Special Forces: World's Toughest Test

Special Forces: World's Toughest Test is an American reality quasi-military training television series that premiered on Fox on January 4, 2023. It is an adaptation of the British reality series SAS: Who Dares Wins and reuses Directing Staff (DS) instructors from that series.

Special Forces: World's Toughest Test
Also known as	Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins USA[1]
Genre	Reality television
Based on	SAS: Who Dares Wins
Presented by	Rudy Reyes Jason Fox Mark 'Billy' Billingham Remi Adeleke Jovon Quarles
Narrated by	Shaun Dooley
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	28
Production
Executive producers	Sophie Leonard Alicia Kerr Becky Clarke
Production locations	Jordan (season 1) South Island (season 2) Wales (season 3)
Production companies	Banijay Minnow Films
Original release
Network	Fox
Release	January 4, 2023 (2023-01-04) – present

Format

Like the original British series, Special Forces: World's Toughest Test pits contestants against harsh environments all around the world in a shortened training course that is designed to replicate a number of elements of the actual United States Special Forces selection course, which is notoriously difficult and has claimed the lives of people who have participated in it. The show's Directing Staff take the recruits through hostile and unforgiving warfare environments, while testing their mental and physical ability through a series of tests. Unlike many reality competition series, there are no formal elimination points; instead, contestants may voluntarily withdraw or be medically withdrawn at any point prior to completion. They may also be disqualified for failing to complete specific steps of the course. In the British series, recruits may be culled for rule violations, though this is yet to be seen in the American series.

Production

On September 7, 2022, it was announced that Fox had ordered the series, originally titled Special Forces: The Ultimate Test, with Sophie Leonard, Alicia Kerr and Becky Clarke as the executive producers.^[2][3] The series premiered on January 4, 2023.^[4][5][6] Special Forces: World's Toughest Test season 1 was filmed in Jordan (Wadi Rum Desert).^[7] On May 15, 2023, Fox renewed the series for a second season which was filmed in New Zealand's South Island and premiered on September 25, 2023.^[8][9] On May 13, 2024, Fox renewed the series for a third season which was filmed in Wales, the home of British Special Forces Selection, and premiered on January 8, 2025 with 2-hour episodes over five weeks.^[10][11] On May 12, 2025, Fox renewed the series for a fourth season.^[12]

Cast

The Directing Staff (DS) instructors are: Rudy Reyes, a former United States Recon Marine; Jason Fox, a former SBS operator; Mark 'Billy' Billingham, an ex-SAS Sergeant Major and Remi Adeleke, a veteran Navy SEAL Senior Chief.^[2][3] Adeleke did not return for Season 2, and was replaced by Jovon 'Q' Quarles, a veteran Navy SEAL.^[13] The series is narrated by Shaun Dooley.^[14]

Recruits

Season 1 (Winter 2023)

Recruit	Celebrity	Known for	Status (Episode number)
4	Hannah Brown	The Bachelorette star	Passed (10)
8	Carli Lloyd	Olympian Soccer Player	Passed (10)
13	Dwight Howard	NBA player	Disqualified (10)
16	Danny Amendola	Former NFL wide receiver	Voluntarily Withdrawn (10)
10	Gus Kenworthy	Former Olympic freestyle skier	Medically Withdrawn (8)
5	Mike Piazza	Former MLB catcher	Voluntarily Withdrawn (8)
14	Kenya Moore	The Real Housewives of Atlanta star	Voluntarily Withdrawn (6)
6	Anthony Scaramucci	Former White House Communications Director	Voluntarily Withdrawn (6)
1	Beverley Mitchell	Actress & singer	Voluntarily Withdrawn (4)
9	Mel B	Spice Girls singer	Voluntarily Withdrawn (3)
15	Nastia Liukin	Former Olympic artistic gymnast	Voluntarily Withdrawn (3)
2	Jamie Lynn Spears	Actress & singer	Voluntarily Withdrawn (3)
7	Montell Jordan	Singer	Medically Withdrawn (2)
12	Tyler Florence	Chef & television host	Voluntarily Withdrawn (2)
3	Dr. Drew Pinsky	Media personality & physician	Medically Withdrawn (1)
11	Kate Gosselin	Reality television personality	Medically Withdrawn (1)

