The Challenge: Rivals III
season of The Challenge
The Challenge: Rivals III is the 28th season of the MTV reality game show, The Challenge. Being the third in the Rivals series, Rivals III marks the show's third trilogy (following The Inferno and The Gauntlet), continuing on from the original Rivals and Rivals II. It was filmed in Huatulco, Mexico and Mendoza, Argentina during November and December 2015, with cast members from The Real World, The Challenge, and Are You the One? competing. This season marks the first since season 11 to not feature any original cast members from the Fresh Meat or Fresh Meat II seasons.
Unlike the previous two installments of the Rivals series, which featured same-gender pairs, Rivals III saw a change in format, with male/female pairs that had bitter feuds, fights, or strained relationships in previous seasons of Real World, The Challenge, and Are You the One? (similar to the Battle of the Exes series). Unlike the other Rivals seasons, only the winning team from each week's challenge was allowed to decide which team would face the last-place team in the elimination round. The season premiered with a special 90 minutes episode on May 4, 2016, and concluded its run on August 3, 2016, with the Reunion special.
Lisa Fletcher replaced longtime Challenge producer Justin Booth as executive producer this season. Booth had served as the executive producer since season 15.
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