The inaugural season of The Challenge USA is set to kick off a fierce competition between CBS reality vets, including Survivor 41's Danny McCray. Danny will be one of several Survivor alumni competing on the season. Joining him on the cast will be his season 41 tribemate Shantel "Shan" Smith, two-time player Tasha Fox, season 35's Desi Williams, Ghost Island runner-up Domenick Abbate, and former Survivor winners Tyson Apostol, Ben Driebergen, and Sarah Lacina.
The Survivor crew will be looking to get a leg up on alumni from several other CBS reality shows. Former standouts from reality hits The Amazing Race, Big Brother, and Love Island will also be on the cast. As the first season of The Challenge to air on CBS, USA will kick off the network iteration by putting forth a cast of some of the most recognizable stars from its reality shows. Notable figures like Big Brother 23 winner Xavier Prather, Big Brother 22 runner-up Enzo Palumbo, and three-time Amazing Race contestant Leo Temory are just a few of the names on the star-studded cast.
Survivor 41 star Danny McCray is set to be one of the most physically competitive contestants on The Challenge USA. Before his time on reality television, Danny made a name for himself as a professional football player in the NFL. After playing several seasons in college for Louisiana State University, Danny entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent. He managed to catch the eye of the Dallas Cowboys, signing with the team and playing for four seasons as a safety and special teamer. He made a major impact as a defensive force on special teams, making history as one of the most effective special teams tacklers in Cowboys history. He then played one season with the Chicago Bears before returning to Dallas for his final NFL season in 2015.
Following his successful football career, Danny made the leap to reality television in 2021, when he joined the cast of Survivor 41. Though he was expected to be a major physical force on the season, Danny surprised viewers by relying primarily on his social game to go far. His strongest bond in the game was with finalist Deshawn Radden, who would go on to make it to the Final Three after Danny was voted out in sixth place. Danny didn't win Survivor 41, but he was one of the most effective gamers on the season and provided a memorable and touching moment when he discussed the anniversary of his father's death. He also notably objected to the infamous Hourglass Twist at the merge, reportedly getting into a heated unaired discussion with Jeff Probst about the twist being unfair and detrimental to the game. In fact, Danny was so disillusioned by the twist that he has since stated that he doesn't want to play Survivor again because of wrinkles like the Hourglass Twist being antithetical to his competitive nature.
On one hand, it's a bit surprising to see Danny being invited to another CBS reality show after he very publicly discussed his frustrations about his Survivor experience and his criticisms of the season's production. However, it also makes total sense for Danny to be cast as a Challenge competitor, given that he's one of the handful of elite professional athletes to join the CBS reality family and will no doubt be a physical force in the competition. It will be interesting to see how his Challenge journey plays out.
The Challenge USA premieres Wednesday, July 6 on CBS.