CBS’ new reality show ‘The Activist’ to showcase political activists seeking online attention

Political activism spread from street protests to corporate boardrooms and now has found a new home: a reality television series airing weekly on CBS this fall.

“The Activist” will feature six rabble-rousers competing in “media stunts,” missions, digital campaigns, and other events to spur change to the environment, to education or on health issues, according to CBS.

The contestants’ success will be measured by digital engagement, social media metrics, and scores from celebrity judges Usher, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Julianne Hough.

The show is being produced in part by Global Citizen, a political advocacy group that says it works to defeat poverty, defend the planet and demand equity.

“‘The Activist’ is a first-of-its-kind competition series that will inspire real change, as the series progresses from the United States to Rome for the Activists’ final challenge at the G20,” Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans said in a statement. “The audience will see the Activists’ passion and commitment for their causes tested as they petition world leaders to take urgent action to resolve the interconnected crises we face.”

The contestants are playing for the chance to be crowned “The Activist” and meet with world leaders in hopes of getting more money and garnering more attention for the causes they represent.

According to CBS’ website, the show will demonstrate that people live in a borderless world.

“One thing seems more clear than ever: Planet Earth is a singular village, demanding if not relying on individual engagement,” read the description on CBS’ website. “From the Global Citizen movement comes an awe-inspiring look at what can come of it.”

The Global Citizen movement is sponsored by large corporations, many of whom have amassed attention for their political stances in recent months.

Global Citizen lists more than a dozen “core partners” on its website, including companies such as Delta Airlines, Coca-Cola and Google that have recently become more vocal or aggressive in partisan politics. Executives at Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola spoke out against Georgia’s newly passed election laws earlier this year, and Google-owned YouTube banished former President Donald Trump from using its platform while he was still in office.

The Global Citizen website also lists media partners including MSNBC, Comcast NBCUniversal and the Thomson Reuters Foundation, among others.

The reality show is set to debut on Oct. 22 at 8 p.m. and will be available to stream on Paramount+. It is set to run for five weeks.