The first two seasons are terrific: the concept is surefire, but it is also well-served by mostly charismatic, likable and/or talented players who make the most of it. The genius of the idea is that when a player screws up a mission, which happens regularly, there are three possible explanations and it is, at least at the start, virtually impossible to determine which is the truth: a) the player could be the Mole, b) the player could be pretending to be the Mole to throw the others off track, c) the player could just be honestly screwing up. The Mole of the first season is one of my favorire reaility-TV / game-show contestants ever, and the second season has a really strong F3. There is also a most pleasing variety of locations, missions and twists. The third and fourth seasons I skipped, a) because I can't easily find them online and b) because they involve "celebrities" (almost never a good idea) so I probably wouldn't want to watch them anyway. The fifth season, which came a few years later, is a step down: it suffers from a terrible elimination order, an unpleasant to the point of toxicity player, and a winner who, when all is revealed, pretty much stumbled onto his win by 80% sheer luck (he was methodical, don't get me wrong...but also way off-target most of the way). It's still enjoyable, however. The recent (2022) US reboot is equally great (don't listen to the naysayers), and it has been renewed for a second season. Better late than never. 8/10.
Review of The Mole
The Mole
(I) (2001–2008)
First two seasons are great; fifth is weaker but still enjoyable
19 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers