Josh Duhamel Reveals Which ‘Buddy Games’ Team Was ‘Out for Blood’ (Exclusive)

Josh Duhamel is hosting the brand new Buddy Games competition series on CBS, and he recently revealed that at least one of the teams was “out for blood.” In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Duhamel discussed the show and what fans can expect, including how competitive some of the contestants were — even within their own groups.

“One of the things that I wanted, one of the prerequisites that I really tried to stick to, was when we picked these teams, they had to be old friends with real history, highs and lows and the ride or die, who really knew each other,” Duhamel said. “So, naturally there’s going to be a lot of smack talk between those kinds of groups because when you have that much comfortability between each other, you can say whatever you want.” He then revealed, “There was one group… the Pageant Queens, who didn’t know each other as long as the other groups.” Duhamel went on to say “because of that, there was a lot of infighting” and power struggles “and jealousy… that really made it difficult for them.”

“It was some of the most dramatic stuff for the show, which I love,” he later continued. “I was not expecting there to be that kind of… They were out for blood for each other there by the end. So, that was pretty fun to watch.”

In contrast to what happened with the Pageant Queens, Duhamel explained, “Then you saw other teams who had to vote one of their own people off that they’ve known forever and have so much love for, and it was really emotional. So, you get the whole spectrum there. The bond that these guys had really dictated how well they did in the competition.”

Duhamel “had a feeling” about the importance of finding teams with connection and history, and he was unwilling to budge. “That’s why I really stood strong by making sure that they were that,” he said, “because I didn’t want a bunch of college kids who just met each other like last year at their local sorority. Because they don’t know each other and there’s going to be infighting and they don’t always take each other at face value.”

“It wasn’t a surprise to me,” he said of the teams who worked well together, “because I knew that it was going to really impact how well they did, because they all knew each other so well and it wouldn’t hurt each other’s feelings if they said, ‘No, you don’t do that. You suck at canoeing. We’re going to have you do the cornhole.’ Whereas other people, they’re still trying to stake their claim as to who they are within the group. But old groups of friends already know that and they don’t take offense when you push them someplace else to do something that they’re better at.”

Offering his thoughts on how the Buddy Games is a very inclusive competition series with a lot of bonding from all the teams, Duhamel confessed, “That was one of the things that I didn’t expect. It was one of the more beautiful reveals in the show.” He added, “What’s going to happen when you put 24 people from all different walks of life in the same house for a month? You take away TVs, you take away phones, you take away newspapers, any sort of connection to the outer world and what happens? It is a really interesting social experiment.”

“It was amazing, dude, how these people truly became friends, even after the show was done shooting,” Duhamel went on to share. “Even now, they’re probably going to all get together somewhere and watch the show together. We had Team Pride out of Oregon. We had a group of cowboys out of Oklahoma, and they got to know each other and love each other. I was like, ‘See, this is what human beings could really be like if we just took away all the labels and stereotypes and news and let them just be real humans and see each other for who they are.’ It was kind of awesome.”

Finally, Duhamel explained why he was keen to bring the show to CBS, saying that “nobody does this better.” Elaborating, he said, “When you think about and Amazing Race and Big Brother and all these things, this is kind of a combination of all those things. It’s a perfect show for CBS, in my opinion.”

“I think that it’s that relatability that people will see themselves in these groups of friends that are competing,” Duhamel continued. “No matter which group it is, somebody will relate and be like, ‘You know what? We should get our group together. We could win this thing. We could actually go out and win it. We should do it.’ Because you have the comfort of your group around you. It’s not like you’re out there by yourself.” Buddy Games premieres Thursday, Sept. 14 at 9 p.m., ET/PT on the CBS Television Network. It will also be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.