'The Challenge' Will Be Heartbreaking This Season

As MTV premieres its 26th season of The Challenge , viewers will mourn two longtime favorites. Diem Brown died after a long battle with cancer in November, and her fellow Battle of the Exes II contestant Ryan Knight also passed away just weeks later. It will be a heartbreaking season and tough to watch, but it is also a way to celebrate Brown and Knight. Additionally, MTV is dedicating the season to both former contestants.

The new season will premiere on Jan. 6, 2015, at 11 p.m. ET, showing Diem and her on-again, off-again boyfriend Chris "CT" Tamburello and Knight with his ex (and former Real World: New Orleans housemate) Jemmye Carroll. They competed against 11 other couples for the $350,000 prize, battling each other even more fiercely with a "Battle of the Ex-iled" midseason twist introduced. With this new part of the game, eliminated pairs can return to try to reclaim the prize, raising the stakes even more.

But before The Challenge returns, MTV will honor Brown with a special titled We <3 Diem. According to the network, it will highlight her "powerful journey, giving tribute to her perseverance and strength through it all." It will also show clips from previous seasons of the show, including her relationship with CT.