‘The Challenge’: Darrell Taylor Slams the ‘Kids’ From ‘Different Shows’ on the MTV Hit — ‘They Try to Be Extra’

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

• The Challenge star Darrell Taylor made his debut on MTV in 2002.
• Darrell has appeared on three versions of The Challenge this year alone.
• The four-time champ did not mince words when it came to the differences between the competitors on the MTV hit and the OGs on All Stars.

The Challenge star Darrell Taylor is back for season 2 of All Stars. And he’s noticed a few differences between the original MTV series and the Paramount+ spinoff. According to the four-time champ, one difference that really stands out to him is that the OGs on All Stars from The Real World and Road Rules are “genuine.” While the “kids” from “different shows” who compete on the MTV hit “try to be extra.”

‘The Challenge’ star made his MTV debut in 2002

Darrell made his MTV debut nearly two decades ago in 2002’s Road Rules: Campus Crawl. A year later, he competed on his very first season of The Challenge, which was The Gauntlet. At the time, the series was known as Real World/Road Rules Challenge, due to contestants being limited to Real World and Road Rules alumni.

Over the years, Darrell has appeared on nine seasons of the main series and won four. He also won the final challenge in the spinoff Champs vs Pros and raised $50,000 for the March of Dimes.

Darrell Taylor appeared on three different versions of ‘The Challenge’ this year

In 2021, Darrell appeared on three Challenge shows — season 36 of the main series Double Agents and seasons 1 and 2 of All Stars. The 42-year-old is the only all-star from the first two seasons who competed on the original series in the past year.

When he showed up on Double Agents, Darrell was one of the oldest competitors along with CT Tamburello and Aneesa Ferreira. He lasted until episode 14 when Cory Wharton eliminated him. In the first season of All Stars, Darrell finished as the runner-up to winner Yes Duffy.

The ‘All Stars’ competitor slams the ‘kids’ from ‘different shows’

During a recent appearance on Johnny Bananas‘ podcast Death, Taxes, and Bananas, Darrell discussed the differences between MTV’s The Challenge and the All Stars spinoff. He explained that competing on All Stars feels like he’s “at home.”

“Everybody’s more mature like you said,” Darrell told Bananas. “Everybody has careers. Everybody’s already been down this road. They’ve already done their shows. They’re not looking to get on payroll, whereas on the flagship, you’ve got a lot of these kids from other different shows, and they wanna keep coming back, so they try to be extra.”

Casting has changed over the years

For more than a decade, The Challenge only featured former cast members from The Real World and Road Rules. But all of that changed in 2015 during Battle of the Exes II when they brought in competitors from MTV’s Are You The One?

In season 31 Vendettas, they expanded casting again to include contestants from the U.S. versions of Big Brother and the UK series Ex on the Beach and Geordie Shore.  Since then, former contestants from Bad Girls Club, Vanderpump Rules, and Survivor have competed on The Challenge. And in season 37, they brought in an international cast from reality shows around the world.

‘The Challenge’ vet says the new “kids” aren’t being themselves

Darrell told Bananas that he’s never had any problems with the contestants that come from different reality shows. However, he says he can genuinely tell that they aren’t being themselves.

“So they’re trying to get on payroll, whereas on All Stars, everybody’s been on payroll. What you see is what you get,” Darrell explained, adding that many of the current competitors on the flagship are “phonies and actors and imposters.”

He admits that maybe he’s “getting old,” but he noticed that the conversations on Double Agents were all about likes and followers. While on All Stars, everyone talked about their family, kids, and life experiences.

Episodes of The Challenge: All Stars 2 arrive Thursdays on Paramount+. The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies airs on Wednesdays on MTV.