With shows like The Circle and Squid Game: The Challenge, Netflix is heavily invested in the reality competition world. So, does that mean they’re bringing back The Mole for a second season?
Netflix revived the long-deceased American franchise and dropped it on the platform in 2022. Twelve individuals championing their ability to lie while sussing out the dishonest and devious navigated proverbial (and sometimes literal) murky waters through 10 episodes. The main goal was for 11 contestants to figure out who among them was, well, “The Mole” — an identity that viewers didn’t even know until finale night.
One by one, those who couldn’t get a read on The Mole were eliminated, and in the last episode, the field finally learned who production tasked as the incognito catalyst of failed challenges and sabotaged events.
And according to a release, Netflix is doing it all again. The platform announced in 2023 that The Mole had been renewed for a second spin. However, fast forward over a year, and there’s been no word on the season’s release date, let alone its cast or the filming location — Netflix’s first stab at the franchise took place in Australia.
So, yes, a new season of The Mole is happening.
It won’t actually be the second season of The Mole as five seasons of the American iteration of the Belgian-born reality show aired on ABC from 2001 to 2008. Even though it’s on a new network, Netflix’s first iteration of The Mole could be considered season 6 and the upcoming one is season 7.
But, Netflix calls it a “reimagining,” so 2022’s season can also be coined season 1. Okay, let’s get out of the weeds.
My gut tells me it’ll be released later this year. The last season was released on Netflix in the fall, so don’t be surprised if they follow that timeline for their second season. In the release that was posted in February 2023, Netflix advertised a casting call for The Mole. The application page is long gone, another indication that they’re currently in post-production.
It’s also unclear if Netflix chose to stick with last season’s host, Alex Wagner, or if she decided to sign on again. The journalist and author hosts Alex Wagner Tonight, a news series that airs Tuesday through Friday on MSNBC. Netflix chose the same hosting theme as ABC’s version of The Mole, which had journalists Anderson Cooper and Jon Kelley, as well as sportscaster and ex-NFL player Ahmad Rashad, as its frontmen.
So, all we really know is that a new crop of players competing on The Mole will inevitably hit our screeners.