Growing up, the Total Drama series was a cartoon I greatly enjoyed.
I had a lot of fun going into every episode guessing which contestant would be voted off.
So, when I learned that the series had been revived with a reboot in 2023, I decided that it would be fun to rank the seasons, including the newest one.
Unfortunately, distribution for the reboot has been quite poor.
I found it immensely difficult to watch in New Zealand.
Well, after a lot of searching, I finally watched the new season and will now rank it alongside the others.
Before we begin, however, I have to state a few things.
First, I will not be ranking any of the Total Dramarama seasons.
That is a show I refuse to watch on basic principle.
Second, this ranking will contain spoilers so make sure you have watched all of the seasons before you read it.
With those things made clear, let’s begin the ranking.    

8. Total Drama All Stars. 

All Stars is, without a doubt, the worst season of Total Drama and this is a shame because of how much potential it had.
I mean, a season where the old cast and the new cast compete for the million dollars while forging alliances and rivalries with one another?
That sounds great.
However, what sounds great in concept does not play out well in reality.
For starters, the new cast had only been around for a single 13-episode season.
Therefore, the viewers would obviously care more about the old cast, who we had got to know for three 26-episode seasons.
Another issue is that the new and old characters rarely interact in meaningful ways.
They mostly just stick to their own original groups, with the only significant interactions resulting from Sierra obsessing over Cameron, and Courtney getting together with Scott.
The former is unbearable to watch, and the latter is ruined in the infamous “Sundae Muddy Sundae” episode, which is one of the worst episodes in all of Total Drama because of how it derails Courtney’s character just to get her eliminated.
Unfortunately, character assassination is the norm for All Stars, as many characters are completely different from their former selves.
Duncan cares way too much about what other people think of him, Gwen’s feelings about cheating with Duncan are constantly contradicting themselves, and Alejandro and Heather both make unusually stupid decisions which lead to their eliminations.
These moronic choices are sadly widespread among the characters.
It appears that a lot of them drank stupid juice before their time on All Stars, and most of this is because of the worst character in the entire season: Mal.
Mal is the evil alternate personality of Mike and is one of the worst antagonists in the entire series.
All he does is break stuff with seemingly no plan, and it feels like the only way the writers could think to make him seem evil was to just give him an edgy appearance and dialogue.
Mal is such a terribly written villain that the writers literally had to make the other characters stupider just so he would not get caught.
Alejandro reveals he has a video of Mal’s crimes to his face, and Zoe and Cameron somehow do not realize Mike has been taken over by an evil personality, despite them knowing him very well.
Then there is the whole journey through Mike’s subconscious, which is just a massive eyeroll of a storyline because Total Drama is supposed to be a reality show.
How are the cameras getting into Mike’s subconscious?
Even worse is how this builds into the finale, “The Final Wreck-ening”, which is the most anti-climactic season finale of the series.
Mal is literally defeated with the press of a button.
This season (and the following one) also has Chris at his absolute worst, with him being shown to starve his interns.   
All Stars fails to live up to its potential, while having constant character assassinations, and whatever good storylines it does have are ruined in the “Sundae Muddy Sundae” episode.
It is, without question, the worst Total Drama season.

