“The World’s Best”: A new TV series featuring most of the countries around the globe

BY SOFIA MENDEZ

On February 3, after the Super Bowl LII game, “The World’s Best” TV show aired its first episode on CBS, leaving the audience wanting more. Executive producers Mark Burnett and Mike Darnell— who are behind the well-known franchises “American Idol,” “So You Think You Can Dance” and “The X Factor”— are now back with a first-of-its-kind global talent competition.

The competition features acts from every corner of the planet, from acrobats and dancers to a nun who sings and a dog who is a professional hypnotizer. The show is hosted by the one and only James Corden. He provides a touch of humor and brings enthusiasm to the job.

If the acts get a score of more than 75 points, they move forward to the second round. If not, they are eliminated immediately.

The contestants must impress the panel of three American judges— which is composed of Golden Globe Award winner Drew Barrymore, multi-Emmy award winner RuPaul Charles and multi-Grammy Award winner Faith Hill— before facing the wall of the world. The wall of the world is composed of 50 of the world’s most accomplished experts from 38 regions. They come from every field of entertainment and have various skills to determine if the contestant moves on in the show.

If a judge votes yes, their seat lights up. If enough seats light up, they create a glowing “wall” effect that, if vast enough, will send the performer to the next round. If the acts get a score of more than 75 points, they move forward to the second round. If not, they are eliminated immediately.

This shows the world has come together as one to acknowledge the variety of talent that has yet to be seen.

Like any reality TV show, some acts were impressive, some were adorable and some just didn’t impress the audience. A frustrating part of the show is that the judges may have very different opinions. For some acts, they had trouble deciding whether or not they deserved to move onto the second round. This helped the audience embrace the fact that in any life situation, people may have to agree to disagree.

A highlight of the show to consider is that there is a variety of judges from different cultures, beliefs and regions. This has never really occurred on any other reality TV show, which makes “The World’s Best” special. This shows the world has come together as one to acknowledge the variety of talent that has yet to be seen.

Another positive aspect of the show is that the stage is very spacious, giving each contestant room to move around without a problem. Even “Dundu,” a contestant over five meters tall who is a giant puppet made out of bright lights, has enough space to take over and own the stage.

Using a group of international judges who are largely unknown to American viewers is a crucial and risky move that could demonstrate an effort to give underrepresented groups a fair opportunity to participate in a worldwide competition.

At the end of the series, one act will dominate and ultimately be crowned as “The World’s Best,” along with the grand prize of $1 million.

Photo courtesy of CBS