The producers of The Traitors and The Circle are behind the new competition series The Anonymous premiering on USA Network on August 19, 2024. The unscripted series pits 12 players against each other in what’s described as a “game of strategy and deception” with a $100,000 prize on the line.
The series, which kicks off with three episodes on Monday, August 19th at 11pm ET/PT, released this synopsis of the first season:
“The Anonymous is a strategic competition played in two worlds, the real world and anonymous mode. The Digital Anonymous Networking Interface, or ‘DANI’for short, has invited 12 players to live in her domain and work side-by-side to raise a prize fund of up to $100,000. Despite their close quarters, all players will have their own private underground hideouts, where each is completely anonymous and can say anything and everything behind the mask of a unique handle. In their hideouts, players can provide raw, unfiltered takes on their fellow contestants. They will scheme, connive, and deceive to build influence and advance their game. The question is: Can they stay anonymous while doing so, or will the other players guess their identity?
Each week DANI conducts tests where all contestants must try and match players to their handles. The player who is best at staying anonymous becomes the one with the power to eliminate their competitors. In a game where every move is calculated and a single misstep can expose who you truly are, only one will take home the grand prize.”
Details on The Anonymous Season 1 Contestants, Courtesy of USA Network
Marcel Cunningham, 33 | Seattle, WA – A prolific Youtuber named ‘BasicallyIDoWrk’ known for his fun and mischievous gaming streams, Marcel Cunningham’s over four million subscribers dubbed him the ‘master of disguise’ since he would play video games pretending to be other people. He’s already a pro at being an impostor online. Marcel was born and raised in Tacoma, WA, and is the eldest of three siblings. When it comes to gaming, he often uses his more gregarious side to mask his competitive and strategic scheming. In fact, Marcel can be quite a good liar when he needs to be. His biggest strengths are his wit and intelligence. He can navigate most tricky situations with ease and has a knack for being able to make people laugh and lower their guards.
In the house, Marcel is considering hiding his real occupation so that people will underestimate him. Anonymous mode is where he’ll thrive given his history of playing hundreds of different people and characters online. Deep down, Marcel loves being an instigator, and he’s ready to bring that loose-cannon energy to this competition.
Sydney Dorsey, 22 | Emmanuel County, GA – A country girl from Georgia with the energy of a Kardashian, Sydney Dorsey grew up attending barbeques and dirt track races, yet still loves getting glammed up whenever she can. Sydney has been a go-getter since she was 15 years old and has always been the one in charge. In 2023, she officially opened her own hair salon. At her salon, Sydney loves meeting other girls and connecting with them on a personal level. As a late bloomer herself, Sydney got into pageantry at an early age to help her build confidence and wants to pass that same positivity onto other women. Her father calls her ‘coujee,’ meaning ‘country boujee,’ a description which Sydney agrees with wholeheartedly.
She’s a self-described bad b*tch and owns it at every level. Sydney has had nothing handed to her and has worked hard for the life she has. She may not be as book-smart as her competitors, but Sydney is a savvy social player who will flirt her way to the grand prize.
Dillian Frelow, 27 | Los Angeles, CA – Raised in Beaumont, TX but residing in the glitz and glam of Los Angeles, CA, Dillian Frelow is a booming personality that leaves a lasting impression everywhere he goes. Growing up, Dillian was reserved because he wasn’t confident in his sexuality. After he lost his mother and grandmother within ten months of each other, he decided to live his life with no filter and, more importantly, no regrets. Dillian isn’t just sparkle; he’s also incomparably driven. He graduated high school at 17 and attended college while holding multiple jobs. In this competition, Dillian’s goal is to be everyone’s confidant.
Working in employee engagement, he’s basically a professional best friend. He plans on using those skills to endear himself to the other players and get his hands on as much tea as he can. The more information he has, the more power he can accrue, and he won’t hesitate to get messy in anonymous mode.
Lilly Jenkins, 26 | Detroit, MI – A small-town Michigan girl who prides herself on having both beauty and brains, Lilly Jenkins is here to twist bad first impressions into a strength. With her small size earning her many diminutive nicknames amongst her friends, Lilly is often mistaken as airheaded because she doesn’t always speak the most eloquently and has been known to lose her train of thought. However, Lilly is actually a college-educated engineer. She’s been married to her husband for five years, and he was the one who encouraged her to pursue a STEM degree when they met during her second month at Michigan State University.
In this competition, Lilly wants to play the middleman and be influential, but unassuming. She’s highly observant and typically gets along with people easily. Her ditzy personality can fool people into thinking she’s not a threat while she stirs the pot in the background. People always trust Lilly with the latest gossip, and she’s more than happy to spread the juiciest tea if it means winning.”
Andy King, 62 | Charleston, SC – An event producer who went from throwing multimillion-dollar parties on Wall Street to being ‘memed’ worldwide, Andy King shot to stardom after his involvement with the infamous Fyre Festival. Andy grew up in a privileged community in Massachusetts and, from an early age, had a hustle mentality. He went on to cultivate a bustling career in NY. He built a restaurant and a hotel and was featured on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.
The organizers of Fyre Festival notably asked Andy to free up water provisions for the event, and well, the rest is history. Andy is the ultimate storyteller and has no problem embellishing a narrative to draw people in. While he may have lost his anonymity thanks to Fyre Fest, he couldn’t be more thrilled to get it back and wield it to his advantage in this competition. He’s playing because he knows he can win.
Robbi Jade Lew, 40 | Los Angeles, CA – While she may have started in the Biomedical field, Robbi Jade Lew has quickly made a name for herself in the high-stakes world of professional poker. Born in Saudi Arabia, Robbi grew up in the US. She was a straight-A student and was constantly told that she was going to change the world. Robbi now resides in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and lives for poker tournaments. Robbi rests her laurels on being open-minded, social yet highly competitive. She’s able to mesh with all personalities and social settings.