7. Total Drama Pahkitew Island.

All Stars may be the worst Total Drama season, but Pahkitew Island is not far behind it.
The main reason this season is so terrible is the cast.
Pahkitew Island has the worst original cast of any of the seasons and this is in large part due to the stereotypes these characters are based off.
Now, were the characters in the original Total Drama Island based off stereotypes?
Yes, but the thing is that these characters were more than just their stereotypes.
In Pahkitew Island, the stereotype is usually the contestant’s sole defining trait.
Leonard thinks he is a wizard and that is it, Ella acts like a Disney princess and that is it, Sugar is a Honey Boo Boo parody and that is it.
Also, notice how absurd those characteristics sound?
Well, this is another problem with Pahkitew Island’s characters because it feels like the writers ran out of teen stereotypes so they just gave the contestants the most extreme traits that they could think of.
All of this ultimately results in characters who are absurd while somehow also being boring.
Even some of the characters who start off well, like Dave and Scarlett, are eventually turned into insufferable over-the-top villains.
By the end, there were only four characters in the entire cast who I liked, these being Sky, Samey, Jasmine and Shawn, but Sky is just okay, and Samey was eliminated before she could realize her potential.
Shawn and Jasmine, on the other hand, are the shining lights of Pahkitew Island.
Shawn’s constant fear of the zombie apocalypse is always funny, and Jasmine is likeable from the get-go, as shown by her taking Samey under her wing.
Her and Shawn also somehow work together as a couple and their growth across the season is satisfying to watch.
Jasmine learns to accept Shawn’s weirdness, and Shawn learns to put his fear of zombies aside for Jasmine.
Had it not been for these two characters then Pahkitew Island very well could have been the worst season in my eyes, for there are many other bad qualities about it.
Chris continues to be a psychopath, both starving the contestants and giving them food poisoning.
He even goes so far as to not care if they die when Scarlett takes the island hostage.
Speaking of the island, just like in All Stars, the season fails at most of its concepts which actually had potential.
In Episode Ten, “Scarlett Fever”, it is revealed that the entire island is mechanical.
If this had been known from the beginning, it could have given Pahkitew Island a unique flair.
Instead, the mechanical nature of the island is revealed far too late for it to have any meaningful impact, leaving us with fairly standard challenges competed by a mostly terrible cast.
In the end, all I can say about Pahkitew Island is thank God for Shawn and Jasime because this season would have been a whole lot worse without them.    

6. Total Drama Action.

I just want to make clear that there is a massive leap in quality between Pahkitew Island and Total Drama Action.
While Pahkitew Island is a bad season, I would say that Action is a pretty good one.
That being said, I was surprised to find this season ranking so low because it used to be my favorite as a kid.
This was mostly because of the challenges since, as someone who loves movies, the film-based challenges really appealed to me back then.
They definitely still appeal to me now, with challenges like the superhero contest, the murder mystery, the rock star biopic, and the animal-buddy competition being some of my favorites in all of Total Drama.
Another thing Action does a great job of is giving characters who did not have enough screen time in the first season more time to shine.
Characters like Lindsay, Harold, Courtney, Justin and Beth get way more to do in Action.
This is especially the case for Beth, who makes it all the way to the finale with Duncan.
However, this is where some of my issues come in because, although I like Beth, she is just not strong enough of a character to be a finalist, and her character dynamic with Duncan is poor, making for a bit of a disappointing finale.
It honestly felt like the writers were setting up Lindsay or Harold to be finalists more than Beth.
The finale would have been way better if it had been those two characters going against each other, or one of them against Duncan.
Unfortunately, this is not the only issue because Action does treat quite a few of its characters poorly.
Lindsay accidentally voting herself off was embarrassing and Owen’s return near the end of the season was pointless.
Worst of all is the treatment of Trent.
Apparently, Cartoon Network wanted Gwen and Duncan to get together but, in order to do that, the writers had to break up Gwen and Trent.
They decided to do this by making Trent go nuts, forcing Gwen to break up with him.
This came at the cost of Trent’s entire character, as he started throwing challenges for her.
He was also bizarrely given a sudden obsession with the number nine, which the writers acted like he always had, when he clearly never did until this season. 
There are other bits of character derailment in this season, but Trent definitely gets it the worst.
All of that being said, there is still a lot to like about Total Drama Action.
As I said, many of the challenges are favorites of mine, a lot of the characters were given chances to shine that they were not before and, although the finale is a bit of a let-down, it does have a pretty good arc for Chris and Chef’s friendship.
Action may not be as good as I remembered it being, but it does have a lot to like. 

