Beyond the Edge is a new competition show on CBS. Celebrities will live in a Panamanian jungle for 14 days. They will compete in teams to win money for charity. If the experience becomes too much, then the celebrities can ring a bell to quit and go home if they want. At the end of the two weeks, the two celebrities who raised the most money will compete in a final challenge. The winner of the final challenge will be the top earner and winner of the show.
The celebrities are country singer and American Idol runner-up Lauren Alaina, former NFL linebacker Ray Lewis, country music singer Craig Morgan, former NBA player Metta World Peace, supermodel Paulina Porizkova, former NFL linebacker Mike Singletary, actress Jodie Sweetin, former The Bachelor star Colton Underwood, and television personality Eboni K. Williams.
The celebrities gather in the jungle where they will spend the next two weeks. Metta World Peace already wants to go home. Craig Morgan was in the military, and he used to be stationed in Panama. Before they get started on building shelter, Mike Singletary leads them in a group prayer. As they get to know each other, Lauren Alaina shares she’s looking forward to the adventure. She’s used to living on a tour bus for her career. Colton Underwood claims a lot of people were upset when he came out as gay, so he wants to show that people don’t have to fit in a box. Ray Lewis says Mike Singletary is an NFL player he looked up to, so he’s glad to see him there. Eboni K. Williams say this experience is going to be way out of her comfort zone.
They get a radio message from host Mauro Ranallo. He welcomes them to their “epic first adventure.” For their first adventure, they will need to choose two captains. There will be one team of four and one team of five. Paulina and Jodie volunteer to be the two captains. Paulina wants to show that women her age can still succeed. Paulina asks to have the team of five, and Jodie agrees.
Blue Team – Paulina, Craig, Eboni, Ray, Mike
Red Team – Jodie, Metta, Lauren, Colton
For their first adventure, they will have to traverse nearly a mile through jungle, open water, and swampy mud bogs. They will have to push a crate through a field with the help of rolling logs. Afterwards, they will have to take out the tools inside and then tie the supplies to mules. They then will also have to paddle out into the lagoon to collect a reference for a puzzle they will have to complete. They then will have to return to their mules and then solve the puzzle. The winning team will win $20,000 for their charities. Paulina shares she’s playing for ACLU, and Jodie is playing for Girls Inc.
The Red Team takes an early lead, but the Blue Team is not too far behind. The Blue Team takes the lead on the lagoon. The Red Team is struggling to paddle, allowing the Blue Team is get further ahead. They reach the mud bogs, and Eboni is panicking making her way though the swampy mud. It feels like quicksand. Her team members encourage her to keep going. Both teams make their way out of the mud. They must now direct the mules to the puzzle station. The Blue Team reaches a Decision Point. They can take a direct route, or they can take a more difficult route that comes with a clue. Paulina wanted to go for the clue, but her other team members wanted the faster route to the puzzle. They say they don’t need help to complete the puzzle. The Red Team must choose the other path. They get the clue, which is a diagram detailing how the puzzle pieces fit together. After they collect their clue, the Red Team accidentally leave behind puzzle pieces on the ground.
The Blue Team is already getting started on the puzzle after the Red Team realize they don’t have their puzzle pieces. Eboni is leading her team members on the puzzle as the Blue Team have to go back and retrieve their forgotten puzzle pieces. Host Mauro Ranallo says the Red Team is four minutes behind by the time they finally reach the puzzle station. However, the diagram is proving to be useful as the Red Team reclaims the lead. They complete the puzzle first. Red Team wins the first adventure! Each team member will receive $4,000 for their charities. They also will get to have a spa day as a reward.
The Blue Team laments their loss. They admit they should have listened to Paulina and went for the clue. Eboni says the Red Team is not smarter than them, so the clue was the determining factor. Meanwhile, the Red Team enjoys their spa day. Lauren says winning the challenge gave her a confidence boost. The Red Team returns to camp later. As the end of the day nears, Metta is considering quitting. He is nervous about being in the elements at nighttime. Jodie tries to talk him out of quitting and says they will all be going though the experience together.
All the celebrities meet host Mauro for a nightly meeting. He says they each win $2,000 for their charities for making it through the first day. Mauro asks them how they are doing. Colton says there are a lot of critters and creatures, but he’s comfortable with nine of them there. Paulina says she’s from a communist country, so she is used to not having comforts. Jodie has never been outdoors like this and she doesn’t like bugs, but she says it’s liberating being out here. Metta is struggling. He says he can overcome anything, but he misses his family. He doesn’t like being in the elements. Eboni believes she cost her team the win, but Ray tells her they have her back. Eboni breaks down as she shares she didn’t grow up with a father figure, so she’s very appreciative how Ray encouraged her today during the challenge. Lauren can relate to Eboni’s struggle. She already feels overwhelmed by the experience after the first day.
Mauro asks if anyone wants to ring the bell and go home tonight. Metta wants to ring the bell and go home. Eboni also doesn’t feel confident and feels like a burden on her team. Mike tells them to just try to enjoy the time they have there. Mike says he came here to get out of his element and have a spiritual experience. Mauro asks again if anyone wants to ring the bell. Ultimately, no one chooses to go home tonight.
And that wraps up tonight’s premiere of Beyond the Edge. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
