'The Challenge: Total Madness' Is Housing Contestants in an Underground Bunker

MTV’s The Challenge: Total Madness could not be coming at a better time. Not only is the title of the reality competition’s 35th season (which premieres on April 1) fitting during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the show also provides a welcome respite from the anxieties crowding our psyche during these uncertain times. 

Back in October, we found out the location for Total Madness, and according to one veteran contestant, it's the most brutal living situation he’s ever experienced on the series.

This season takes place in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and pits 21 former Challenge competitors against seven rookies. Unlike previous installments, the players won’t be split into teams. Instead, it will be every man for himself. 

What made Total Madness particularly rough was the real Cold War bunker contestants stayed in throughout the game’s duration. "You’re underground in Prague in the dead of winter, so it’s already cold and with no windows," Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio — who’s competed in a total of 20 Challenges — told TV Insider.

"Normally you go on and you’re living in this amazing villa or mansion in Thailand or somewhere tropical," he continued. "We were living in a bunker that was created for war. It’s a Soviet, Cold War, anti-aircraft bunker where they actually launched missiles at American spy planes."

Johnny confessed that he typically views the players’ lodgings as a retreat from the pressures of competition, but that wasn’t the case this time around. "It was almost like you’re looking forward to doing challenges rather than sitting in this bunker withering away and being left to your own devices. It was pretty gnarly," he explained.

Despite being confined to a subterranean edifice for long periods of time, Johnny admitted that nothing could have prepared him for the level of isolation brought on by the recent spread of coronavirus.  

"This is unlike anything anyone has had to go through," he noted. "Even for me, someone who has essentially been forced to be quarantined inside houses and bunkers and beaches. This is different."

The 37-year-old added that it feels "eerily serendipitous" to have lived in a wartime bunker just a few months before many countries issued shelter-in-place orders. 

"I do hope this upcoming season is going to be a momentary escape for people where they can watch it and step away from their madness and live in our madness for a little bit," he expressed.

Most of this season’s competitors are Challenge alums like Johnny. Here’s a closer look at the players:

Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio — The Real World: Key West, The Challenge 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34

Aneesa Ferreira — The Real World: Chicago, The Challenge 6, 9, 11, 13, 14, 17, 21, 22, 24, 25, 27, 30

Ashley Mitchell — Real World: Ex-Plosion, The Challenge 28, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34

Cory Wharton — Real World: Ex-Plosion, The Challenge 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32

Chris "CT" Tamburello — The Real World: Paris, The Challenge 8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32, 33, 34

Dee Nguyen — Geordie Shore 17, The Challenge 33, 34

Jenna Compono — Real World: Ex-Plosion, The Challenge 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 33

Jennifer West — Survival of the Fittest, The Challenge 34

Jordan Wiseley — The Real World: Portland, The Challenge 24, 25, 26, 30, 34

Josh Martinez — Big Brother 19, The Challenge 33, 34

Kailah Casillas — Real World: Go Big or Go Home, The Challenge 29, 30, 31, 32

Kyle Christie — Geordie Shore 8, The Challenge 31, 32, 33, 34

Mattie Lynn Breaux — Party Down South, The Challenge 33

Melissa Reeves — Ex on the Beach UK 2, The Challenge 31, 32

Nany Gonzalez — The Real World: Las Vegas, The Challenge 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34

Nelson Thomas — Are You the One? 3, The Challenge 28, 29, 30, 31, 32

Rogan O’Connor — Ex on the Beach UK 2, The Challenge 31, 34

Stephen Bear — Shipwrecked: The Island, The Challenge 33, 34

Tori Deal — Are You the One? 4, The Challenge 30, 32, 34

Tula "Big T" Fazakerley — Shipwrecked: Battle of the Islands, The Challenge 34

Wes Bergmann — The Real World: Austin, The Challenge 12, 13, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 28, 33, 34

Asaf Goren — Big Brother (Israel), So You Think You Can Dance

Bayleigh Dayton — Big Brother 20

Christopher "Swaggy C" Williams — Big Brother 20

Faysal "Fessy" Shafaat — Big Brother 20

Jay Starrett — Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X 

Jennifer Lee — The Amazing Race 29

Kaycee Clark — Big Brother 20

The new season of The Challenge airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.