The World's Best
The World's Best is a reality talent competition television series. Produced by Mark Burnett and Mike Darnell, it features international performers being evaluated by three judges—Drew Barrymore, RuPaul and Faith Hill, and a panel called the wall of world that consists of 50 experts of entertainment. It premiered on CBS on February 3, 2019, following the conclusion of Super Bowl LIII. The series is hosted by James Corden.
Production
CBS ordered The World's Best in February 2018; CBS SVP of alternative programming Sharon Vuong credited Mark Burnett and Mike Darnell's experience in the reality genre, stating that they "understand how to create compelling competition and build enduring franchises", and that it would be a "unique, original format with global scale". Darnell felt that The World's Best was "the next new spin on a variety show", and defended comparisons to a competitor, NBC's America's Got Talent by emphasizing its "dramatic" scoring system and international focus as differentiating it from other talent competition series.In August 2019, CBS president of entertainment Kelly Kahl stated that the network had not yet decided whether The World's Best would be renewed for a second season. Kahl explained that the network "enjoyed the show creatively", but that they would "probably tweak the format a little" if renewed. Later in the year, TVLine.com sources confirmed the show would not have a second season.
Format
Each act is judged by three main judges of American origin, as well as the "Wall of the World" — an international panel of 50 experts in various fields of entertainment. Each judge scores a performance on a scale from 0 to 50, while each member of the Wall panel can give a yes or no vote. The average of the judges' scores, and the number of votes given by the Wall, are totaled into a maximum possible score of 100.Acts who achieved at least 75 points advance to the Battle round, where the acts are paired into duels against each other. In each battle, the judges score the acts in a similar manner to the audition round, but the Wall votes between the two acts instead.
In the Champions round, the twelve acts who advanced from the battles are grouped into four divisions with three acts each. The act with the lowest score from the American judges is automatically given third place, and a finalist is determined between the remaining two with the main judges' score and the Wall's votes, in the same manner as the Battle round. The winning finalists in each category also each receive a $50,000 prize.
In the finale, semi-final performances are conducted between the solo and group champions in the Music and Variety categories. The winners of each advance to the finals to determine the champion, who wins a $1,000,000 grand prize.
Panelists
The members of the "Wall of the World" include:| Country | Continent | Judge | Occupation |
| Oceania | Aaron Cash | Dancer and choreographer | |
| America | Alberto Belli | Director | |
| Asia | Alex Wright | K-pop producer | |
| America | Anderson Silva | MMA fighter, former and longest-reigning holder of the UFC Middleweight Championship | |
| Europe | Angela Groothuizen | Singer and TV personality | |
| America | Ariadna Gutiérrez | Miss Colombia 2014, Miss Universe 2015 runner-up | |
| Asia | Arthur Gourounlian | Creative director and choreographer | |
| Asia | Aryana Sayeed | Singer and TV personality | |
| Europe | Carlos Latre | Comedian and actor | |
| Europe | Caroline Morahan | Actress and TV host | |
| Europe | Cecilie Lassen | Ballet dancer | |
| Europe | Chantal Janzen | Actress, singer and TV presenter | |
| America | Chinzõ Machida | Shotokan black belt | |
| Europe | Dave Eringa | Record producer | |
| Europe | Del Mak | Choreographer | |
| Europe | Dennis Jauch | Dancer and choreographer | |
| Europe | Essaï Altounian | Musician | |
| Europe | Galabina Kamenova | Gymnast | |
| Europe | Galena Velikova | Dancesport athlete | |
| Asia | Gia Noortas | Actress and filmmaker | |
| Asia | Hokuto "Hok" Konishi | Dancer and choreographer | |
| Europe | Ida Nowakowska | Actress and ballerina | |
| Europe | Jorge González | TV personality | |
| Africa | Kate Henshaw | Actress | |
| Asia | Kathy Wu | Actress and TV personality | |
| America | Keshia Chanté | Singer and songwriter | |
| Asia | Kobi Rozenfeld | Choreographer and creative director | |
| Africa | Lira | Musician | |
| America | Luigie "Lugo" Gonzalez | Record producer | |
| Asia | Makoto Deguchi | Theater producer | |
| Europe | Margareta Svensson | Musical artist and vocal coach | |
| Asia | Nakul Dev Mahajan | Bollywood choreographer | |
| America | Nathalie Yves Gauthier | Circus expert | |
| Europe | Nazan Eckes | TV host and judge | |
| America | Patricia Manterola | Telenovela star and singer | |
| America | Paulina Aguirre | Singer | |
| Europe | Petra Sprecher | Stuntwoman | |
| Asia | Pops Fernandez | Musician and TV personality | |
| Oceania | Rikishi | Professional wrestler, WWE Hall of Fame performer | |
| Asia | Rokit Bay | Rapper and music producer | |
| Europe | Ross King | Television news anchor, MBE for services in Broadcasting, the Arts and Charity. | |
| America | Sergio Trujillo | Broadway choreographer | |
| Africa | Shado Twala | Radio and TV personality | |
