The GOAT: Alyssa Edwards, CJ, and Grocery Store Joe Step Way Out of Their Comfort Zones
5Freevee’s new reality TV series, The GOAT, is arguably the funniest new reality series in the past decade. The premise? Ridiculous. The casual religious imagery? Brilliant. And the best part of all is that the reality stars featured in it come from every genre possible. Similarly to another game-themed competition series, The Traitors, everyone in the cast comes from a different reality series. There is, of course, a contingency of gamers from The Challenge, Big Brother, and Survivor to be reckoned with, but there are also contestants from cooking shows, dating shows, and, of course, Bravo.
That is precisely what makes The GOAT so fun to watch. Seeing fan favorites doing ridiculous challenges while being heckled by Daniel Tosh is incredibly engaging. The series does not take itself seriously at all. In fact, it’s safe to say that the show does the exact opposite of that, which is precisely why it’s fun. It even provides the verbal altercations Bravo fans have learned to love and hate. The cast itself is incredibly impressive, and Collider had the opportunity to speak with Justin Johnson, aka Alyssa Edwards, CJ Franco, and Joe Amabile about their experience and how they approached the competition.
Justin, CJ, and Joe all came from a series that in no way prepared them for the challenges of being on The GOAT. CJ, from FBoy Island, said: “They just gave Daniel Tosh a house of reality stars competing for the title of the GOAT, the greatest of all time. But what we're really just trying to do is not get our egos hurt, and Tosh is just there to roast us.”
Joe, aka Grocery Store Joe from The Bachelor, added to CJ’s comment, saying: “I think, coming from a dating show, it is very different than a competition show. I will say the filming hours kind of prep you for what you could expect on a competition show. But there is a social aspect to the game, and there's alliances that are formed. So, you have to pick up very quickly, or you'll probably get eliminated.”
Justin may know a little more about the importance of forming alliances from his stint on Season 2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars, but it was nowhere near as intense in comparison to The GOAT. “Coming from Drag Race, yes, it is a competition show. But, you know, Ru is going to be deeming who is in the bottom, and on my All Star season, when we did have to vote, I felt like as a group collectively, we're all like, ‘Okay, who was the weakest in today's challenge? Try to be fair.’ I think the challenges in this can't be unhinged series are just a formality,” Justin said, adding, “Because, at the end of the day, if the numbers aren't on your side, if you don't have the alliances coming for you; you could have them on Monday, but then Tuesday is a whole new day.”
Alliances are key to winning a game like this, and this is something the gamers have an understanding of. The skills needed to become The GOAT forced them all to think strategically in a way they hadn’t before. Justin said: “You're living with complete strangers sleeping on a twin bed, um, being filmed around the clock, diving into mud and all of these obstacles that you don't know if they're going to be a physical challenge, a mental challenge, or is it just luck? You know, that is the challenge within itself.”
CJ, on the other hand, assumed that she would not do well in the competition. She said: “I thought I was just going to go right home. So my challenge was, you know, having to re-wear outfits.” Joe, on the other hand, said that his biggest challenge was his own game. “I think I was my own competition. It was just kind of not getting in my own way.” Joe shared, adding, “I was like, ‘Oh, what am I gonna have to do on this show? How much am I gonna embarrass myself? This is a comedy, but am I the comedy?’ So I would say, yeah, just not getting in my own way.” Being on The GOAT certainly does take a lot of guts, so it makes sense that Joe focused on himself in addition to the game itself.
New episodes of The GOAT are available to stream weekly on Thursdays on Freevee via Amazon Prime. Those without streaming access can mark their calendars for its TV premiere on Monday, June 3, 2023, at 9 PM ET, on FOX.
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