The One Anonymous Player in USA's 'The Anonymous' Makes the Tough Decisions

The USA reality competition show The Anonymous is what you get when you take shows like The Circle and The Traitors and breed them. But this reality TV baby already has the legs to stand on its own, even if the rules and what the anonymous player does on The Anonymous might be a little hazy for viewers right off the bat. Luckily, the three episodes released on USA in succession on its premiere night explain how it all works.

So, what does the anonymous player on The Anonymous do each episode? The game is all about playing hard and tricking other players into being unable to guess who your online persona is. But one player whose game is the strongest and who is playing without giving away clues about who they are gets an important power each episode. They alone are named "the anonymous."

The singular anonymous player on The Anonymous has the power to choose which player they want to eliminate from the game. They get to choose from the other players who do not have safety, regardless of what the other players want. When the time comes for the anonymous player to choose who to send home, they get to do it through the online program the players use, and all is revealed when the group gets together outside of their pods.

But the anonymous player remains unnamed, and the identity of the anonymous player changes ahead of each elimination on the show. That part of the game is played online, while the politicking and competitions happen in real life, between the players face to face. The anonymous player, and everything that comes with holding that power, happens online on The Anonymous.

The format of The Anonymous takes a little bit from The Traitors, sprinkles in some aspects of The Circle, and even has some components of Squid Game: The Challenge. But make no mistake — its format is definitely one-of-a-kind when it comes down to it. The players in the game compete in real challenges to communally build a prize pot. However, at the end of each day, they retreat to their pods to chat anonymously in a room where they each have a secret avatar.

The idea is that they fool the other players within the online world into making them think they are other players. Then, there's a vote on which real life player's identity is tied to which online avatar. The player whose identity is voted on correctly the least amount of times (or not at all) becomes the anonymous player. And they alone have the power for the elimination.

If you aren't paying attention in the first episode, it's a bit much to follow. However, by the third episode in the three-episode launch on premiere night, it was a little easier to understand how the anonymous is chosen and what they actually do. And unlike with other reality shows where one player has all the power, the anonymous player gets to remain unseen by the other players and they don't get any blood on their hands. It's kind of a sweet deal.

Watch The Anonymous on Mondays at 11 p.m. EST on USA.