The 5 craziest classic The Challenge seasons to watch on Paramount+

Since 1998, The Challenge has been a staple of MTV's original programming. For over 25 years, 40 seasons and counting, and multiple spinoff series, the reality series has brought a unique blend of competition and drama to the small screen, and fans still can't get enough.

The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras has likely inspired long-time fans to dive back into the archives and watch past seasons, as horribly as some might have aged. The times have changed, but the dangerous, fear-inducing missions stay the same. If you were a late-in-the-game convert, you probably missed some of the most legendary seasons featuring the franchise's iconic moments.

Luckily, you can count on Paramount+ to take a walk down memory lane. While the first nine seasons are missing, you can begin a binge-watch with season 10 and work your way through the eras to the latest seasons. But if you're not in the market for a full marathon of the early season, we're sharing five of the wildest and craziest classic seasons of The Challenge you have to check out!

The Inferno II (Season 10)

Following the first season of The Inferno, which aired in 2004, the late BMX rider Dave Mirra returned to host his second and last season of the series. Unlike the first season of The Inferno, the teams weren't divided by The Real World and Road Rules. This time around, they were separated into the Bad Asses and the Good Guys, a.k.a. the supposed heroes and villains of their seasons.

The Inferno II's cast included franchise staples including Abram, Derrick, Brad, CT, Rachel, Jodi, Darrell, Tina, and more, but the season also included the final franchise appearances of Mike "The Miz" Mizanin, Karamo Brown, and Jamie Chung. In that sense, it's a real blast from the past kind of season for those of us who watched when the show was still called Real World/Road Rules Challenge.

As usual, The Inferno II featured all of the larger-than-life missions we have come to love and the nail-biting elimination rounds that have set the tone for The Challenge. In the end, the Good Guys team dwindled down to a meager four players while the stacked Bad Asses team ran the final challenge with seven players. By far, The Inferno II offers one of the most satisfying season endings with huge rewatch value!

The Gauntlet 2 (Season 11)

Unabashedly, The Gauntlet 2 might be my favorite throwback season of The Challenge, and not just because it's TJ Lavin's first season as host (but that's also one of the reasons). There's something about the season that's just so quintessentially classic Challenge. Maybe it's because it's the first season to lean into the division of rookies and veterans and pitting them against each other.

Again, the season features an absolutely insane roster of early franchise regulars, a veritable who's who of the MTV reality series universe at the time: Aneesa, Mark, Landon, Kina, Robin, Susie, BETH! It's a big season for making Beth out to be the villain (even after her clothes were thrown in the pool on The Inferno II.)

While the season's final challenge leaves much to be desired (it's a real fizzle rather than a bang), it's an entertaining watch full of fights, game politics, and TJ declaring war on quitters from the get-go. Unfortunately, the first edition of The Gauntlet isn't available on Paramount+, but The Gauntlet III is... it's just not as thrilling and features too many newbies and their lackluster dramatics.

Fresh Meat (Season 12)

Because social media didn't exist when Fresh Meat aired in 2006, it's hard to know how people felt about the season. It's the first installment of the franchise that branched out from the usual formula of supplying contests from The Real World and Road Rules. Half of the 24-person cast was made up of completely new faces who were paired up with veterans and other cast members from the flagship series.

In the season, the veterans and their partners competed in two challenges in order remain out of exile. For the first time, the rest of the cast couldn't watch the elimination round and found out which couple lost in exile when the winners returned home. It's an exciting twist and kept the cast on their toes. The season began mired in carryover drama from the four Austin newbies but turned out a solid ride.

But no matter how you feel about how Fresh Meat turned out as a whole, in retrospect, the season truly helped revitalize the franchise and introduce both a new format and new contestants. The season produced future franchise staples like Diem, Evelyn, Ryan, Big Easy, Evan, Kenny, and season 40 returnee Aviv. More so than the overly political Fresh Meat II (which gave us Cara Maria and Laurel...), the first edition is worth a revisit!

The Duel (Season 13)

After Fresh Meat, MTV mixed up The Challenge formatting again with The Duel. Instead of being separated into teams, The Duel allowed the contestants to play on their own and hold their fate in their hands. The object of the season was to avoid going into "The Duel" on male and female duel days. The last standing after the nomination process automatically goes into the duel with their choice of opponent.

The season featured another introduction to some of the franchise's most popular recurring players, including Paula and none other than Johnny Bananas (though he was just "John" at the time). The Duel also featured the blossoming of CT and Diem's relationship and Tina being disqualified from the competition for punching Beth. It's the kind of season of television that will have you either screaming or cheering.

One of the reasons I personally look back fondly at this season and enjoy watching it is because (spoiler alert) Jodi wins and becomes the first woman to be a sole female winner. (Cara Maria later became the first woman to be the only winner.) It's Jodi's last season before later returning for All Stars 2 and other seasons. Oh and also, The Duel II isn't a bad season, but I maintain that Landon deserved better.

The Island (Season 16)

I'm not sure how many fans of The Challenge are even aware of The Island's existence, because before re-bingeing the series, I had completely forgotten the season even happened. Clearly, in the haze of Survivor mania, MTV tried to jump on the bandwagon with its own version of the survival competition series.

The Island, which wasn't without its controversies, stranded 20 Real World and Road Rules contestants on an island off of Panama. They were sent airdrops of food and supplies, with the purpose of the season being building a boat in order to sail off to an island to locate the treasure chest containing the grand prize money. From the dire living situation to the face-offs to the key ceremonies, it's an intense season.

Because it's so different from the rest of The Challenge seasons and doesn't maintain a traditional format, The Island might not be for every fan of the franchise. Think of it as a miniseries. (It is only nine episodes.) Overall, it's a hard watch due to how the men treat the women (which can be said of any early season, to be honest) and the last-minute alliance flip that makes the big win feel dirty. But it's a real classic treasure of trashy reality TV.

Watch The Challenge on Paramount+.