There are 11 competitors on the King of the Nerds cast. The hosts are Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong, and you probably are already familiar with them. Having just seen the first episode (which will premiere on January 17 on TBS) I’m going to give you a more informed run-down on who is involved.

And keep in mind, one of these people is gone by the end of the episode. Them’s the rules! Also make sure to keep room in your noggin’ that these initial thoughts on contestants have only been written after viewing the first episode of King of the Nerds. We will be following this series as it airs on TBS, so make sure to subscribe to our newsletter, follow us on twitter, all of the usual ways of encouraged media stalking!

In the first episode, none of these cast members have emerged as a full-on villain, though there’s certainly a few people who might morph into that position based on previews of the rest of the season. However, the cast seems very supportive of each other, and even the eliminated contestants get great honor as they go.

The quick run-down of the King of the Nerds Cast:

King of the Nerds Alana – Corning, NY – 26
King of the Nerds Brandon – Somerville, MA – 24
King of the Nerds Celeste – Orillia, Ontario – 22
King of the Nerds Danielle – Rome, NY- 23
King of the Nerds Genevieve – Studio City, CA – 27
King of the Nerds Hendrik – Somerville, MA – 26
King of the Nerds Ivan – Torrance, CA – 27
King of the Nerds Jon – Atlanta, GA – 22
King of the Nerds Joshua – Los Angeles, CA – 24
King of the Nerds Moogega – Pasadena, CA – 26
King of the Nerds Virgil – Pasadena, CA – 28

Alana Smith-Brown – Her favorite TV shows are The Big Bang Theory and Once Upon a Time. Those are great picks. But her main love is Batman. Her official bio keeps mentioning what a flirt she is, but so far that seems to be a misleading description as she’s not very popular with anyone, nor does she have any sort of flirty charisma. (Although it’s worth noting she admits to having a bit of a girl crush on co-competitor Genevieve Pearson since they both love Batman.) During the course of the first episode I felt bad for her, but then a few things happened near the end where I realized it was going to have to be okay that I simply don’t like her. I’d rate her at the very bottom of the pile.

Brandon Moore – Well, he’s a funny gem! This Tufts University Medical School student is into neuroscience and rap. I don’t know all of the things he mentions (“Galaga” and “Earthbound” video games, Neil DeGrasse Tys) but I think he has a great sense of humor that makes him stand out. I just hope he doesn’t veer towards the mean/villain side.

Celeste Anderson – This beautiful Asian nerd is a speed cuber, which is pretty awesome to have in your skill set. She’s also a professional video gamer. While she likes some more geeky mainstream media like The Avengers and The Big Bang Theory, she also watches Big Brother which makes me think she’s really trying to play this game with strategies to win.

Danielle Mackey – She’s the one with the fun pink hair! She might be a bit crafty, but she’s also spunky and fun. Her nerdy interests skew towards the more modern world – Bill Nye, Star Trek (2009) and Game of Thrones. As a game reviewer she has 100,000 people who subscribe to her gaming vlog. My take on her is that she’s fun, but I’m not certain yet if she’s going to be someone to root for. She was wearing a T-Shirt from the Zachary Levi brand “The Nerd Machine” in the pilot, which did make me warm up to her.

Genevieve Pearson – This brainy brunette is a fantasy writer who married a man who looks like Batman. Imagine an older, more cutthroat Hermione Granger and you’ve got Genevieve. My favorite trivia about her is that her one dog is named Marty McFly and her other dog is named Winnifred “Winnie” Burkle (the Amy Acker character on Angel). Then, she has cats! They’re named Starbuck, Newt, Indiana Jones, and Harley Quinn. This is probably one of the contestants I’d most want to be friends with, but I’d watch my back while we were competing.

Hendrik – Not a lot is known about Hendrik. He’s incredibly, massively smart. While he’s a bit dry, I think he’s a very nice guy. He’s likable for sure.

Ivan Van Norman – He’s not just a game developer, he’s also a fire dancer. I think he’s a great alpha leader on the show. He only watches cartoons and The History Channel. His favorite show is listed as “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic” so… yea, he’s awesome. I think he’s also a very strong competitor with some great confidence.

Jon Paprocki – Coming to us from Georgia Tech, he’s a witty rocker who loves Taco Bell, theoretical physics and has never played WOW or COD. What’s especially cool to me is that he lists his favorite TV show as Trailer Park Boys, which you should check out on Netflix Instant Watch. My one (petty) qualm is that I don’t think he washes his hair much because it looks awfully greasy at the roots. (Tip: Even if you don’t want to wash it, you can rub some baby powder into your hair to absorb grease.) Anyway, he could easily win Mr. Congeniality. I love his view on aliens (he’s awaiting evidence to make a decision).

Joshua Ovenshire – You may know him from “Geek Debate” web show. And fans of Supernatural take note – he’s a former paranormal investigator. Though he loves The Walking Dead, he also enjoys watching Boy Meets World and Scrubs. Oh, you endear me to your heart, Joshua! He’s another funny/witty contestant, and I really like his answer to which celebrity he’d like on his team for the show: “Natalie Portman. She’s smart, speaks like four languages, and she has a huge crush on me.”

Moogega Cooper – Well, she’s my favorite right now, and she’s got a very extensive resume that I’m just going to copy/paste… ” planetary protection engineer at NASA who received her master’s degree and PhD by the time she was 22 and who considers herself the life of any party. She controls the transit of terrestrial and extraterrestrial microorganisms to/from solar bodies. She loves space and went to college at the age of 16.” She is incredibly eloquent, but this is contrasted by her fun, smiling personality. Basically, she’s probably one of the smartest people on the show and also one of the sweetest (so far).

Virgil Griffith – For those of you who watched Gilmore Girls or True Blood, you’ll notice that he looks and sounds a lot like Todd Lowe! Virgil (a master hacker) picks Dr. Horrible (Neil Patrick Harris) as his favorite superhero.

This completes our King of the Nerds (TBS) cast run-down! Who do you think you’ll like the most? Who do you think might get the boot early on? And who has the kick-assiest pose in their cast photo?

“King of the Nerds” is executive-produced by Ben Silverman (“The Biggest Loser,” “The Office”) and Jimmy Fox (“Mob Wives”) of Electus, Rick Ringbakk (“The Amazing Race”), Tod Mesirow (“MythBusters”) and Craig Armstrong (“Survivor”) of 5X5 Media, as well as Carradine and Armstrong. Electus International, the global distribution arm of Electus, distributes the series internationally.

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