Photo: CBS ENTERTAINMENT
Nine celebrities are set to compete in the new reality series, including two country singers: Lauren Alaina and Craig Morgan. Beyond The Edge aims to be “the most intense celebrity adventure challenge ever attempted,” and it premieres next month.
CBS announced in a press release that the celebrity contestants swap their normal lives for the Panama jungles, going head-to-head “in epic adventures” and enduring “the most brutal conditions” as they compete to raise money for charities of their choices. Soon-to-be Opry member Alaina and “Redneck Yacht Club” country artist Morgan will participate alongside: Super Bowl MVP Ray Lewis, NBA champ Metta World Peace, supermodel Paulina Porizkova, NFL legend Mike Singletary, Full House star Jodie Sweetin, The Bachelor’s Colton Underwood and Real Housewives of New York City’s Eboni K. Williams. It’s all hosted by sports announcer Mauro Ranallo.
The contestants will endure two weeks of challenges, including “torrential downpours, scorching heat and deadly wildlife while living in the exotic Panama jungle,” according to CBS. The show, from the same produces of Naked and Afraid, allows the celebrities to ring a bell if they reach “their breaking point” and are ready to go home. The two top earners will face off in one last adventure at the end of the two weeks.
“BEYOND THE EDGE is the most extreme celebrity format ever attempted,” Executive Producer Greg Goldman said in a statement. “The day before we started principal photography, all of the producers looked at each other with the sinking feeling that this celebrity cast might see where they were living for up to two weeks – the harsh jungles of Panama – and just bolt. To the contrary, we were amazed by how these icons pushed themselves to their breaking points, showing incredible mental fortitude and physical tenacity. And all for an incredible cause: to raise money for charities that are near and dear to their hearts.”
Alaina’s chosen charity is The Next Door, a Nashville-based nonprofit that helps women in crisis. The “It Was Me” singer announced on her social media channels that she “can’t wait to get y’all Beyond The Edge of your seats!!” She and Morgan — who chose Operation Finally Home, a nonprofit that builds homes for veterans and first responders — agreed, “It was an experience unlike any other.” Beyond The Edge premieres on March 16. Viewers can watch on the CBS Television Network, or stream on Paramount+.