‘The Challenge: USA’: T.J. Lavin Reveals Which Players To Keep An Eye On & Teases ‘Throwback Format’ (Exclusive)

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Image Credit: Arlene Richie/Shutterstock

T.J. Lavin has been hosting The Challenge and its spinoffs for 18 years, and he’s backmost erstwhile again for play 2 of The Challenge: USA. Unlike the flagship MTV show, The Challenge: USA formed mostly consists of players from CBS shows. However, play 2 volition diagnostic six flagship Challenge veterans, which volition bring a full caller constituent to the game. “It has everything The Challenge: USA play 1 had and past some,” T.J. told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “It’s the champion of the champion coming. I deliberation it’s astir apt the champion of some worlds.”

T.J. said helium was pushing for USA to adhd immoderate OG subordinate each along. “I truly wanted to person those players successful there. One, due to the fact that they’re truly bully astatine the game, and two, due to the fact that they’re truthful gritty,” helium explained. “CBS players are saccharine and bully and kumbaya. It’s not similar that with the MTV cast. It’s a full antithetic deal.”

T.J. Lavin has been hosting ‘The Challenge’ since 2005. (Arlene Richie/Shutterstock)

While the vets evidently travel into the crippled with experience, T.J. said that determination are decidedly immoderate caller players to look retired for, too. “I think Tyler [Crispen] was truly good,” the BMX prima admitted. “Alyssa [Lopez] is ever good. She’s a challenger, arsenic well. I’d emotion to spot some of those radical travel backmost on. Desi [Williams] is ever good. Stacking her up against immoderate of the greats like Jonna [Mannion] and Tori [Deal], she held her own. It’s absorbing to spot immoderate of the champion MTV players play with the radical from CBS.”

Season 2 volition diagnostic the players being divided into 3 teams, which volition beryllium picked by randomly chosen captains successful the archetypal episode. “It’s benignant of a throwback format,” T.J. dished. “I emotion having teams. You get into that each for 1 and 1 for each cognition and I emotion that. The lone happening I don’t emotion astir the squad happening is picking them. Because idiosyncratic has to beryllium past picked and that benignant of sucks. But they grip it well. We’re each adults here. They knew what they signed up for and that it was going to beryllium weird and difficult.”

Tyler Crispen is 1 of the players T.J. says to look retired for. (Aaron Smith, courtesy of Paramount)

Read much from our chat with T.J. below!

On the trouble of ‘The Challenge: USA’ last successful play 1: You person to marque things very, precise hard oregon it’s not The Challenge. That’s wherefore we’re here. We’re present to alteration the crippled each clip and marque it much hard and harder and crazier each time. You person to excavation arsenic heavy arsenic you tin and a small spot much past that. So, no, we didn’t marque it immoderate easier [this time]. But present they cognize what to expect. So it’s going to beryllium easier for them due to the fact that they cognize what to expect.

On whether helium has immoderate accidental successful the formatting, challenges etc: Zero say. I bash enactment my 2 cents in, regardless. I bash accidental what I feel. Whether that comes into immoderate benignant of play oregon not, I don’t deliberation so, but I’ll inactive accidental it. I person a nexus to each azygous idiosyncratic that makes the decisions and I cognize what’s going to spell on. So I don’t deliberation it wholly falls connected deaf ears. I deliberation they astir apt see what I say. Eighteen years in, you benignant of cognize what you’re doing!

“The Challenge: USA” play 2 cast. (Aaron Smith, courtesy of Paramount)

On separating his friendships with the competitors from the game: It’s not hard astatine all. It’s precise easy. They cognize there’s thing I tin perchance bash to assistance oregon wounded them. I’m not the referee oregon justice oregon extremity all, beryllium each to the game. Their show is that. So I’m not adjacent disquieted astir that astatine all, and neither is anybody else, I don’t think.

On however overmuch longer he’ll big ‘The Challenge’: I emotion it. It’s benignant of go me. I emotion that maine and the unit are family. It’s a large occupation and it’s fun, truthful there’s nary mode I would privation to springiness it up. It’s decidedly a batch of enactment and clip distant from home, and it’s tough, but my wife is simply a antithetic level of partner. She handles each the concern and does everything [at home]. My ma inactive works for me, arsenic well. She handles each the worldly with lodging due to the fact that I bash existent estate, arsenic well, and person a batch of rental homes. Those 2 things are precise important to me. But they besides cognize that we’re sidesplitting it and having fun!

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