This story about “The Mole” first appeared in the limited series/movie issue of TheWrap awards magazine.
There’s a moment in Netflix’s “The Mole” episode 2, titled “Take No Prisoners,” where cable news anchor Alex Wagner becomes the emcee of a reality series. Locking her cast of competitors in two separate sections of a warehouse, she sets the stage for a game that pits the two groups against each other. They have to decide between standing still for 45 minutes and earning some cash or pressing a big red nuke launcher button to gain immunity from elimination.
“Once again, you’re locked up, and now you have to choose: do the time and earn the money, or commit the crime and earn a chance at a waiver,” he explains dramatically over an intercom. “Your time begins now.”
Turning off the microphone, Wagner smiles, tucks a lock of hair behind his ear, and adds, “Some of my best work.”
Wagner follows in the footsteps of Anderson Cooper, who hosted the original series on ABC from 2001 to 2008, an effort that helped make him the household name he is today. Now it’s time for Wagner, who also hosts “Alex Wagner Tonight” on MSNBC, to have some fun as the new face of the spy competition series.
Travel the globe as the ringleader of a journey that begins in Australia’s historic Daintree rainforest and sees 12 strangers, one of whom is a saboteur mole, use their brains and brawn to earn money and eliminate one by one. one.
“‘The Mole’ is about getting to the facts and unraveling the mystery of who the mole is,” said the remake’s executive producer, Chris Culvenor. “And I think it’s no coincidence that Anderson Cooper, the original host of ‘Mole,’ was a journalist, and many of the hosts on the international versions also have journalistic backgrounds.”
In addition to Wagner’s “journalistic credibility and background,” Culvenor said, she exhibits “that kind of curiosity that is palpable on screen.
“That’s why we love Alex for that role,” he continued. “And the courtship process – it was a really quick and easy discussion because he fell in love with our reboot vision and the show itself. The great thing about Alex is that she’s so invested in the process, the mystery and the game, and that’s the core of the host of ‘The Mole’.”
Also, one of the main intrigues of “The Mole”, and one of the reasons why Culvenor fell in love with the US original and many international iterations, is “the fact that you could not only watch but play in house” to find out who in the cast was lying, cheating and keeping the grand prize money.
It’s a core attribute of a “Mole” host: They also don’t know who the mole is, “so they’re working with the cast and the audience to help unravel the mystery,” Culvenor said. “They are not aware. They know the missions because they’re delivering that information, but they don’t know how the cast will perform on those missions because that depends on the circumstances of the day and whether or not the mole intervenes.”
No spoilers here about the mole’s identity in Season 1, but looking ahead to Season 2, which received an order in February, Culvenor said he’s looking forward to seeing the new ways competitors face off and solve mysteries.
“What makes Season 1 so interesting is that each mole approaches their sabotage strategy in a very different way,” he said, explaining that a mole must have “fortitude”, the ability to “withstand pressure” and a “mischievous side”
“In Season 2, we’re excited to see a new mole provide an almost different blueprint for how to change this game,” he said.
Read more of the limited series/film edition here.
