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The exciting upcoming OG season of The Challenge: All Stars is just around the corner and fans have been sharing their excitement about the cast and teasers from the trailer. The announcement of the spin-off show’s 22-member cast led some longtime fans of the show to question why certain major competitors and fan favorites were not included.
The creator of the show’s concept, Mark Long, recently revealed that one of the Challenge champs who is not on the current All Stars season is interested in returning to the show, especially after hearing glowing reviews about this inaugural season. In an interview with Us Weekly, Mark revealed that after he returned from filming the show, three-time Challenge champ Evelyn McLaren Smith reached out to him and expressed her interest in another season.
Mark said the shortened filming period for the nine-episode show is attractive to the OG contestants, many of whom have regular jobs and families, as is the $500,000 prize for the winner. However, he said that the casting process for this season was a bit more difficult because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The requirements for the show meant that contestants would have to be available not only for filming but for a 10-day quarantine period as well. “It’s a lot of time to ask someone.”
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Evelyn Worked During the Democratic Primary & Could Not Make the Timing Work for Filming of the ‘All Stars’ Season
MTV/FacebookEvelyn Smith
Evelyn is a lawyer who is involved with the Democratic Party and Mark Long said the timing of the first season of All Stars didn’t work for her because of the 2020 primary and election. He told the Watch With Us podcast host Emily Longeretta, “Evelyn was hugely involved in the Democratic primary and the election. She has now gone and started working with them.”
Earlier in 2020, Evelyn’s Twitter bio read that the Fresh Meat alum, who is based out of Portland, Maine, was a “Lawyer on the campaign trail to elect Dems up and down the ballot.” According to Us Weekly, Evelyn graduated from the University of San Diego and then attended Harvard Law School before going to Cambodia in 2015 to work as a fellow for a human rights program.
Mark also said, “It’s so funny cause she actually reached out when I got back from filming and said, ‘hey, I heard this was amazing.'” He said Evelyn told him, “I don’t know how many seasons you’re doing but I could definitely see myself on this, it’s just when my schedule calms down.” He said, “Evelyn, I think if the timing was right would definitely do it.”
Neither MTV nor Paramount Plus have confirmed whether The Challenge will see future All Stars seasons with other OGs competing for the victory.
Evelyn Is Tied With Veronica Portillo as the Female Competitor With the Most ‘Challenge’ Wins, Holding 3 Victories Overall
Evelyn was known as a powerhouse competitor on The Challenge and won three seasons overall, making her the female competitor with the most wins, tied with Veronica Portillo. She first made her debut on the show on Fresh Meat, where she was drafted by Danny Jamieson. She competed on seven seasons overall and won three finals, The Inferno 3, The Island and Rivals.
The New York native also made the final on The Gauntlet III but her team of veterans lost to the rookies in the final. In her seven seasons on the show, Evelyn racked up 26 daily wins and has an elimination record of six wins and three losses.
Veronica Portillo, who will also not be appearing on The Challenge: All Stars, also won three seasons during her time on the show, The Challenge 2000, The Gauntlet and The Inferno.
The Challenge: All Stars premieres on Thursday, April 1 on Paramount Plus.
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The Challenge Legend Teases Possible Return to the Show