Season 2 (Fall 2023)

Recruit	Celebrity	Known for	Status (Episode number)
5	Tyler Cameron	The Bachelorette star	Passed (8)
6	Erin Jackson	Olympic speed skater	Passed (8)
12	Nick Viall	The Bachelor & The Bachelorette star	Passed (8)
3	JoJo Siwa	Dancer, singer & actress	Voluntarily Withdrawn (8)
4	Tom Sandoval	Vanderpump Rules star	Disqualified (8)
9	Bode Miller	Olympic alpine ski racer	Voluntarily Withdrawn (7)
1	Jack Osbourne	The Osbournes star	Medically Withdrawn (6)
14	Kelly Rizzo	Influencer & widow of Bob Saget	Voluntarily Withdrawn (4)
7	Savannah Chrisley	Chrisley Knows Best star	Voluntarily Withdrawn (3)
8	Robert Horry	Former NBA player	Voluntarily Withdrawn (3)
10	Brian Austin Green	Actor	Voluntarily Withdrawn (3)
13	Dez Bryant	Former NFL wide receiver	Voluntarily Withdrawn (2)
11	Blac Chyna	Model & actress	Voluntarily Withdrawn (2)
2	Tara Reid	Actress	Voluntarily Withdrawn (2)

Season 3 (2025)

Recruit	Celebrity	Known for	Status (Episode number)[a]
8	Kayla Nicole	Media personality & influencer	Passed (10)
12	Brody Jenner	The Hills star	Passed (10)
9	Golden Tate	Former NFL wide receiver	Disqualifed (10)
16	Cam Newton	Former NFL quarterback	Disqualifed (10)
11	Alana Blanchard	Surfer	Voluntarily Withdrawn (10)
2	Christy Carlson Romano	Actress & podcaster	Disqualified (8)
15	Kyla Pratt	Actress	Voluntarily Withdrawn (8)
10	Carey Hart	Former motocross champion	Medically Withdrawn (7)
14	Landon Donovan	Former soccer champion	Medically Withdrawn (4)
1	Nathan Adrian	Olympic swimmer	Medically Withdrawn (3)
6	Marion Jones	Former Olympic track & field star	Medically Withdrawn (3)
7	Jordyn Wieber	Former Olympic gymnast	Voluntarily Withdrawn (3)
13	Trista Sutter	The Bachelorette star	Voluntarily Withdrawn (3)
4	Ali Manno	The Bachelorette star	Medically Withdrawn (2)
3	Denise Richards	Actress	Voluntarily Withdrawn (2)
5	Stephen Baldwin	Actor	Disqualified (2)

Episodes

Series overview

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released
1	10		January 4, 2023 (2023-01-04)	March 1, 2023 (2023-03-01)
2	8		September 25, 2023 (2023-09-25)	November 27, 2023 (2023-11-27)
3	10		January 8, 2025 (2025-01-08)	February 5, 2025 (2025-02-05)

Season 1 (2023)

No. overall	No. in season	Title [15][16]	Original release date [15][16]	Prod. code [15]	U.S. viewers (millions)
1	1	"Test of Character"	January 4, 2023 (2023-01-04)	SFT-101	2.06[17]
2	2	"Weakness"	January 4, 2023 (2023-01-04)	SFT-102	2.06[17]
3	3	"Mindset"	January 11, 2023 (2023-01-11)	SFT-103	1.81[18]
4	4	"Trust"	January 18, 2023 (2023-01-18)	SFT-104	1.70[19]
5	5	"Pressure"	January 25, 2023 (2023-01-25)	SFT-105	1.73[20]
6	6	"Fear"	February 1, 2023 (2023-02-01)	SFT-106	1.77[21]
7	7	"Resilience"	February 8, 2023 (2023-02-08)	SFT-107	1.74[22]
8	8	"Courage"	February 15, 2023 (2023-02-15)	SFT-108	1.89[23]
9	9	"Survival"	February 22, 2023 (2023-02-22)	SFT-109	1.82[24]
10	10	"Interrogation"	March 1, 2023 (2023-03-01)	SFT-110	1.62[25]

