The Challenge vs. Big Brother: Reality TV Titans Team Up for Holiday Rom-Com
The Challenge's Cara Maria Sorbello and Big Brother's Rachel Reilly are co-starring in a new holiday rom-com, 'Mistletoe Mansion'. Learn about the meta plot and how the film leans into their reality TV personas.
Two of reality television's most formidable competitors are trading grueling challenges for scripted charm. According to Entertainment Weekly, The Challenge's stat(two-time) champion Cara Maria Sorbello and Big Brother 13 winner Rachel Reilly are set to star alongside each other in an upcoming holiday rom-com, 'Mistletoe Mansion'.
The film offers a clever, meta take on the genre, set within a fictional reality TV show called 'The 12 Dates of Christmas'. In it, Sorbello and Reilly will play fictionalized versions of themselves, acting as the show's co-hosts. According to the movie's official description, their characters clash over the show's direction when the bachelorette, Ava, develops unexpected feelings for her talent handler.
Sorbello's character is described as "drama-seeking," pushing for a traditional reality TV ending, while Reilly's host is more "romantically inclined," urging the lead to follow her heart. The role is a nod to Reilly's own real-life 'showmance' with her husband, Brendon Villegas, whom she met on Big Brother. Filming for 'Mistletoe Mansion', written and directed by Candice Cain, is scheduled to begin on stat(January 10th, 2026).
The casting brings together two icons from the golden age of competition reality shows. Sorbello, stat(39), debuted on The Challenge: Fresh Meat II in 2010 and has since become a franchise legend, appearing in stat(16) additional seasons across MTV and Paramount+, reaching stat(10) finals and securing stat(two) wins.
Reilly, stat(41), also made her debut in 2010 on Big Brother and has since won multiple competition shows, including 'Celebrity Fear Factor' and 'Snake in the Grass'. She's also competed on 'The Amazing Race' and 'The Traitors', solidifying her status as a reality TV veteran.
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