The Big Picture

The GOAT
reality series pits reality stars against each other to determine the greatest of all time in reality TV, featuring intense competition and unexpected outcomes.
Strong alliances and strategic gameplay are crucial for success in
The GOAT
, as seen with Wendell Holland and CJ Franco’s experiences.

The GOAT’s
first season highlights emotional bonds, friendships, and rivalries, with CJ’s loyalty to Justin Johnson impacting her gameplay and alliances.

Freevee’s new reality series, The GOAT, has certainly made an impression on the realm of competition-themed programming. The series, hosted by Daniel Tosh, pits reality stars from all genres to compete against each other to determine who the “Greatest Of All Time” is in reality television. The inaugural season of the series was as intense and comical as any viewer could ask for, bringing top-notch entertainment fun enough for even the people who hate everything about reality TV.

It would have been safe to assume that any cast members from shows like Survivor, The Challenge, and Big Brother would have the upper hand, but this series managed to lay out the playing field very well. As the season progressed, heavy hitters were ousted up until the final three players in the game: Joe Amabile from Bachelor In Paradise, Jason Smith from Food Network Star and Holiday Baking Championship, and Paola Mayfield from 90 Day Fiancé. All three of them were not on anyone’s radar and proved to be formidable foes right up to the end.

CJ Franco and Wendell Holland both entered the game with those kinds of assumptions placed upon them. As a Survivor winner, Wendell was seen as an immediate threat. CJ, who hailed from FBoy Island, was not seen as one until she made moves that put her on the gamers’ radar. Both of them held the title of the GOAT once but ultimately lost out towards the end. Collider had the opportunity to speak with CJ and Wendell, after their respective eliminations, about what went down in GOAT Manor.

The GOAT (2024) Release Date May 9, 2024 Cast Daniel Tosh , Kristen Doute , Joey Sasso , Teck Holmes , Reza Farahan , Jill Zarin , C.J. Franco , Alyssa Edwards , Tayshia Adams Seasons 1 Streaming Service(s) Amazon Freevee Directors Michael Shea Showrunner Bill Dixon Expand

Entering GOAT Manor as a Gamer vs. A Non-Gamer
Any person who is a fan of social and strategic competition shows like The GOAT knows that strong alliances are key for game survival. As a gamer, Wendell was prepared to do battle with other intense gamers. “As a Survivor winner getting called for a show called The GOAT, you’re thinking like, ‘All right. I gotta man up. I’m about to go against Tom Brady, they’re going to bring in Michael Jordan.’” Wendell shared when discussing his expectations for the game. He continued, “Then you step inside this beautiful mansion in Georgia, and it’s like homeboy from the Food Network and ol’ girl from The Bachelor!”

CJ Franco entered GOAT manor with a secondary goal in addition to the grand prize: to no longer be associated with FBoy Island. For someone coming in from a non-gamer background, it’s vital to form an alliance, and the alliances began forming almost immediately within the house. CJ found herself in a women’s alliance, which, as most know from various other series, rarely work. Different players within the maligned alliance blame different people for its decline. When asked about her thoughts on the women’s alliance, CJ shared, “[The] Women’s Alliance formed [in] episode one. Episode two, Women’s Alliance betrayed Tayshia [Adams]. After that, I don’t know what Women’s Alliance we’re referring to.” She added, “If it’s conditional– I don’t know what the definition of an alliance is, but I’m pretty sure it’s not conditional.”

6:28 Related Lauren Speed-Hamilton, Joey Sasso, and Tayshia Adams Weren’t Ready for the Competitive Side of ‘The GOAT’ [Interview] Coming from shows based on building relationships did not prepare them for the wildness of ‘The GOAT.’

Wendell found himself in various alliances, but the one he wished he had invested in more was the quiet alliance he formed with Da’Vonne Rogers. He said, “If I could do something differently, it would have been really getting on the same page with [Da’Vonne]. ‘Yo, this is our game to lose. Let’s be strategic [with the time] we show our hands to everybody. When we show them the gamers we are.’”

Wendell Shares One Regret From ‘The GOAT’

Wendell, while having formed a few alliances, his biggest regret is not solidifying the one with Da’Vonne. “In my [Survivor] world, if you see two Black people on the show talking to each other, they become a target, he said, continuing, “But in The GOAT world, Da’Vonne and I could have talked for three weeks straight, and no one would have said anything.” If he had realized this earlier on, he would have had the opportunity to warn her about playing the game as hard as she did. “We don’t need to make these crazy moves so early,” he said, referencing her game-play. He elaborated further, saying, “My analogy is: if Michael Jordan is speaking to a bunch of second-graders, and then they decide to check rock, [he’s] not going to dunk on second-graders.”

CJ had a particularly emotionally draining experience on The GOAT. With the immediate crumble of the women’s alliance, CJ maintained loyalty to her in-manor bestie, Justin Johnson, aka Alyssa Edwards.The two of them bonded during a very deep and emotional conversation. “One thing that they didn’t really show was when we first had that conversation, and I’m crying, and he’s crying, and I’m relating to his struggle, and I’m empathizing with him,” CJ said of that conversation. Unfortunately, it was also CJ’s loyalty to Justin that put her on the outs with the other women.

One moment that certainly did not help this was when Justin angrily called Kristen Doute an alcoholic. When discussing her friendship with him, CJ said, “I really cared about Justin, and I really felt like [our talk] was a really beautiful thing to share… Until he yelled at Kristen, and then everything was bad.” Justin and Kristen were able to make amends after he apologized, but CJ hinted that Kristen may have done more than what was seen in the final cut. She said, “Kristen, got a pretty fair edit. Kristen was a lot for everybody,” adding, “Have you ever had like a relative in town visiting, and they just keep breaking your sh*t? Yeah, that would be like the equivalent.”

The full first season of The GOAT is available to stream via Prime Video.

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