While I've had love affairs with Top Chef, The Amazing Race and Rock Star: INXS, without question my favorite reality show of all time is The Mole, a competition hosted by Anderson Cooper that aired only two seasons in its pure form. It later reappeared in a horrible celebrity edition with Ahmad Rashad as host, but that was but a pale shadow of the original.

A quick summary of the show's premise from Wikipedia...

Players in The Mole must work together to complete various physical and mental challenges to build up a significant cash prize for the winner. One of them, however, is "the Mole," a double agent hired by the producers to sabotage the efforts of the group. The Mole must be careful to avoid drawing suspicion. Using journals, players must track vast amounts of minutiae about the person(s) they suspect of being the Mole, such as seating positions, clothing colors, minor discussion topics, and so on. The quiz at the end of each episode tests players' knowledge of the Mole, and determines by lowest score (or slowest time, in the event of a tie) who is eliminated from the game.

The show has been gone a long time, but yesterday Variety reported the following...

ABC has given a 10-episode order to Stone & Co. Entertainment ("Tim Gunn's Guide to Style") to revive the reality competish, which hasn't aired in four years.

Casting and pre-production have begun on the show, which will likely start shooting later this spring. ABC is looking to run "The Mole" this summer.

Rashad is not being asked to return. With Cooper now at CNN and unavailable to host, producers say they are "looking for someone in the Anderson mode, a little mysterious but full of comedy."

[Variety] ABC bringing back 'The Mole' (via TV Squad)