‘Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test’: Cast on Show’s Challenges

FOX presents the ultimate celebrity social experiment, “Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test,” an all-new series in which household names endure some of the harshest, most grueling challenges from the playbook of the actual Special Forces selection process. There are no votes, and no eliminations – just survival. These celebrities, who are so used to being in the spotlight, quickly learn the meaning of “no guts, no glory” – and no glam. The show premieres Wednesday, January 4, at 8/7c on FOX.

The celebrities up for the challenge are Danny Amendola, Mel B, Hannah Brown, Tyler Florence, Kate Gosselin, Dwight Howard, Montell Jordan, Gus Kenworthy, Nastia Liukin, Carli Lloyd, Beverley Mitchell, Kenya Moore, Mike Piazza, Dr. Drew Pinsky, Anthony Scaramucci and Jamie Lynn Spears.

Caption: SPECIAL FORCES: WORLD’S TOUGHEST TEST: L-R: Directing Staff Foxy and Montell Jordan in SPECIAL FORCES: WORLD’S TOUGHEST TEST premiering Wednesday, Jan. 4 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. CR: Pete Dadds / FOX

“I mean, for me, I don’t think I prepared at all physically. I think, for me, it was more of a mental thing, because I’d been wanting to do the show for such a long time, but it’s never been the right time,” shared Mel B. at a press conference with reporters last fall. “…When this opportunity came along, for me, I was like, Wow, this is going to be the ultimate test for myself believing in myself, to be able to put aside everything that I know in life, everything that I almost know about myself, and just commit to the process. And I have to say, to be in a situation where you are literally getting firsthand experiences from professionals, from people that have served our country, everyone’s country, the DSS, I had so much respect for them, like, beyond, beyond, like, belief, because what they taught you along the process was to just suck it up, follow my orders, and it’s all about the team effort. Nobody’s left behind. And that mentality and the experiences that they shared with us individually and us as a group, you can’t buy that. So my preparation was: I’m all in. Just tell me what to do, where to go. I know it’s going to hurt. I know mentally it’s going to be painful and exhausting, but it’s about time that I put myself in this kind of situation and hopefully I didn’t die. Well, I didn’t die. I just dislocated a knee and popped it back in. Apart from that, I’m fine.”

Singer Montell Jordan feels the same about the cast having to stick together.
“So once we got rid of all modern technology and connection to the outside world and we hit the desert, from the moment we got there, there was no question that, once trauma began, we had to bond very, very quickly,” the “This Is How We Do It” singer said. “And I think that’s one of the reasons why many of us are still connected after being a part of the selection process was because we experienced something that’s extremely difficult to explain to our spouses, to anybody, because we haven’t been able to share about our experience except with each other. And so without question, I think that we are bonded in that way, and hopefully, people will resonate with what we went through, because it was definitely something that was to choose to do that, to choose to say yes to that process, I think, is a different kind of crazy but also maybe a different kind of really wanting to see what you’re made of, what’s on the inside.”

For Jamie Lynn Spears it gave her a chance to get out of her comfort zone.

Caption: SPECIAL FORCES: WORLD’S TOUGHEST TEST: Jamie Lynn Spears in SPECIAL FORCES: WORLD’S TOUGHEST TEST premiering Wednesday, Jan. 4 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. CR: Pete Dadds / FOX

“…It’s really a mental preparation that I was trying to focus on, because being away from my children actually, you’ll hear me talk about that a lot. And I really just mentally go in there. And honestly, I have to say that it is everything that I didn’t know I needed. I really went in there and got so much out of it. It doesn’t matter one second, 10 days, 20 days, you take so much away from it. I have so much more respect just for what they go out there and do. I mean, and it’s not a show, it’s real life for them, and the sacrifices they make to be away from their children. It was a perspective I needed. I think sometimes taking yourself I wish that you know, I think it’s important for my kids to see me do this and also to strip everything away and see what it is and what really matters, and I almost wish they would do a junior version of this, you know, where I can, like, oversee it with my kids to give them a little taste of reality and, like, how blessed we are.”

“Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test” premieres tomorrow, January 4, at 8/7c on FOX.