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Fear Factor

MTV’s Fear Factor will air a Big Brother vs. Survivor episode; is now airing three episodes a week

Fear Factor, Ludacris
Ludacris, host of Fear Factor, during the "Tech Hell" episode of MTV's second season. (Photo by MTV)

by Andy Dehnart 20 Mar. 2018 | 1:00 pm

The first season of the rebooted Fear Factor was a success for MTV, and now the show is on three times per week—once on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 10, plus a third hour scheduled for Wednesday at 11 this week and next.

An episode titled “Big Brother vs. Survivor” and originally scheduled for next Wednesday will be rescheduled, though MTV does not yet have a new date. I’ll update when they do. The title is all that’s been released so far, it seems like Big Brother contestants facing off against Survivor cast members.

Season two has broadened the contestant pool and challenges, freed of season one’s focus on terrifying millennials.

MTV promoted it as the “season from hell,” and many of the episodes have had “from hell” in the title, such as tonight’s “Exes from Hell”—which is unrelated to MTV’s new ex-themed reality series except that it has a very similar conceit in that contestants are surprised to learn that they’ll be competing with their exes.

Tomorrow night’s “Hell and High Water” has a pretty classic Fear Factor challenge. It’s called “Pho-bia,” though it’s not strictly a gross eating challenge—the contestants can drink less roach-infested pho soup if they do well in a challenge that precedes it.

Update, March 20, 5:42 p.m.: This story’s second paragraph was updated to reflect MTV’s rescheduling of the Big Brother vs. Survivor episode.

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about Andy Dehnart

Andy Dehnart’s writing and criticism about television, culture, and media has appeared on NPR and in Vulture, Pacific Standard, The Los Angeles Times, and other publications. He has covered reality television for more than 18 years, and created reality blurred in 2000.

A member of the Television Critics Association who serves on its board of directors, Andy, 41, also directs the journalism program at Stetson University in Florida, where he teaches creative nonfiction and journalism. He has an M.F.A. in nonfiction writing and literature from Bennington College. Learn more about reality blurred and Andy.

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about reality blurred

reality blurred is your guide to the world of reality TV and unscripted entertainment, with reality show reviews, news, and analysis. It was created in 2000 by Andy Dehnart. He's still writing and publishing it today.

reality blurred is regularly updated with highlights from the world of reality TV: news and analysis; behind-the-scenes reports; interviews with reality TV show cast members and producers; and recaps and reviews of these reality TV shows, including Survivor, Big Brother, The Great British Baking Show, Shark Tank, The Amazing Race, The Bachelor, Project Runway, Dancing with the Stars, Top Chef, and many more.

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