Six teams from across the U.S. will compete in season one of CBS’s new reality competition series Buddy Games. Josh Duhamel executive produces and serves as host as teams representing Chicago’s police department, a Los Angeles roller derby team, and a team who met while doing pageants attempt to claim the Buddy Games trophy.
Season one also includes Team Pride, friends representing the LGBTQ+ community; Team OK, friends from Oklahoma; and Team Philly Forever, friends who grew up together in Philadelphia.
Buddy Games will join CBS’s primetime lineup on September 14, 2023. The series will air on Thursdays at 9pm ET/PT in between Big Brother at 8pm and Challenge: USA at 10pm.
“Being able to bring Buddy Games to CBS is truly a dream come true for me,” stated Duhamel in an April 2023 press release announcing the series. “This is something my buddies and I have wanted to share with the world for a long time as we knew there was a relatability to it with other people doing similar things to strengthen their friendships. For me, getting to executive produce and host Buddy Games while observing these groups of friends let loose and become part of this big family has been an honor and will be a lot of fun for viewers to watch.”
CBS offers this description of the new series: “Buddy Games unites six teams of four deep-rooted friends, who met at various stages of their lives, at a stunning lakeside location for a nostalgic adult summer camp adventure. ‘Ride or dies’ get the chance to play ‘buddy games’ where they will relive their glory days and compete in an assortment of absurd physical and mental challenges in the outdoors while bunking together in the same house.
Friendships will be rekindled, and rivalries reignited when these friends are challenged to prove which bonds are strong enough to withstand the competition. The last buddy team standing will be crowned champion and take home a cash prize plus the coveted Buddy Games trophy, and of course bragging rights.”
Buddy Games 6 Season 1 Teams:
- DERBY SQUAD – Jacky “Shu” Shu, Melissa Berglund, Shengul “Shaggy” Plummer and Rachel Johnston from Los Angeles, Calif.
- CHICAGO’S FINEST – David “Sarge” Moore, Elyse Rodriguez, Ikeila “Kei” Smart and Melvin “Rae” Davis from Chicago, Ill.
- TEAM PRIDE – Andrew Shayde from Lexington, Ky.; Bekah Telew from Seattle, Wash.; Steven Mosier from Portland, Ore.; Summer Lynne Seasons from Tigard, Ore.
- TEAM OK – Justin Palmer and Stephen Craig from Edmond, Okla.; James Brian “Huddy” Hudson from Isle of Palms, S.C.; Yue Pun Szeto from Edmond, Okla.
- PAGEANT QUEENS – Lauren Cisneros Campbell from Denver, Colo; Lourdes Spurlock from Harrisonburg, Va.; Yolanda “Yoli” Stennett from White Plains, Md.; Erika “Devi” Deveney Shea Wall from Lorton, Va.
- PHILLY FOREVER – Erica Franzzo, Anthony Franzzo, Mike Ward, Louis “Freddie” Meyers IV from Philadelphia, Pa.
