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Aired 2010 · Three-team format

Cutthroat

The franchise's first three-team experiment. MTV split the cast into Red, Blue, and Gray tribes for the structural variety, then ran the elimination round through the team-loss math the divide unlocked.

Premiered
MTV · 2010
Format
Three teams · Cutthroat
three-team split
Cast size
30 players
Host
TJ Lavin
tenth season at the helm
01The take

Cutthroat.

The franchise's first three-team experiment. MTV split the cast into Red, Blue, and Gray tribes for the structural variety, then ran the elimination round through the team-loss math the divide unlocked.

A late-era format pivot the franchise carried forward in shape, if not in name.
02The shape of the season

A rhythm worth tracking.

The franchise's first three-team experiment. MTV split the cast into Red, Blue, and Gray tribes for the structural variety, then ran the elimination round through the team-loss math the divide unlocked. The three-way grammar produced angles the two-team split never could — temporary alliances, third-place math, missions that rewarded calculated middle finishes. A late-era format pivot the franchise carried forward in shape, if not in name.

03Where it sits in the canon

The #13 slot.

Slot #13 of 20 in the The Challenge Editor's Canon. The neighbors below frame what we ranked above and below it.

No spoilers. Every page is reviewed before it goes live.
06Also appears in

Cross-references.

Also appears in
The Challenge S20 — Cutthroat — tiered.tv