‘The Activist’, a lesson in virtue-signalling gone wrong

CBS had to scramble recently to reformat a new show in response to public blowback.

“The Activist” was a new concept for a TV show that combined activism and charity with competition. Six contestants would take part in a variety of challenges with the winner’s decided by online engagement and other social metrics, as well as the ability to raise the most amount of money. These six contestants weren’t everyday people - they were some of the biggest names in activism (including both Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Usher). Originally proclaimed by the press as “awe-inspiring”, the show was quick to get push back from the public who largely thought the format of the show needed some improvement. 

After a response from CBS, a response from partner Global Citizen and a personal apology from one of the hosts, the producers had to make some major changes. They dropped the competitive element and boiled it down to one-time documentary versus a 5-episode format.

A message from Global Citizen on "The Activist." pic.twitter.com/CSODAwiIdR

— Global Citizen ⭕ (@GlblCtzn) September 15, 2021

The show was so close - it had the right elements, but a few wrong ones derailed the entire project (which was supposed to be designed to do good). The initial concept of the show embraced competition more than altruism, and to many, it dismissed the charitable efforts as performative and forced participants as well as viewers to “choose” a “winning” cause rather than empowering its participants to engage in actions that promoted and increased visibility for all of their causes. Including more people along the way, when fleshing out the format of the TV show may have prevented the competitive elements from clouding the charitable efforts.