How Does The Anonymous Keep Its Players Truly "Anonymous"?

Everyone keeps up appearances in one way or another in the modern age. The contestants on The Anonymous — USA Network's new reality competition series — are just keeping those appearances up at an elite level. Half the time they're living face-to-face, and half the time they're divided into soundproof "Hideouts" while using anonymous online handles to interact with their fellow contestants.

But a notable moment in the premiere episode, which aired on Monday, August 19, comes when, upon first exploring their individual pods, the delightfully enthusiastic Dillian Frelow is so excited that he forgets his indoor voice. He screams so loudly that some of the other contestants seem, for just a moment, to be able to hear him.

RELATED: The Anonymous Creators Explain How the Social Competition Series Really Works

So, that got us thinking, just how soundproof are these hideouts? USA Insider hopped on a Zoom call with executive producer Stephen Yemoh to find out.

Testing The Anonymous' Hideouts

"That was a big thing for us. We have to make those hideouts soundproof. We have to, have to, have to," Yemoh explained.

In fact, he tested them himself. 

"Honestly, I was in those hideouts, screaming at the top of my lungs with people outside, going, 'Can you hear me? Can you hear me? Can you hear me?'" he said, laughing. "We did so much testing in it because it's really crucial. Like, if you say that you're in a private space, and you are potentially being duplicitous to your friend, you need to be sure you're doing that with total confidence."

In the coming weeks, the Hideouts will play an integral role in the contestants' gameplay. Each week, the A.I. host and gamemaster DANI (Digital Anonymous Networking Interface) will inform the players when it's time to stop making nice to each others' faces and enter the Hideouts. From there, they'll be able to say whatever they want to whomever they want, despite their IRL interactions.

"We spent a lot of time trying different things to make sure that those hideouts were completely soundproof," Yemoh said. "And, you know, you can hear [some sound], but you can't hear what anybody's saying."

An important distinction!

"They have the total freedom to say and do what they want and be as expressive as they want," he continued. "And that's what made the show fun, right? Like, I think you see those expressions when you cut between Dillian going nuts or Christopher doing [or] saying something, or Xavier saying [spoiler]."

Find out more about how the players will toy with each other in the Hideouts when new episodes of The Anonymous premiere on USA Network on Monday nights at 11 p.m. ET/PT.