Fans of the franchise were ecstatic when ABC’s The Mole — which ran on the network from 2001 to 2008 — was rebooted via Netflix in 2022, bringing back the drama and deception that we know and love about the original competition series.
For those who are unfamiliar with what The Mole entails, “12 players are gathered to complete assignments to earn money for the group pot, however, one of the twelve is the titular Mole, a player selected by production to secretly sabotage the assignments and cause the group to earn the least amount of money for the prize pot as possible.” Every few days, players take multiple choice tests to try and identify The Mole, and the player with the lowest score is eliminated from the game. When there are just three players remaining — two contestants and The Mole — they must complete a final test, with the winner taking home the entire prize pot.
With William “Will” Richardson sniffing out Kesi Neblett and bringing home the bacon on the inaugural season of Netflix’s The Mole, fans of the hit competition show have been anxiously awaiting a second season, which is coming sooner than you might think…
What is the release date of The Mole season 2?
Ladies and gentlemen, the wait is finally over as we have an official release date for the highly-anticipated second season of Netflix’s The Mole. While little information about The Mole season 2 has officially been revealed to the public by the network, it was confirmed yesterday (May 16) by Entertainment Weekly that it will premiere on June 28. How exciting is that?
Who is the host of The Mole season 2?
Also revealed yesterday by Entertainment Weekly, Ari Shapiro of NPR’s All Things Considered will be the host of The Mole season 2, becoming the fifth host of the franchise after Anderson Cooper, Ahmad Rashad, Jon Kelly, and Alex Wagner.
Believe it or not, hosting season 2 of Netflix’s The Mole is a full circle moment for Shapiro, as he applied to be a contestant on season 2 of ABC’s The Mole back in the day, but to no avail:
“The only reality show I have ever submitted an audition tape for in my life was the original The Mole season 2, and I did not get so much as a callback, but I have been a fan of the show since its very earliest days… I was thrilled when Netflix brought it back, and I am even more thrilled that now I get to be a part of it, and I just have to say the fact that I’ve been sitting on the secret for nearly a year now and I finally get to talk to you about it is so exciting to me. I cannot keep my chill.”
Who is the cast of The Mole season 2?
While it is unclear who exactly is a part of the cast of The Mole season 2 — as Netflix has yet to announce anything regarding the beloved competition series — @Realitytv__fan revealed via X that “the cast will follow more closely with how Netflix has cast their other reality shows and will be less so like the cast of season 1,” prior to sharing some of the individuals who are rumored to appear.
As mentioned, the X user then revealed 11 of the contestants who are rumored to appear on The Mole season 2, as well as gave a brief description of each and every one, from their occupation, to their hometown, to their backstory, and beyond:
Muna Abdulahi:
- Occupation: Spoken word poet
- Hometown: Minneapolis, Minnesota
- “She is most known for competing in season 4 of the online reality competition game Sequester, where she came in 6th place along with other mini versions of the game. She is Somali-American and a child of refugees.”
Neesh Riaz:
- Occupation: Social media marketer and content creator
- Hometown: Thousand Oaks, California
- “He is currently a self-employed social media marketing specialist with a degree in marketing from California State University-Sacramento. He has 31.4K followers on TikTok.”
Jennifer Dasilva:
- Occupation: International policy advisor
- Hometown: Baltimore, Maryland
- “She currently works for the United States Department of Interior and has previously worked for FEMA. She has a strong interest in human rights, environmental justice and education.”
Hannah Burns:
- Occupation: Medical marketing consultant
- Hometown: Formerly Arizona, currently Dallas, Texas
- “She has a degree in marketing from Arizona State University. In 2019, she was crowned Miss Paradise Valley USA and after that competed in the Miss Arizona USA pageant.”
Quaylyn Carter:
- Occupation: Content creator
- Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- “He currently has 137.7K followers in TikTok where he does comedy videos, although he hasn’t posted on there all year. He has a daughter.”
Deanna Thompson:
- Occupation: Casino data analyst and internet detective
- Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada
- “She appeared on the Netflix documentary miniseries Don’t F**k with Cats, a show where amateur internet sleuths track animal cruelty acts that lead to the murder a Chinese student.”
Antonio Castellanos:
- Occupation: Sales manager
- Hometown: West Palm Beach, Florida
- “He currently works for a company that installs solar power panels on people’s homes. He is blind and a big advocate of fitness.”
Andrew Mintzer:
- Occupation: Accountant
- Hometown: Los Angeles, California
- “He is on the the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants. He received a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Accountancy degree from the University of South Florida.”
Melissa Lummus:
- Occupation: Story producer
- Hometown: Formerly Texas, currently Nashville, Tennessee
- “She studied Film & Digital Media at Baylor University and has a Bachelor of Science in Video Production and a Minor in Theatre from Belmont University. She has worked on many ESPN projects as a story producer.”
Mike O’Brien:
- Occupation: Model
- Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
- “He graduated from the SUNY School of Business in 2015. Last year, he participated in the Boston FLAG (Friends, Lesbians and Gays) flag football league where his team took home the championship.”
Ryan Warner:
- Occupation: Fitness trainer
- Hometown: La Grange, Kentucky
- “She is also a volleyball coach. She has four kids.”
In addition to the above individuals, @Realitytv__fan revealed that the 12th cast member is a male, however, his identity has yet to be discovered. I guess we will just have to wait and see what he is all about when The Mole season 2 graces our television screens this summer…