Andy DehnartNetflix has renewed The Mole for its second season, which will be the season seven overall in the U.S., and the fifth civilian season of the competition.
Will the show change any of these things? Will it stay in Australia or move to other countries? Will it take any cues from the smash hit success of Peacock’s awesome The Traitors?
Will host Alex Wagner return, now that she has a four-night-a-week show on MSNBC, Alex Wagner Tonight?
Netflix has revealed very few details—though the casting application has one key piece of information—though the absence of information is interesting.
Notably, the announcement did not explain why they renewed the show. There was no highlighting the show’s ratings, like Netflix did for its recent renewal of Wednesday, or for its renewal of Love is Blind.
Netflix doesn’t release much useful viewership data, but the season was in Netflix’s top-10 TV shows for eight days in the U.S.; by comparison, Love is Blind spent 141 days there.
It was, however, more-popular in other countries—it was in the top 10 the longest in Kenya—and clearly Netflix’s data indicates that the money is worth a second season.
The press release said the production company, Eureka Productions, is returning. But it’s the casting application that had some key details.
When Netflix’s Mole season 2 may premiere
The application is curiously short for a show of this nature. Besides basic biographical information, it only asks two substantive questions about the show itself:
- “Tell us why you would be a great contestant on THE MOLE?”
- “Do you think you would be better at physical challenges or mental challenges, why?”
The third question is “How did you hear about this Casting Project?”, as if that’s a critical point. (That is the space where people recruited on Instagram can write “recruited on Instagram” or the name of their recruiter, I suppose.)
Prospective players do have one more opportunity to talk about the show. The application asks for two photos, a close-up and a full-body (because The Mole is all about the looks), and a video, in which prospective players can discuss their desire to be cast:
– Your name / occupation and where you are from
– A bit of history about you that might relate to the project ( show some personality )
– Why you would be great for this project.
– What special skills you might have that would give you an advantage.
– Anything else you think we should know that would set you apart.
For me, the most-interesting piece of information on the casting application is a question about availability, which reveals that The Mole season 2 (or season 7) will be filming “early July through late August” of 2023.
That is, like last season, and like the Anderson Cooper original, about two months of filming.
Netflix’s first Mole season filmed in the summer of 2021, and didn’t air until fall of 2022. And Netflix reality shows tend to film far in advance. Its ridiculous new dating show filmed about a year ago.
That means it could be until 2024 when we see The Mole season 2.
Terrinesha Jackson
Monday 7th of August 2023
Do you have to pay a upfront fee if your selected ?
Andy Dehnart
Monday 7th of August 2023
You should never pay to apply to, or be on, a reality TV show. Real casting agents do not charge, and reality TV productions do not ask their participants to pay money.
Logan
Sunday 19th of February 2023
I am incredibly surprised, but very happy to see that Netflix renewed The Mole, being that it got almost zero advertising. Just finished binging it yesterday and I really enjoyed it.
As far as comparing it to The Traitors (which I’m a massive fan of), I feel like the two shows are so different, it feels like apples and oranges to me. I hope both shows run for many years to come.
Vivi
Wednesday 15th of February 2023
I would've lost a whole lotta money if I was a betting gal. I'm shocked this has been renewed!
I'm glad they are opening up the application process to everyone who sees it though. I didn't think the social media recruitment process from last season was the best.
The one thing I object to is the full body pic. What exactly is the point of this? The body positivity movement has made great strides in the past few years. This is like taking several steps back. A headshot and short video are enough.
I'm also not sure why Eureka can't shorten their filming schedule down. Most people who are able to take two months off in the summer are either students, unemployed, self-employed (with savings) or retired.
The6ix
Saturday 20th of May 2023
@TikTokIsTheDevil, Each of the six male contestants wore necklaces at least once during their confessionals. It wasn't just Will with those tacky pearls. There is no way they all of them packed necklaces in their suitcases. It's not a common accessory for men. I reckon there was a stylist/intern on location who accessorized them to suit the Netflix ilk. Such a shame that the substance of the game has taken a backseat to nonsense like this.
Filming is supposed to start in about 5 weeks or so according to the application but it seems the application window still isn't closed. They must still be hoping for some social media influencers with large subscriber numbers to help boost their ratings lol
TikTokIsTheDevil
Thursday 23rd of February 2023
@jada, Right. I noticed during the show how some of the style came across as forced and inorganic. Examples I can think off the top of my head are Joi wearing a bowler hat during a mission, Will's pearl necklace and Greg's red dress during the reunion. None of these stylistic choices seemed authentic to the individuals wearing them. It's almost like they were made to play dress up for the sake of the show. The confessionals remind me of The Real Housewives where cast mates sport differing looks. This explains why we saw a variety of hairstyles and accessories and perhaps why they overshadowed the actual missions. Also I'm not a conspiracy theorist but renewing a show that only spent 8 days in the Top 10 makes me wonder what the real agenda is. The Mole only has 12k subscribers on IG. Peanuts really. I don't believe they made any money on the first season. There has to be another reason why it was renewed.
Vivi
Monday 20th of February 2023
@BadMitten, Oh my! So this is where The Mole is headed? As a springboard for other watered down reality shows? Ridiculous!
BadMitten
Monday 20th of February 2023
@Vivi, they pulled two people from the mole season 1 for perfect match, so Im not surprised they want full body pics
jada
Thursday 16th of February 2023
@Vivi, on the application it says they want a full body photo to see personality/style, i guess this means they are looking for tattoos,,, nail polish,,,more joan rivers jewelry.....quirky style over substance for another season.....
Michael Harmstone
Wednesday 15th of February 2023
That's a shame.
Vivi
Thursday 16th of March 2023
@TikTokIsTheDevil, My daughter applied 3.5 weeks ago but hasn't received a response from them. I guess this means she didn't make the first cut. I always support my kids in whatever they do but I knew she wasn't going to get picked based on last season's cast. She's not "L.A. trendy hipster" enough.
Andy, did you apply this year?
TikTokIsTheDevil
Sunday 12th of March 2023
@Michael Harmstone, Kassting Inc. is being used again this year. This is the same company that was used to cast looks based reality tv shows like Big Brother, Cosmic Love, Love Island and International Love. Therefore I am in agreement with you. With the majority of viewers griping about the cast from last season of The Mole (even the new fans on Instagram) the fact Eureka has gone ahead with Kassting Inc. again shows they aren't willing to learn from their mistakes.
Michael Harmstone
Saturday 18th of February 2023
@Andy Dehnart, And that's the thing - the US one was the *worst* of the three English-language traitors we've had in the last year! Do I think they could look at Traitors and improve things? Yes. Will they? Hell no! 😂
I was re-reading your interview with the Eureka guy a few days ago and I have zero confidence anything will change - they were too proud with what they put out last time.
Andy Dehnart
Wednesday 15th of February 2023
😂 I am glad they're getting a second season, and really hope it can evolve. The Traitors has set an incredibly high bar, but perhaps that'll be extra motivation for Netflix.