The television landscape is filled with a variety of reality competition shows, each highlighting contestants with a variety of skills. Shows like The Voice allow singers to seek guidance from stars like Ariana Grande and John Legend, resulting in unexpected performances. Meanwhile, Dancing with the Stars gives actors, singers and even NBA stars (one of which is the new champ) the chance to show their stuff on the dance floor. And of course, there’s a plethora of cooking shows, too. Go-Big Show, however, brings in competitors with skill sets that are a bit more… unique. I mean, there aren’t many shows that feature a man stuffing rattlesnakes in his mouth. Contestants definitely push themselves to the limits, but there’s also a big challenge that comes with judging those wild and amazing acts, according to Jennifer Nettles.
The singer-songwriter already has one season of the fan-favorite show under her belt, and she succeeded in conducting her duties as a judge. Those who’ve seen Go-Big Show know that she and her colleagues must always choose between two competing acts, one of which will move forward in the overall competition. In anticipation of the Season 2 premiere, I had the opportunity to speak with Ms. Nettles about her work on the show thus far. It was here that she explained how she and the panelists had to nail down the most effective way to judge vastly different acts:
You know, what we learned over the first season, really, is that the challenge of judging a show like this, which is really you can't judge apples and apples. It's like apples and oranges. It's like, how do you compare a high diver to a sword swallower? You know what I'm saying? Like, how do you compare those two things? How do you compare a magician to a juggler? I mean, like, how do you compare these two? How do you compare a monster truck to a high wire? I mean, there's no direct way to come up with criteria to measure those against each other in certain ways.
This is definitely something that needs significant consideration.I know I’d personally have a hard time comparing someone who can shoot a bow and arrow with their foot to one who can do insane tricks on a scooter. Luckily, as Jennifer Nettles further revealed, the group managed to land on something that guides them as they judge talent:
But the Go-Big Show itself and what it is about, and in about celebrating the human spirit, is that it is about how it makes you feel, what feels the biggest, what gives you the biggest version of its own feeling. And that can be the biggest version of all, of thrill, of fear, or of disgust even, you know? There are some elements of that that are on this show, too. So what gives you the biggest feeling is really what we learned from the first season to bring to this one as to how we are able to judge.
Considering that the acts can evoke varying emotions, this is probably the best way to determine who comes out on top in a particular matchup. And the group, which now includes rapper T-Pain, is really going to need to lean on that method in the new episodes, as it looks like the competitors are upping the ante. Check out the trailer for Season 2 down below:
I’m already biting my nails just thinking about some of these acts. Last season saw rope artist Tomas Garcilazo take home the victory – and the $100,000 grand prize. He put on a show, and it’ll be interesting to see who manages to succeed him when the show returns.
TBS’ Go-Big Show returns for its second season on Thursday, January 6. And for more on shows that are returning in the coming year, be sure to check out our 2022 winter and spring TV schedule.