5. Total Drama Revenge of the Island. 

After World Tour, the writers decided to take a risk by returning to Camp Wawanakwa with a brand-new cast.
This was the series’ first attempt at a new cast after the original and, honestly, I think they did a pretty good job.
Almost all of the characters have distinct personalities, whether I liked them or not.
I say “almost” because Staci cannot even be called a character, as she is just the trait of insufferably repeating lies about her family.
Although, to be fair, Staci was created to be this way since she is the first to be eliminated.
Aside from her, every contestant has plenty of defining characteristics.
This does become an issue with how short the season is, however.
At the beginning of the season, I was the most interested in Dawn and B.
This was because they had interesting personalities, but they were both eliminated before they could be explored further.
If Revenge of the Island had been the length of prior seasons, instead of just 13 episodes, we could have got more time to know the characters.
Thankfully, the ones who make it further into the season, like Brick, Zoe, Cameron, Lightning, Scott and Jo, all prove to be interesting. 
Along with this, the setting of Camp Wawanakwa is well defined, with it feeling both nostalgic, due to it being the setting from Season One, and new, due to the toxic waste affecting the island.
This leads to quite a few interesting challenges where the mutated animals prove to be a threat.
At the same time, this does impact Chris’ character negatively, since he intentionally used the island as toxic waste dump.
He had been growing progressively crueler in Action and World Tour, but Revenge was the first season to take it too far with his character, and All Stars and Pahkitew Island unfortunately made him worse.
So, there is a lot to like and dislike about Revenge of the Island.
It has an interesting cast and an interesting setting, but the short length of the season means we don’t get to know many of the characters as much as I would have liked, and this was the first season to really character assassinate Chris.
So, why is it above Action then?
Well, because of the finale, “Brain vs. Brawn: The Ultimate Showdown.”
The rivalry between Cameron and Lightning was built up pretty well before the finale, and the episode’s focus on the theme of brain vs. brawn made for a compelling final fight.
It makes for a great underdog story when Cameron actually wins, if that is the ending you see based on whatever country you are watching it.
Also, the season ends with Chris getting blown up and then arrested for his crimes so that is satisfying.
In the end, the finale of Revenge of the Island was much more gratifying than Action’s and that was enough to push it up to number four on this list, despite the season’s issues. 

4. Total Drama Island Reboot. 

I know the reboot is technically two seasons, but I decided to rank them together since I watched them back-to-back.
After so many years absent, Total Drama made its return to the island with another set of brand-new contestants to compete for the million dollars.
Thankfully, this new cast is great, and we get to know each and every one of them.
Some are done better than others but, overall, they all make an impression.
Julia, Bowie, and M.K make for compelling antagonists, especially Julia who is delightfully cunning in her manipulation.
As for the more positive characters, Raj and Wayne’s friendship is endlessly endearing, Damien has an excellent arc in the first half of the reboot, and Zee’s laidback personality gets a lot of laughs.
The funniest character of the season for me though, has to be Scary Girl.
Every morbid thing that comes out of her mouth made me laugh, and I hope she gets more to do in a hypothetical third season (along with Damien).
So, the new characters are pretty great, but what about the old ones of Chris and Chef?
Well, Chris is voiced by Terry McGurrin instead of Christian Potenza, but his new voice actor does a great job of playing the character.
Chris is still psychopathically cruel in the reboot but, what makes this more acceptable is Chef, who seems quite different from prior seasons.
In the reboot, he is often concerned about the condition of the campers, making him a great contrast to Chris, with the two playing off each other well.
Speaking of playing, the challenges in the reboot are all mostly fun, with them creating a lot of interesting character interactions.
As for the two finales we get in the reboot, both are solid.
Priya makes for a good winner, although I honestly would have preferred Bowie.
As for Wayne, he is also a good winner, but I do wish he got more screen time before his victory.
One downside to these victors is that, unfortunately, there is no alternate ending where we get to see someone else win.
I would have liked to see what would happen if Bowie, Julia or Caleb won.
Sadly, this is not my only issue.
For starters, in the second half of the reboot, there is a romantic storyline between Priya and Caleb, which takes up too much time and simply goes on for far too long.
I liked it in the beginning but it more than overstayed its welcome.
If it had ended just two or three episodes prior, then I think this storyline would have been received a lot better.
I honestly don’t think there’s a way Episode Five could have been well received, though.
Fart humor has always been a part of Total Drama, for better and mostly for worse, but this is by far the worst use of it.
“Jurassic Fart” is so painfully unfunny to watch that it ranks right up there with “Sundae Muddy Sundae” as one of Total Drama’s worst episodes.
It is these things that hold the reboot back from taking a higher spot in the ranking.
However, as stated, there is still a lot to love about it, like the new characters and a much more bearable Chris thanks to his and Chef’s new dynamic.
I hope we get a Season Three of the reboot because I would like to see more of these characters.

