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How The Anonymous Creators One-Upped Their Players with That Big Twist
Even the more seasoned reality competition players didn't see DANI's big twist coming in Episode 4.
Just when they thought they were figuring the game out, The Anonymous threw its players for a loop in Episode 4. After the three-episode premiere on August 19, the series' contenders were settling into their roles and figuring out what made DANI tick — only for her to introduce new anonymous handles and three new players to replace those who'd been eliminated.
Basically, they're starting from "Go" all over again.
RELATED: The Anonymous Creators Explain How the Social Competition Series Really Works
USA Insider spoke with series executive producer Stephen Yemoh to break down how this switch-up came to be and the challenge of one-upping the kinds of savvy players drawn to The Anonymous.
The Anonymous' Shocking Midgame Twist
"I think that's always the challenge for anyone when you're sort of making a competition reality show," Yemoh said of keeping things fresh in a saturated competition series landscape.
How do you keep the formula familiar enough that your audience is going to buy in while still standing out from the crowd?
"They like a rhythm, and they like to see these types of things play out in a certain way, but I think what's really important is keeping the players themselves on their toes. And everyone likes twists and turns," he explained. "I think whatever genre of TV you watch, you like a twist, right? If you read a book, you like a twist. If you watch a movie, you like a twist. If you see a documentary, you like a twist. And I think competition reality shows are exactly the same.
RELATED: How Does The Anonymous Keep Its Players Truly "Anonymous"?
"We try and work hard and talk a lot about where the right time for those twists are, so ... it's a cliche, [but] you don't want the cast to see anything coming," he continued. "But it's hard because they've watched all these shows, and some of them have been in these shows before."
New Players and New Handles on The Anonymous
Yemoh's referring to some of the more seasoned reality veterans on The Anonymous, namely Survivor alum Nina Twine and Big Brother aficionado Xavier Prather.
"DANI threw in a wonderful twist that f---ed me all up," Xavier told USA Insider in a separate interview, referring to the handle switch-up and the new crew of players.
RELATED: The Anonymous "Put Me to Work": How Xavier Prather Prepared His Next Big Game Strategy
"DANI just be on that bulls---," he added, laughing. "I feel like DANI did that specifically because I had figured her out. I figured it out. Like, 'DANI, I figured you out. It's over for you. I got you. I got your number. I got people.' We like, 'Oh, we're about to crush this game.' And then DANI's like, 'Nope. Let me throw in three new people. Hey, you love Fish. Guess what? Fish gone.'
"I really wanted Robot," he said, adding that he had a "whole persona" planned out for the Robot handle but didn't end up getting it. "And then they give me some f---ing Scissors."
And it was this exact kind of chaos Yemoh and his team were looking to create.
"You've just got to try and smuggle [the twist] in almost so they don't see it coming at that particular point," he explained. "But when it does come in, it has an impact. And I think, with the handle swap, that really did have an impact because I think [the original players] just sort of decided to settle into the game, you know? Three episodes in ... Some people are getting rid of people that they wanted to get rid of. The numbers are coming down, and all of a sudden, DANI throws something at them. And I think that was really fun. It was really fun."
Find out how the players on The Anonymous settle into their new handles and deal with a new crop of competitors in the coming weeks with each new episode.
Watch all-new episodes of The Anonymous on Mondays at 11 p.m. ET/PT on USA Network.
The Anonymous is available to stream on Peacock.
