 Cast Includes 2 of the Most Infamous Players Not Seen in Years
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
- ‘The Challenge: All Stars was a huge hit for Paramount+ and MTV
- The season 2 cast includes 8 returning players, but not season 1 winner Yes Duffy
- ‘The Challenge: All Stars is bringing back 2 of the most infamous players of all time
The Challenge: All Stars is coming back for season 2, and Paramount+ just revealed the new cast list. Yes Duffy will not return to defend his title, but there will be quite a few familiar faces competing for the $500,000 prize. Including two of the most infamous players that fans of The Challenge haven’t seen in years.
Season 1 of ‘The Challenge: All Stars’ was a hit
The regular series is currently running season 37 — Spies, Lies, and Allies — on MTV, and the ratings have been a disappointment. But when the spinoff The Challenge: All Stars debuted on streamer Paramount+ earlier this year, it was an immediate hit.
The first season of All Stars featured OG Challenge cast members who originally made their reality TV debut on MTV’s Road Rules, The Real World, or Fresh Meat shows. Fans couldn’t get enough of the spinoff because of the OG nostalgia. Plus, they got the chance to see what many of their favorites had been up to since they stopped competing on the original series.
Eight cast members from season 1 are coming back for season 2
When Paramount+ announced season 2 of All Stars, the streamer revealed that eight competitors from the first season will be back. They are Darrell Taylor, Derrick Kosinski, Jonna Manion, Katie Doyle, Kendal Darnell, Laterrein Wallace, Nehemiah Clark, and Teck Holmes.
The lineup doesn’t include Mark Long, who came up with the All Stars idea. He will, however, continue as an executive producer in season 2.
There are also cast members who haven’t competed in nearly 20 years. Ayanna Mackins and Sophia Pasquis were last seen in 2005 in Battle of the Sexes II. Leah Gillingwater hasn’t competed since 2004’s Inferno, while Steve Meinke was last seen in 2004’s Gauntlet.
Two infamous members of ‘The Challenge: All Stars’ season 2 cast haven’t been seen in years
There are two more cast members who will compete in The Challenge: All Stars that fans haven’t seen in more than a decade — the infamous Tina Barta and Tyler Duckworth. Tina’s last appearance on The Challenge came in 2007 in Duel. While Tyler’s most recent was in 2011’s Rivals.
Tina says that she was originally planning to compete in the first season of All Stars. But the Road Rules: South Pacific alum revealed on the Mike Lewis Podcast that she got sick with COVID one month before filming was scheduled to begin.
Tina Barta punched a castmate the last time she competed
Tina was hoping she would get over it before it was time to leave, but she says that the virus stuck around too long. If she would have been part of the season 1 cast, it would have made for interesting television because she would have faced her Challenge rival — Beth Stolarczyk.
In her last appearance in 2007’s Duel, Tina infamously punched Beth during a heated confrontation. To this day, she says she doesn’t regret that decision. She explained she was upset with Beth because she made a fuss when everyone agreed to let Diem Brown with the daily challenge.
Tina says she had enough of Beth and bodychecked her off-camera before she punched her. The incident ended up getting Tina disqualified, and she hasn’t been back since.
Taylor Duckworth is a two-time winner of ‘The Challenge’
Tina made it to the finals twice, but never won. On the other hand, Taylor is a two-time winner (Cutthroat and Rivals) who quit The Challenge after production made him mad. He told the Challenge Mania podcast that his retirement wasn’t a choice.
“I didn’t necessarily retire on my own accord,” Duckworth said. “I was supposed to go on Free Agents, and I was kind of struggling because I was just about to start this new corporate gig and it was going to be a lot of international travel. But I kind of had that one more in me.”
But just before Free Agents was scheduled to start, Taylor says he got a call from Scott Freeman, the Vice President of Bunim Murray Productions. Taylor knew right away that it was bad news.
“He’s like, just due to a weird casting switch, unfortunately, we’re not gonna need you. And I was so pissed,” Taylor recalled.
When he got cut at the last minute, Taylor says he told Freeman that he had to live his life. If they were gonna be that fickle, he couldn’t work with them anymore.
“After that, I kind of shut the door on it. I actually never watched that season because I was so furious,” Taylor said.
The Challenge: All Stars season 2 debuts on Paramount+ Thursday, Nov. 11.
