‘The Anonymous’ EP Discusses Casting Reality Stars From Other "Brilliant Shows" (EXCLUSIVE)

In USA Network’s The Anonymous, 12 contestants must work together to win a grand prize of $100,000. However, because it’s reality TV, there’s a twist involved. Each contestant has another side to them, a shady, anonymous one that allows them to share their strategies while disguised under a designated social media handle.

Studio Lambert, the company behind The Circle and The Traitors, produces The Anonymous. Viewers of the new show will see similar themes from both shows and some familiar faces.

The cast includes “regular people,” a few influencers, and reality stars. Though you may have seen some of their faces before, every star was on an equal playing field, according to someone behind the scenes.

Distractify spoke to The Anonymous’s executive producer and showrunner, Stephen Yemoh, about the casting choices and how the game was a unique experience, even for the more seasoned reality competitors.

Stephen told us that, while a few people have been on TV for other things besides The Anonymous, none have more of an “advantage” than the contestants viewers will meet for the first time. He said selecting reality stars or other influencers didn’t matter once they were in they were in the game.

“We were quite open to having people who had done reality shows before because it was a very different game from the games they’ve played before,” Stephen exclusively shared with Distractify. “I think it would have been unfair if it were similar to those games, but we were quite keen that it wasn't. And they totally didn't go in with too much of an advantage as well.”

The Anonymous released its cast in July 2024. Many of them entered the house, led by the show’s Digital Anonymous Networking Interface or “DANI,” and were on TV for the first time.

Others, however, have won intense challenges and have even been meme-ified. YouTuber Marcel Cunningham, who goes by BasicallyIDoWrk on the internet, and event producer Andy King joined the competition.

Andy went viral in 2019 for his quotable moment during Netflix’s Fyre Festival documentary, though he’s ready to be known for something else.

The Anonymous also tapped two winners from long-running reality competitions: Big Brother—which sparked controversy by adding people from game and daytime talk shows like The Price Is Right and Dr. Phil to its Season 26 cast—and Survivor: Xavier Prather and Nina Twine.

Xavier became the first Black Big Brother contestant to win the competition during BB23, while Nina competed in four Survivor competitions and won Survivor: Pearl Islands and Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains. Her mom is also Survivor legend Sandra Diaz-Twine.

Although Stephen admitted that neither Xavier nor Nina’s previous shows prepared them for “how TV works,” their time on other “brilliant reality shows” couldn’t have prepared them for The Anonymous due to the newness of the competition.

“Both Nina and Xavier have done brilliantly on the shows that they've done before, but they've never had to hide their true personalities behind the handle,” Stephen pointed out. “Obviously, they know how to socialize with people, but you can see from the cast that we have a very social cast of people that are quite outgoing personalities and are willing to talk to people willing to share their stories with each other.”

He added: “And they’re all learning how to play this new game together, which was interesting.”

Tune into the premiere of The Anonymous on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, on USA Network at 11 p.m. EST.