3. Total Drama Presents: The Ridonculous Race.

Growing up, my family and I used to love watching The Amazing Race.
It was one of my favorite reality shows as a kid, so I was pretty much guaranteed to like The Ridonculous Race.
Unless of course it was botched to the same degree as All Stars and Pahkitew were.
Thankfully, this Total Drama spin-off show is great, as a cast of 18 teams travel around the world and compete in challenges for one million dollars, all guided by Don, the new host.
This cast is almost entirely new, with only a few characters from prior seasons returning.
But, wow, do the writers do these old characters justice.
Geoff is as fun as he was in Island, and his friend Brody increases this fun to make them an especially enjoyable team to watch.
Then, there is Noah, whose character continues to improve from World Tour.
His friendship with Owen is charming and his growing romantic relationship with Emma is endearing.
And then there’s Leonard who… okay, why the hell is this insufferable character back?
Just so they could have someone to boot off first?
Okay.
Yeah, not gonna lie, a lot of the early boots are pretty meh characters, and some of the other teams definitely overstay their welcome, most notably the Daters, Ryan and Stephanie.
However, for every meh team there is a great one.
The Sisters grow more likeable with each episode, the Father and Son are great, the Rockers are a lot of fun, and the Goths are endlessly hilarious.
Then there are the Ice Dancers, Jacques and Josee, who are among the best villains in the series, right alongside Heather, Alejandro and Julia.
Their rivalry with the Police Cadets is also fun to see play out.
As for the Police Cadets themselves, MacArthur’s general craziness gets a lot of laughs, and Sanders plays off this well as the straight man to her partner’s insanity.
As for the finale, it is a pretty good one.
The Ice Dancer’s elimination is extremely cathartic, given all of the cheating they have done, and the ending where the Police Cadets win is satisfying.
My criticism come with the other team of finalists, the Surfer Dudes.
While Geoff and Brody are deserving of winning, I cannot help but feel like Emma and Kitty would have been better finalists.
That is not a huge criticism, though, more of a nit-pick based on preference. 
The finale of the Ridonculous Race is a more than satisfactory conclusion to a great parody of The Amazing Race.  

2. Total Drama Island. 

The original season of the show, I had just as much fun rewatching Total Drama Island as I did seeing it for the first time when I was a kid all those years ago.
The original cast is by far the most iconic, with Chris McLean and Chef Hatchet welcoming 22 contestants to Camp Wawanakwa for the first time.
Each of these campers are based off teen stereotypes but, like I said when I was talking about Pahkitew Island, there is more to them than that.
Duncan, despite being a bad boy, has a softer side to him.
Owen may be a fart joke machine, but he also has a heart of gold.
Gwen is the goth girl with a fierce streak, who is also a loyal friend when the other characters push past her walls.
Unless of course that character is Heather, who breaks down those walls with a sledgehammer of meanness.
Heather’s title as the Queen of Mean is perfect for her this season, as she plays the role of the antagonist we all love to hate, and then cheer at her inevitable downfall. 
Almost all of the characters are fantastic, except for a few of them, like Katie and Sadie who take the title of the most annoying Total Drama characters for me.
But, aside from them, and a few others, the cast of the original Total Drama Island is great.
Izzy, Lindsay, DJ, Geoff, Bridget, Leshawna, Harold, Courtney, all of these characters and more are memorable. 
Even Chris and Chef are at their best in this first season, with them actually seeming to care about the camper’s safety (even if it was just to avoid a lawsuit).
These memorable characters all make the first season more interesting when they are pushed to their limits in the challenges, resulting in various great episodes like, “Dodgebrawl”, “Paintball Deer Hunter”, “Hook, Line & Screamer”, and the finale “The Very Last Episode, Really!”
Speaking of that finale, it was great to see Owen and Gwen go head-to-head, even if I prefer Gwen as the winner to Owen.
The extra episode “Total Drama Drama Drama Drama Island” may be the best episode of the bunch, with it perfectly setting up the events of Action.
Overall, this first season is great, with my only criticism being a couple of inconsistencies and a few ridiculously unfair eliminations, most notably Leshawna’s.
Otherwise, this is one of the best seasons.
Total Drama Island was the beginning of this series, and it started it off with a bang. 

