Players don’t know who will be on the show before they arrive

Before they arrive in Scotland, contestants aren’t privy to who else will be in their season to ensure they are going in completely blind.

“Because it’s a game, you don’t want them to be able to research each other or talk to each other or form alliances before,” casting director Deena Katz told TIME. However, there have been exceptions such as Pippen and Jordan, since the two were a couple.