One of reality television’s most exhaustively explored subgenres is “let’s throw a bunch of mildly famous people into a competitive scenario that takes them out of their comfort zones.”
We’ve seen stars dance, we’ve watched them dive, we’ve gagged as they’ve lip-synced for the lives, and we’ve even witnessed them donning identity-concealing mascot costumes and singing their hearts out. There’s nothing these “celebrities” won’t do for the camera.
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But there’s a new show that just might take this subgenre to the extreme. It’s called Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, and it’s billed as the “ultimate celebrity social experiment” in which stars are subjected to some incredibly grueling and demanding training exercises—the kind usually reserved for elite military personnel.
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And the cast? Well it’s a doozy. FOX has assembled 16 “household names” to compete, and it’s a collection of athletes, detestable public figures, niche micro-celebs, a former Spice Girl, and plenty of folks who have already turned up in other celebrity reality shows much like this one.
Here’s a rundown of who’s who:
- Danny Amendola: Former NFL player; he won two Super Bowls with the New England Patriots in ’14 and ’16.
- Melanie Brown, a.k.a. Mel B: Or, as ’90s kids may remember her: Scary Spice. She’s run the reality show gamut, so she’s no stranger to this sort of thing.
- Hannah Brown: 2018’s Miss Alabama USA, Brown went on to be a contestant in The Bachelor, and then lead her own season of The Bachelorette shortly thereafter.
- Tyler Florence: An award-winning celebrity chef and host of The Great Food Truck Race.
- Kate Gosselin: A reality personality best known as part of the Jon And Kate Plus 8 equation.
- Dwight Howard: A veteran basketball player—and NBA Champion with the Los Angeles Lakers—with a handful of acting credits to his name.
- Montell Jordan: The musician behind the inescapable ’90s hit “This Is How We Do It.”
- Gus Kenworthy: An Olympic medalist free-skier and (along with Adam Rippon) one of the first openly gay men to compete for the U.S. in the Winter Olympics.
- Nastia Lukin: A gymnastics legends who won five medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
- Carli Lloyd: Yet another Olympic gold medalist, this former soccer player with the U.S. Women’s team is a two-time World Cup Champion.
- Beverly Mitchell: An actress best known as Lucy Camden on 7th Heaven; she’s also appeared in Saw II and plenty of Lifetime holiday movies.
- Kenya Moore: Actress, model, and a cornerstone of Bravo’s hit Real Housewives Of Atlanta for the past decade.
- Mike Piazza: A Hall Of Fame MLB catcher who has notably played for both the Mets and the Dodgers.
- Dr. Drew Pinsky: A medical specialist and TV personality known for the radio show Loveline and his Celebrity Rehab series for VH1.
- Anthony Scaramucci: Ugh, really? We don’t need to hear any more from Trump’s short-lived White House Communications Director.
- Jamie Lynn Spears: Actor (Zoey 101), singer, and sister to Britney Spears who has notably not been on her good side lately.
We can’t say we’re eager to see all of these people on our TV screens, but the one who really caught our attention—and why this show felt worth writing up—is gay dreamboat Gus Kenworthy.
The opening shot of the series’ latest trailer showcases a stunt in which Kenworthy is on fire, and—OH MY GOD, PLEASE DON’T HARM HIS BEAUTIFUL FACE!!!
As much as reality television gets a bad rap for not actually being real, it sure looks like they actually set the gay Olympian aflame. And, um… what’s that on his face by the way?
In addition to being burned alive, Kenworthy et al. will also be trapped in a car submerged in water, free-falling out of a helicopter, bungeeing off of something that looks like the Seattle Space Needle, barked at by intense men with British accents, and running across the desert for presumably hours on end.
As Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test notes, there will be “no votes, and no eliminations—just survival.” But, wait, they’re all going to survive, right? Quick, will someone go check on Gus and make sure he’s okay?
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Oh, phew! Looks like he’s doing just fine. (And we do mean fine.)
If you’re curious to see how Kenworthy fairs—or, you know, just want another excuse to watch him flex those muscles—Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test debuts tonight, January 4, on FOX with a two-hour premiere, with new episodes every Wednesday.
Related: Gus Kenworthy and his “besties with testes” do Fire Island, and woof
Diplomat
Looks dreadful…
bachy
I’m with you, Diplo. This is not my kind of entertainment.
Biscuits
Anything with Kate Gosselin is a non-starter.