The competition continues on September 2, 2026 with another episode of The Challenge: Cutthroat. Here’s everything you need to know before tuning in, including when the episode premieres, where to watch, what happened last week and a preview of what’s ahead.
- Episode: Episode 6
- Season: Season 42
- Episode Title: “Leave Room For Jesus”
- Air Date: September 2, 2026
- Time: 3:00 AM ET / 12:00 AM PT
- Host: TJ Lavin
- Filming Location: Thailand
- Streaming Service: Paramount+
What is ‘The Challenge’ on Paramount+ About?
Hosted by TJ Lavin, The Challenge is a long-running reality competition series that debuted in 1998. Each season brings together a mix of reality TV veterans and newcomers to compete in physically and mentally demanding challenges for a cash prize.
Season 42, Cutthroat, features 24 competitors divided into three teams as they battle for a share of the $500,000 prize. Throughout the season, competitors must work together as teams to earn a place in the final, but in the end, the winning team captain will decide how the prize money is divided.
How to Watch ‘The Challenge: Cutthroat’
New episodes of The Challenge premiere Wednesdays on Paramount+ and are released weekly at 3:00 AM ET / 12:00 AM PT. Previous seasons of The Challenge are also available to stream on Paramount+.
You can stream Paramount+ through DIRECTV, making it easy to follow the competition all season long. Get started today!
‘The Challenge: Cutthroat’ Episode 6 Preview
Heading into Episode 6, all three teams are locked into their permanent captains for the first time this season. Cory Wharton is leading Team Grey, Tori Deal has Team Orange and Josh Goldstein is in charge of Team Blue. The rotation that moved the role around every week is over with, and there is now only one way for a team to remove their captain: a mutiny.
That makes the captaincy the most valuable position in the game. Captains are automatically safe from elimination, so the role is now protection as well as power, and the captain will ultimately decide how the $500,000 is divided if their team crosses the finish line. Any team unhappy with their choice has to weigh whether overthrowing them is worth the fallout.
Team Orange goes into the week in command, with three straight daily wins and all eight of their original players still in the game. Team Grey and Team Blue are both down to five after a brutal night for Grey, and both teams have complained about being short-handed against a full Orange roster. With the numbers gap widening every week, another Orange win would leave the two smaller teams fighting over the same shrinking pool of players.
What Happened on ‘The Challenge’ Last Week?
Need a refresher? Here’s what happened in Episode 5 of The Challenge: Cutthroat.
Daily Challenge
Before the daily challenge, TJ Lavin had each team name their permanent captain for the rest of the season: Team Grey went with Cory Wharton, Team Orange chose Tori Deal and Team Blue selected Josh Goldstein.
TJ explained that captains are automatically safe from elimination and that the only way for a team to remove theirs is a mutiny.
The teams then competed in “Jungle Brawl,” a full-contact challenge staged in a giant mud pit with a goal at each end. On TJ’s signal, players raced to the middle for the balls and tried to score them in their opponents’ goals.
Team Orange won their third straight daily challenge. Team Grey and Team Blue both came away frustrated, with players on each side saying they had been severely undermanned against a full Orange roster. The challenge also produced the episode’s most riveting moment, as Sydney Segal was injured in the mud pit and required immediate medical attention.
Elimination
TJ opened the arena with news about Sydney. She had been advised to opt out of the competition because of her injury, which ended her time in Thailand and put her out of the game in 20th place. TJ told her he hoped to see her compete again in the future.
The nominations were straightforward for both losing teams. Grey captain Cory Wharton sent in Keanu Soto, who had already volunteered for the arena and made clear he was willing to keep going in to build his reputation as a rookie. For Blue, Nelson Thomas was the only available man, since captain Josh Goldstein was automatically safe.
Keanu and Nelson met in “Knot So Fast,” and this time the rookie could not pull off the win. Nelson won the elimination and returned to Team Blue, sending Keanu home in 19th place after his win over Brad Fiorenza two weeks earlier. The result left several players in tears and capped a costly night for Team Grey, who lost two members in a single episode and are now down to five.
‘The Challenge: Cutthroat’ Season 42 Competitor Tracker
| Competitor | Original Show | Team | Status |
| Adrienne Naylor | Married at First Sight UK 8 | Grey | Active |
| Alexis Lete | WWE NXT | Blue | Active |
| Anna Leigh Wilson | The Amazing Race 35 | Blue | Active |
| Brad Fiorenza | The Real World: San Diego | Blue | Eliminated (22nd place) |
| Cara Maria Sorbello | The Challenge: Fresh Meat II | Blue | Active |
| Cassidy Clark | Survivor 43 | Grey | Active |
| Cedric Hodges | Big Brother 26 | Blue | Eliminated (24th place) |
| Chris “CT” Tamburello | The Real World: Paris | Orange | Active |
| Chris Underwood | Survivor: Edge of Extinction | Grey | Active |
| Cory Wharton | The Real World: Ex-Plosion | Grey | Active |
| Deb Chubb | Love Island USA 4 | Orange | Active |
| Izzy Fairthorne | Too Hot to Handle 3 | Orange | Active |
| Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio | The Real World: Key West | Orange | Active |
| Josh Goldstein | Love Island USA 3 | Blue | Active |
| Justin Hinsley | Cheer | Orange | Active |
| Keanu Soto | Big Brother 27 | Grey | Eliminated (19th place) |
| Leonardo “Leo” Dionicio | Love Island USA 5 | Grey | Active |
| Michele Fitzgerald | Survivor: Kaôh Rōng | Orange | Active |
| Nelson Thomas | Are You the One? 3 | Blue | Active |
| Nurys Mateo | Are You the One? 6 | Grey | Eliminated (21st place) |
| Reilly Smedley | Big Brother 25 | Blue | Eliminated (23rd place) |
| Sydney Segal | Survivor 41 | Grey | Withdrew (20th place) |
| Tori Deal | Are You the One? 4 | Orange | Active |
| Will Gagnon | Are You the One? 9 | Orange | Active |
‘The Challenge: Cutthroat’ Episode Schedule
Follow the season with the episode schedule below:
| Episode | Title | Air Date | Status |
| Episode 1 | “Return to Cutthroat” | August 5, 2026 | Aired |
| Episode 2 | “Crying Won’t Get You Off This Roof” | August 5, 2026 | Aired |
| Episode 3 | “Keep My Name Out Your Mouth” | August 12, 2026 | Aired |
| Episode 4 | “Say It To My Face” | August 19, 2026 | Aired |
| Episode 5 | “Down and Dirty” | August 26, 2026 | Aired |
| Episode 6 | “Leave Room For Jesus” | September 2, 2026 | Upcoming |
New episodes premiere every Wednesday. This schedule will be updated as additional episodes are announced.
Watch ‘The Challenge: Cutthroat’ on DIRECTV
Never miss an elimination! Stream new episodes of The Challenge: Cutthroat every week on Paramount+ through DIRECTV, and catch up on previous seasons of The Challenge anytime.
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Frequently asked questions
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