1. Total Drama World Tour.

When I decided to make a list ranking the Total Drama seasons, I knew which season was going to take the top spot.
Sure enough, when I finished my rewatch, Total Drama World Tour was my favorite.
This is hardly an unpopular opinion, as many other fans of the series also have World Tour as their number one.
It is a position the season has more than earned.
The first season to take its contestants around the world, World Tour stands out from the rest of the series with a unique feature.
This feature is Chris requiring the contestants to sing to progress, resulting in numerous fantastic songs, such as “Come Fly with Us”, “Gwen’s Face”, “Condor”, “This is How We Will End It,” and many, many more.
Along with these great songs, the characters singing them are also highlights.
World Tour continues what Action started by giving previously minor characters more time to develop, namely Noah, Tyler, and especially Cody.
Speaking of Cody, he comes with an attachment this season, since Chris adds two new contestants, Sierra and Alejandro.
At first, Sierra was annoying and creepy, but she grew on me by the end.
As for Alejandro, he is, without question, the most intelligent antagonist in the entire series.
His rivalry and simultaneous romantic chemistry with Heather is also fantastic.
Speaking of the Queen of Mean herself, the writers of World Tour did the impossible by making me cheer for her against Alejandro.
Turning Heather from the manipulative antagonist of the first season into the anti-hero of the third was a great idea which more than paid off.
This resulted in the season finale, “Hawaiian Punch”, being the most satisfying finale of the entire series for me.
Watching Heather kick Alejandro where it hurts, slide him off the mountain, and then drop her sacrifice into the volcano to win the million was immensely gratifying.
And, again, Heather was a character I and many others despised in Island.
Her transformation into this anti-hero figure in World Tour made Heather my favorite character in all of Total Drama.
All of these great qualities combine to make World Tour the best season in my eyes.
However, despite this, I would still not say it is a perfect season because there are a few issues I have.
For starters, the character of Blainley really served no purpose in this season, given that she’s brought into the competition late and eliminated just a few episodes after.
You could remove her from the plot and nothing significant would change.
At least it’s fun to laugh at her expense during the “Her Real Name Isn’t Blainley” song.
The second issue I have with World Tour is its portrayal of cheating.
Bridget is forgiven by Geoff for trying to cheat on him with Alejandro way too quickly.
Then there is the infamous Gwen, Duncan and Courtney love triangle.
I have already gone over how this plotline led to the derailment of Trent’s character in Total Drama Action but, in this season, it weakens Gwen’s character as well by painting her as a hypocrite.
Gwen was distraught when she thought Trent cheated on her in Island, yet she kisses Duncan when she’s friends with Courtney.
Honestly, I thought the show was doing a good job building a friendship between Gwen and Courtney, until they brought Duncan back and the love triangle with it.
If anything, though, the fact that I name these issues and still proclaim World Tour as my favorite season of Total Drama should show how fantastic the rest of this season is.
It is so good that I am able to ignore its issues and enjoy myself.
Out of all the seasons, Total Drama World Tour is the undisputed best for me.    
But I hope to see more seasons in the future.      
Fingers crossed that the reboot will be continued, with better distribution this time.