Season 2 (2023)

No. overall	No. in season	Title [15][26]	Original release date [15][26]	Prod. code [15]	U.S. viewers (millions)
11	1	"Far from Home"	September 25, 2023 (2023-09-25)	SFT-201	1.52[27]
12	2	"Exposure"	October 2, 2023 (2023-10-02)	SFT-202	1.36[28]
13	3	"Panic"	October 9, 2023 (2023-10-09)	SFT-203	1.29[29]
14	4	"Character"	October 16, 2023 (2023-10-16)	SFT-204	1.29[30]
15	5	"Pressure"	November 6, 2023 (2023-11-06)	SFT-205	1.17[31]
16	6	"Survival"	November 13, 2023 (2023-11-13)	SFT-206	1.23[32]
17	7	"Grit"	November 20, 2023 (2023-11-20)	SFT-207	1.16[33]
18	8	"Capture"	November 27, 2023 (2023-11-27)	SFT-208	1.17[34]

Season 3 (2025)

No. overall	No. in season	Title [15][35]	Original release date [15][35]	Prod. code [15]	U.S. viewers (millions)
19	1	"Ocean Warfare"	January 8, 2025 (2025-01-08)	SFT-301	1.86[36]
20	2	"Survival"	January 8, 2025 (2025-01-08)	SFT-302	1.86[36]
21	3	"Terror"	January 15, 2025 (2025-01-15)	SFT-303	1.64[37]
22	4	"Brotherhood"	January 15, 2025 (2025-01-15)	SFT-304	1.64[37]
23	5	"Panic"	January 22, 2025 (2025-01-22)	SFT-305	1.39[38]
24	6	"Trust"	January 22, 2025 (2025-01-22)	SFT-306	1.39[38]
25	7	"Duty"	January 29, 2025 (2025-01-29)	SFT-307	1.44[39]
26	8	"Resilience"	January 29, 2025 (2025-01-29)	SFT-308	1.44[39]
27	9	"On the Run"	February 5, 2025 (2025-02-05)	SFT-309	1.40[40]
28	10	"Capture"	February 5, 2025 (2025-02-05)	SFT-310	1.40[40]

Ratings

Viewership and ratings per episode of Special Forces: World's Toughest Test

No.	Title	Air date	Timeslot (ET)	Rating (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	DVR (18–49)	DVR viewers (millions)	Total (18–49)	Total viewers (millions)	Ref.
1	"Test of Character"	January 4, 2023	Wednesday 8:00 p.m.	0.4	2.06	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	[17]
2	"Weakness"	January 4, 2023	Wednesday 9:00 p.m.	0.4	2.06	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	[17]
3	"Mindset"	January 11, 2023		0.4	1.81	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	[18]
4	"Trust"	January 18, 2023		0.3	1.70	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	[19]
5	"Pressure"	January 25, 2023		0.3	1.73	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	[20]
6	"Fear"	February 1, 2023		0.3	1.77	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	[21]
7	"Resilience"	February 8, 2023		0.3	1.74	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	[22]
8	"Courage"	February 15, 2023		0.4	1.89	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	[23]
9	"Survival"	February 22, 2023		0.4	1.82	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	[24]
10	"Interrogation"	March 1, 2023		0.3	1.62	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	[25]

Syndication

In 2023, Season 1 was syndicated to E4,^[41] part of Channel 4 in the UK.

Notes

1. Episode numbers are based on the single one-hour episodes rather than the televised combined two-hour episodes.