Here’s the cast and trailer of Netflix’s Mole—and new red logo

Netflix just released the first trailer for its revival of The Mole, and also announced the identities of the 12 players—or the 11 players and one mole.

The new season premieres in early October.

Netflix is referring to it as season one, which is predictable (considering how they renumbered Great British Bake-Off seasons) but still disappointing. After all, this show is following five seasons that created the show’s current fanbase.

The trailer released today looks very promising overall, though it also feels like it’s been edited for Netflix reality TV fans who like human drama, i.e. people fighting.

It opens with conflict, and has no sign of the espionage theme in the way there was with the ABC seasons, and no sign of David Michael Frank’s outstanding original Mole theme.

There is a brief shot of a player taking the quiz, and the question is “Who is The Mole?” One player, Joi, is highlighted in red. Is that major spoiler, a clue, or nothing?

A few other changes are visible, too. There is one shot of players sitting at a table, each with what looks like a smartphone in front of them. Are those for a specific test, or do they now get phones (presumably disconnected from the Internet) to keep track of things throughout the season? A notebook is visible in another shot, though, so it may be staying old-school with those.

The Mole also has a new logo. Replacing the green thumbprint—which was the symbol used during executions to show that a player was safe—is a logo that has a heavily stylized thumbprint with a red background. The red background, of course, meant a player had been executed.

I’m not yet sold on this updated logo, but that may just be because I’m so used to/in love with the green thumbprint logo.

I’m also not sold on the flat gray brick backdrop that they’re using for confessionals.

Netflix’s Mole 12 players

Two weeks ago, my reporting revealed the show’s new host, broadcast TV journalist Alex Wagner, which I think is a great choice based on her work on The Circus.

Alex appears briefly in the trailer, and narrates it, but it’s not enough footage to get a sense of her persona. I really do hope we get an opening sequence like the original.

As to The Mole’s players, including the mole, they’re all between 25 and 40, and two-thirds are in their mid-to-late 20s.

There’s one person from Canada, and a range of occupations, from “lifestyle brand manager” to airline pilot.

Netflix has more detailed bios here, but these are the 12 players and their towns and jobs:

1. Avori Henderson, 26, Phoenix, professional gamer
2. Casey Lary, 39, Chico, California, COVID ICU nurse
3. Dom Gabriel, 29, Toronto, heavy machine operator
4. Greg Shapiro, 32, Seattle, marketing consultant
5. Jacob Hacker, 29, Bloomville, Ohio, firefighter paramedic lieutenant
6. Joi Schweitzer, 40, Atlanta, commercial airline pilot
7. Kesi Neblett, 27, New York City, software developer
8. Osei White, 32, Brooklyn, real estate agent
9. Pranav Patel, 29, Boston, law firm associate
10. Samara Joy, 25, Atlanta, mental health counselor
11. Sandy Ronquillo, 26, Fort Worth, Texas, ABA therapist
12. William Richardson, 29, Henderson, Nevada, lifestyle brand manager