‘The Challenge’: Season 37’s Location Revealed — and It’s Not Iceland

Fans of MTV’s The Challenge will surely tune in for the end of season 36, Double Agents. And The Challenge: All Stars is also airing on Paramount+. But fans are surely wondering what’s going on with season 37. While MTV has yet to formally announce the return of the show, it seems rumors are already circulating about where the new season will be located. Here’s what we know.

[Spoiler alert: Potential spoilers for the cast of The Challenge Season 37.]

Is MTV’s ‘The Challenge’ filming now? Season 37 is underway

MTV’s The Challenge has a serious fan base, and it’s no surprise the show will be back for season 37. While MTV has yet to make the official announcement, filming has allegedly begun.

According to Screen Rant, a spoiler account on Twitter is divulging season 37 secrets. The account GamerVev noted pre-production is underway. It’s also reported that mandatory quarantine is happening for the new cast starting on April 11, 2021, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Screen Rant notes not every contestant quarantining will make it on to the show, as MTV wants to have a surplus of cast members available in case someone does test positive. But it’s a promising sign that quarantining has reportedly begun.

So, who is currently gearing up to go on the show? Nany González, Nelson Thomas, Nam Vo, Tori Deal, Devin Walker, Liv Jawando, Fessy Shafaat, Ashley Mitchell, Cory Wharton, Big T, Josh Martinez, Kaycee Clark, Aneesa Ferreira, and Kyle Christie are all reportedly coming back for back-to-back seasons following Double Agents. Veteran player Amanda Garcia will also reportedly return.

Where is ‘The Challenge’ location for season 37?

So, where will the new season of MTV’s The Challenge take place? The rumor suggest Croatia is the next location. While the last few seasons of the show had contestants in colder climates, it looks like the warm sun will be back for the next season.

Showrunner Emer Harkin spoke to Variety about filming in Iceland for season 36, too. It seems production wanted Iceland for its picturesque beauty, but also, because contestants couldn’t travel for the finale, they needed to take that into consideration.

“Traditionally, I scout a couple of months in advance, so I’ll go to multiple countries and check what they have on offer,” Harkin continued. “That was simply not possible this time.” She then had to take virtual tours to scout the location. “Being able to do that virtually was really, really eye-opening [but] it’s also quite daunting because you can never underestimate the advantage of having boots on the ground and really seeing and feeling a location,” she added.

Past competitors had a hard time with the colder, bleaker locations

Competitors on past seasons of MTV’s The Challenge talked about the difficulties of a colder climate. On Total Madness, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio said it was one of the most depressing seasons he’d ever been on due to the bunker living and bleak outdoors.

“I have never known in my life what true depression feels like until I lived in this bunker for eight weeks,” Devenanzio told the Challenge Mania podcast. “Living underground, breathing artificial air, no natural light. Seasonal affect disorder, you not being able to see actual light, really does a number on the human body and on the mind. And I got to a point on this show where … I felt like I was depressed, dude. I have nothing to look forward to.”

If Devenanzio returns, we’re sure he can look forward to the warm sun in Croatia, but it doesn’t look like he’s on the list of possible contestants to join the cast for season 37.

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