On top of that, she’s no stranger to being anonymous as she often hides her true intentions with her unmatched poker face. In this competition, Robbi plans on utilizing her spontaneity to convince people she’s fun-loving as she reads their every move.
<[p>Kacie B. Mize, 32 | Knoxville, TN – A self-proclaimed wild child raised in a one-road town in Tennessee, Kacie Mize couldn’t be happier living on an acre of land with her wife, chickens, cats, dogs and frogs. Growing up, Kacie was raised in a very traditional household where even certain children’s books were forbidden. Coming out later in life, Kacie met her wife on the first and only dating app she’s ever downloaded. Kacie has a huge competitive side that stems from playing sports her whole life. She was a D1 rower at the University of Tennessee and is an active member of the Knoxville roller derby team.
Given how she strategically navigated her way out of her small hometown, Kacie plans to use her street smarts and tell-it-how-it-is mentality to play a successful two-faced game. She also works as a clearance coordinator for a murder mystery podcast, so she can lean on her professional investigative skills to figure out the true identities of her competitors. Although her opinionated attitude may get her into trouble, Kacie is here to win.
Xavier E. Prather, 29 | Milwaukee, WI – Having made reality TV history as the first Black winner of “Big Brother,” Xavier E. Prather is no stranger to dominating a competition. Raised in Kalamazoo, MI, Xavier excelled at athletics from an early age. He played college basketball at Spring Arbor University but, after tearing his ACL, was forced to pivot, which is how he came to study law. Xavier is currently a practicing attorney with a Juris Doctor. He wouldn’t participate in just any competition, but he believes this series takes social strategy to the next level.
There are 2 sides to Xavier: Xavier – the ‘politician’ who can charm men and women alike and X – the rowdy, competitive beast you’re more likely to see on a basketball court. Given his notoriety, Xavier knows the other players might recognize him. He’ll only be open about his background if he has no other choice, but then he’ll need to hit the ground running and be as combative and assertive as possible in anonymous mode.
Christopher Shulstad, 28 | Charlotte, NC – Born in Augusta, GA, and raised in Charlotte, NC, Christopher Shulstad has always been enamored with the outdoors. Turning his passion into a career, he now runs a fishing camp in North Carolina and is the self-proclaimed ‘most fun’ fishing director of all time. While he is spontaneous, and a little wild, he’s always had a good heart. Christopher is currently single, but he’s not against meeting an authentic partner during the competition. Although he doesn’t pride himself on book smarts, Christopher hopes his genuineness will help him connect with the other players.
Since he loves to cook, Christopher plans to become the house chef, so that he has an important role and people are inclined to keep him around. Although he loves competition, Christopher hates gossip and liars. If he spots brazen deception and manipulation, he’ll be inclined to shine a light on it, which could cost him the game in the long run.
Tyrenna Tolbert, 54 | Charles County, MD – Don’t let the sweet voice fool you, Tyrenna Tolbert is a powerhouse, and she’s coming into this competition with one goal: Pick off each of the other players until she’s the one taking home the coins. Born and raised in the Bronx, NY, Tyrenna comes from a blue-collar family that taught her the value of hard work. Although her parents emphasized academics, when it came to college, they couldn’t afford the tuition, so Tyrenna joined the US Army to pay for school. She’s been in the army for 35 years and currently serves in the reserves as a Senior Enlisted Advisor.
Outside of her career, Tyrenna is a proud single mother and fashion bag designer on the side. She’s hoping the other players will underestimate her because of her age and whimsical personality while she relies on her military intelligence training to pull the strings behind the scenes. In anonymous mode, Tyrenna has no qualms about being nasty and deceitful if it helps keep her true identity hidden.
Nina Twine, 26 | Fayetteville, NC – The daughter of two-time winner and “Survivor” legend Sandra Diaz-Twine, Nina Twine became known around the world when she made the notorious move of voting out her own mother on the Australian iteration of the series. Growing up, Nina and her family bounced around the country, but they eventually settled in Fayetteville, NC. She grew up in a tight-knit, military family of four. After her mom won season seven of Survivor, the fire of reality TV passion was lit underneath the Twine family. In 2022, Nina and Sandra competed on the Australian version of the show.
Although Nina outlasted her mother, she had to be medically evacuated after fracturing her foot a few days later. Competitively, Nina takes no prisoners and does her best to operate in the shadows – making her a perfect match for anonymous mode. Nina has a legacy to uphold, and she’s ready to bring home another win for the Twine household.
Jack Usher, 31 | Brooklyn, NY – An aficionado for all things gaming, Jack Usher was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA in a very sports-centric household. Jack was the outlier in his family as traditional athletics weren’t his forte. Instead, he channeled his innate competitive prowess into all things ‘nerdy’ – from academics to video and board games. One of his proudest accomplishments is ranking third at the Masters tournament in the strategy game, Settlers of Catan. He was also crowned the 1v1 World Champion and the King of Catan Premiere League champion.
Jack is often the comic relief among his friends, but he’s also a cunning strategist. With his competitive board game background, Jack has mastered the art of reading and persuading people. In this competition, he’s prioritizing anonymous mode above all. He plans to mimic his fellow housemates’ communication styles to deceive them better. In turn, he will be his authentic self in person so as not to get caught in a lie with his different personas. Having played many online games anonymously over the years, Jack is ready to bridge digital and reality.
Jack Burgess, Andy Cadman, Tim Harcourt, Toni Ireland, Stephen Lambert, and Stephen Yemoh serve as executive producers.
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