Alex Cooper grew to fame as the host of mega-popular podcast “Call Her Daddy.” Now her company is gearing up to premiere its first original competition series — featuring a group of 16 “polarizing” reality TV stars and digital influencers mixing it up.
Cooper’s Unwell Network announced “Unwell Winter Games,” set to premiere next week on YouTube. The four-episode series brings together the 16 contestants at “a luxury chalet in Park City, Utah” to compete in a series of “mental and physical challenges over four days,” according to the company.
The competitors include Dakota Mortensen of “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” who has been in the headlines recently over domestic abuse allegations against ex-girlfriend Taylor Frankie Paul. (ABC suspended Season 22 of “The Bachelorette” starring Paul, after a 2023 video surfaced showing her attacking Mortensen.) Another cast member is Demi Engemann, a “MomTok” influencer who also was on “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” but left the series ahead of Season 5 after several controversies including a defamation lawsuit from “Vanderpump Villa” star Marciano Brunette.
Other cast members include “Love Island USA” breakout Huda Mustafa; Anna Delvey (the pseudonym of Russian-born con artist Anna Sorokin, who served nearly four years in prison for fraud); and WWE superstar Saraya Bevis.
The cast on “Unwell Winter Games” is divided into two teams — one purple and the other blue — with one team winning the final team prize. In addition, competitors will individually compete for cash prizes throughout the challenges that make up the competition. The series, shot this past winter, was approved for film incentive money by the Utah Board of Tourism Development.
“The show promises fierce competition, unexpected alliances and the kind of unfiltered drama that has defined Unwell across its programming slate,” Cooper’s company said in announcing the show.
“Unwell Winter Games” will debut on Unwell’s YouTube channel on Monday, April 6, with the subsequent episodes releasing daily (on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday). The series is hosted by Adam W. (YouTube comedy creator Adam Waheed), with commentary by Graydon Cutler and Grace O’Malley.
The announcement signals “a deliberate expansion of Unwell’s business into fully self-produced premium content distributed directly to audiences,” the company said. At the same time, Unwell and Cooper will also continue to develop programming alongside premium distribution partners, including “Love Overboard,” currently streaming on Hulu, and the upcoming “Let’s Marry Harry” on Netflix.
“Unwell Winter Games” is executive produced by Cooper and her husband, Matt Kaplan, who co-founded the Unwell Network’s parent company, Trending, in 2024.
Here is the full cast of competitors for “Unwell Winter Games,” complete with descriptions provided by Cooper’s company:
- Alissa Violet, The OG influencer
- Andrew Vetter, The Production Guy/Bartender
- Anna Delvey, Scam Queen
- Cameron Jerrard, Pro Shit Talker
- Dakota Mortensen, Reality TV Personality
- Demi Engemann, The Ultimate MomTok Mormon Wife
- Dylan Kevitch, Shut Up King
- Ekin Su Cülcüloğlu, Love Island’s Pageant Queen
- Eyal Booker, Love Island’s British Bombshell
- Gleb Savchenko, Dancing With The Stars Heartthrob
- Hallie Batchelder, NYC’s Unfiltered “It Girl”
- Hannah Stocking, The OG Viner
- Huda Mustafa, Love Island Mamacita
- Joe Amabile, Grocery Store Joe
- Juliette Porter, Siesta Key Siren
- Louis Russell, Reality TV Repeat Offender
- Niko Emanuilidis, The Dating Daddy
- Saraya Bevis, WWE Superstar
- Serena Pitt, Bachelor Baddie
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