Wednesday, June 20, 2018

On The Air: Celebrity Undercover Boss (2018)

Eight years ago, CBS introduced Undercover Boss, in which employers posed as prospective employees to observe the day-to-day operations of their own businesses. This year, the seasonal hit has spawned a celebrity edition, which bowed last month.

Celebrity Undercover Boss is filling MacGyver's space on Fridays for a few weeks. So far, former NFL star Deion Sanders and singer-songwriter Jewel have been featured. On June 15, WWE heiress Stephanie McMahon took her turn.

Adopting the identity of internet journalist Samantha Miles, Stephanie interviews the family of a pediatric cancer patient, a photographer who lost a leg in the military, and an aspiring wrestler whose goal was to become the first openly gay WWE champion. The episode was recorded late last year, while Jeff Hardy, now the US champion, was on the disabled list with a shoulder injury. Hardy, Big Show, and the since released Big Cass appear briefly prior to the final reveal.

The episode is currently available On Demand (check with your cable service), and on the CBS app & website. All I can say is, have a box of Kleenex handy at the end of the show. As reruns of Undercover Boss are airing on OWN and other outlets, it won't surprise anyone if the celebrity edition follows suit.

Here's an excerpt.

Edit, 1/23/22: The video has been privatized and is no longer available. In its place is a short news piece from Channel 4 in Miami previewing the episode, including a bit with wrestler Jake Atlas, now with All Elite Wrestling after a short stint in NXT.



Not sure about this, but what might've been a precursor to this episode, in particular, was WWE CEO/Chairman Vince McMahon doing some undercover work of his own on the WWE Network series, Swerved, last year. Vince & Triple H appear briefly at the start of this show.

Rating: A.

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