‘The Mole’ returns!

Just got off the phone with my friend Scott Stone, who worked four years to bring “The Mole” back to television — and succeeds (yay!), as of Monday, June 2. (And there’s a St. Louisan among the players; more about Ali, at right, down below.)

A lot of us really loved this show when it aired on ABC, especially the original “Mole” rather than the celebrity version. The format, if you didn’t catch it the first time around, has contestants completing together to accumulate money. The twist: One of them is a saboteur, “the mole,” whose job is to keep them from succeeding, and also to keep them from finding out who he/she is.

Maybe the smartest reality-competition show ever, “The Mole” managed in four editions to fool me every time. When I first met Scott (he was producing “Top Design” for Bravo), we talked “Mole” and he told me not to count it out, but the rights had reverted to the original Belgian producers. His mission was not only to get them back but also to persuade ABC that the time was right for a comeback. It worked; after all, ”The Mole” was the most popular show on ABC with viewers 18-34 when it aired, and also drew unusually upscale, educated audiences.

When he finally got the formal go-ahead in February, that meant the whole production — from casting to finding locations to creating missions — had to be crammed into a 12-week period. “We were literally getting people passports the day before they left,” Scott told me. Meanwhile, ABC has been promoting the heck out of the show, including those subliminal ads some of us enjoyed during “Lost.” (Buzz is, those might have gotten ABC a slap on the wrist from the FCC.) See all ABC’s promos on the website, which will have more features as the premiere date nears.

One of the things I first talked to Scott about was how the game could be tweaked to let viewers follow along better. One frustration for me and my “Mole”-loving friends was that in each episode when the players took a quiz that would eliminate one, there was no way to test our own knowledge. He told me he had an idea — and now there are rumors that the game has been “dumbed down.” “Certainly NOT dumbed down,” he assured me Friday. The change is that the quiz questions will now be transparent, something every viewer saw, such as what order the Mole was in a particular mission. “You may choose not to play along, but now you can.” Viewers can also play on ABC.com, with the winner there announced at the end of the season.

Jon Kelley (”Extra”) is the new host. The legendary host of the original was Anderson Cooper, now of CNN. “It wasn’t beyond me to ask him to come back,” Scott said. “I did, and we had a good laugh about it.” By the second episode, he promises, Kelley is comfortable enough to employ some of the wicked humor Cooper was famous for.

Now, about our St. Louis contestant. “Interesting,” Scott proclaims her. “She’s great. Gorgeous, too.” Here’s what ABC has to say:

ALI
Age: 24
Occupation: Model
Residence: St. Louis, MO
Education: Associate’s Degree, St. Louis Community College

Ali is a model who has worked as a ring girl for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. She describes herself as “stunning” and believes her beauty helps her get her way, but also causes people to instantly dismiss her — which she plans on using to her benefit in the game. Ali used to be a wild, party girl. She celebrated her 21st birthday with Motley Crue in Las Vegas. But now she treats her body as a temple. She has strong religious beliefs and has settled down with her boyfriend, a UFC fighter. She claims to have a 75% accuracy rate with shotguns and is experienced in fishing. Ali considers herself ambitious and caring, but also forgetful and prone to road rage. She plans on using her beauty and brains to outsmart other players.