Alex Cooper, who became widely known as the host of the hit podcast “Call Her Daddy,” is preparing to launch her company’s debut original competition series. This new venture will feature 16 “polarizing” reality TV stars and digital influencers.
Cooper’s Unwell Network has announced the upcoming release of “Unwell Winter Games,” premiering next week on YouTube. This four-part series will gather 16 contestants in a “luxury chalet in Park City, Utah” to face a variety of “mental and physical challenges over four days,” as detailed by the company.
Among the participants is Dakota Mortensen from “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” who has been in the news due to domestic abuse allegations involving ex-girlfriend Taylor Frankie Paul. ABC put a hold on Season 22 of “The Bachelorette” featuring Paul after a 2023 video showed her assaulting Mortensen. Demi Engemann, a “MomTok” influencer also from “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” withdrew from the show before its fifth season following controversies, including a defamation lawsuit from “Vanderpump Villa” star Marciano Brunette.
Additional participants include “Love Island USA” standout Huda Mustafa; Anna Delvey, the alias of Russian-born con artist Anna Sorokin who served nearly four years for fraud; and WWE star Saraya Bevis.
In “Unwell Winter Games,” the contestants are split into two teams — one purple, the other blue — with one team earning the final team prize. Additionally, individuals will compete for cash rewards throughout the challenges. This series, filmed last winter, received film incentive funding from the Utah Board of Tourism Development.
Cooper’s company describes the show as delivering “fierce competition, unexpected alliances, and the kind of unfiltered drama that has become a hallmark of Unwell’s programming.”
“Unwell Winter Games” will launch on Unwell’s YouTube channel on Monday, April 6, with episodes available daily through Thursday. Hosting duties are taken on by Adam W. (YouTube comedian Adam Waheed), with commentary from Graydon Cutler and Grace O’Malley.
This project marks “a deliberate expansion of Unwell’s business into fully self-produced premium content distributed directly to audiences,” according to the company. Meanwhile, Unwell and Cooper will continue to create content with premium partners, such as “Love Overboard” on Hulu and the forthcoming “Let’s Marry Harry” on Netflix.
“Unwell Winter Games” is executive produced by Cooper and her husband, Matt Kaplan, who co-founded Unwell Network’s parent company, Trending, in 2024.
Here is the complete cast list for “Unwell Winter Games,” 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