| Europe | Sisco Gomez | Choreographer and TV personality | |
| Europe | Slava N. Jakovleff | Film director and TV producer | |
| Europe | Slongs Dievanongs | Rapper | |
| America | Stu Golfman | Comedy talent agent | |
| Europe | Stuart MacLeod | Magician | |
| Africa | Tats Nkonzo | Comedian and musician | |
| Asia | Thai Nguyen | Fashion designer and TV personality | |
| Asia | William Yuekun Yu | Peking opera actor | |
| Europe | Yemi A.D. | Celebrity choreographer and creative director | |
| Europe | Zoë Tyler | Vocal coach and TV personality | |
| Africa | Zora DeHorter | International casting director |
Season 1 (2019)
Auditions
- The act received enough points to advance to the next round
- The act did not receive enough points to advance to the next round
| Act | Country | Talent | Judge Score | Wall Score | Final Score |
| Kukkiwon | Martial Arts Acrobats | 49 | 50 | 99 | |
| TNT Boys | Singing Trio | 49 | 50 | 99 | |
| Space Cowboy | Sword Swallower | 32 | 25 | 57 | |
| Enkh Erdene | Country Singer | 48 | 49 | 97 | |
| Manami Ito | Violinist | 40 | 46 | 86 | |
| Matt Johnson | Escape Artist | 45 | 36 | 81 |
Week 2
| Act | Country | Talent | Judge Score | Wall Score | Final Score |
| Naturally 7 | Acapella Group | 47 | 48 | 95 | |
| Dundu | Puppetry Performers | 48 | 49 | 97 | |
| Iya Traore | Soccer Freestyler | 35 | 29 | 64 | |
| Sister Cristina Scuccia | Singing Nun | 41 | 37 | 78 | |
| Justin Flom | Magician | 49 | 46 | 95 | |
| Duo Suining | Hand Balancers | 46 | 45 | 91 | |
| Lydian Nadhaswaram | Pianist | 41 | 44 | 85 | |
| Krystyna & Princess | Hypnodog | 29 | 12 | 41 | |
| Jordan McKnight | Contortionist | 49 | 42 | 91 | |
| Kai & Alexandra | Upside Down Clown Duo | 36 | 33 | 69 | |
| Jade Kindar-Martin | Highwire Walker | 35 | 36 | 71 | |
| Dimash Kudaibergen | Vocally Diverse Singer | 50 | 48 | 98 |
Week 3
| Act | Country | Talent | Judge Score | Wall Score | Final Score |
| Shaolin Yanze | Kung Fu | 43 | 46 | 89 | |
| Daneliya Tuleshova | Singer | 47 | 49 | 96 | |
| Nina Conti | Ventriloquist | 42 | 43 | 85 | |
| Duo Nigretai | Aerialist Duo | 37 | 44 | 81 | |
| Liliac Band | Rock Band | 48 | 43 | 91 | |
| Emotional Line | Popping Dance Group | 39 | 30 | 69 | |
| William Close | Earth Harp Player & Creator | 42 | 45 | 87 | |
| Los Vivancos | Variety Dancers | 42 | 42 | 84 | |
| Li Wei | Slackline Daredevil | 44 | 46 | 90 | |
| Vonnie Lopez | Gospel Singer | 48 | 44 | 92 |
Battle Rounds
- The act won the battle and advanced to the next round
- The act lost the battle and did not advance to the next round
Week 5
Week 6
Champion Rounds
- The act won the category and advanced to the next round
- The act came in second in the category and did not advance to the next round
- The act finished in third place after receiving the lowest rating from the American judges
- The act decided to withdraw from the competition
Finale
Elimination Table
- Emotional Line and Space Cowboy were brought back to the Battle Rounds to fill out The Top 24.
| Act | Country | Talent | Position Reached |
| Lydian Nadhaswaram | Pianist | Winner | |
| Kukkiwon | Martial Arts Acrobats | Runner-Up | |
| Nina Conti | Ventriloquist | Top 4 | |
| Naturally 7 | Acapella Group | Top 4 | |
| Daneliya Tuleshova | Singer | Top 8 | |
| Dundu | Puppetry Performers | Top 8 | |
| TNT Boys | Singing Trio | Top 8 | |
| Justin Flom | Magician | Top 8 | |
| Dimash Kudaibergen | Vocally Diverse Singer | Withdrew; Top 12 | |
| Shaolin Yanze | Kung Fu | Top 12 | |
| Vonnie Lopez | Gospel Singer | Top 12 | |
| Li Wei | Slackline Daredevil | Top 12 | |
| Liliac Band | Rock Band | Top 24 | |
| Duo Nigretai | Aerialist Duo | Top 24 | |
| Emotional Line | Popping Dance Group | Top 24 | |
| Duo Suining | Hand Balancers | Top 24 | |
| William Close | Earth Harp Player & Creator | Top 24 | |
| Space Cowboy | Sword Swallower | Top 24 | |
| Los Vivancos | Variety Dancers | Top 24 | |
| Sister Cristina Scuccia | Singing Nun | Top 24 | |
| Manami Ito | Violinist | Top 24 | |
| Matt Johnson | Escape Artist | Top 24 | |
| Enkh Erdene | Country Singer | Top 24 | |
| Jordan McKnight | Contortionist | Top 24 | |
| Jade Kindar-Martin | Highwire Walker | Eliminated | |
| Kai & Alexandra | Upside Down Clown Duo | Eliminated | |
| Krystyna & Princess | Hypnodog | Eliminated | |
| Iya Traore | Soccer Freestyler | Eliminated |
Ratings
Contestants who appeared on other shows
- Sister Cristina Scuccia won the second season of The Voice of Italy and is competing in the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars.
- Daneliya Tuleshova represented Kazakhstan at the Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018 finishing in sixth position. She participated in The Voice Kids Ukraine in 2017 and won, and also, in 2018 she won "BRAVO AWARDS" in Russia. She later went on the fifteenth season of America's Got Talent, where she passed through the auditions.
- Dimash Kudaibergen was the 2015 Grand Prix champion of the International Festival of Arts Slavianski Bazaar. He then became runner-up during the fifth season of China's I Am a Singer.
- Enkh Erdene was the second season winner of Mongolia's Got Talent.
- Jordan McKnight competed on the tenth season of America's Got Talent, where she passed through the auditions but did not make the Top 80.
- Krystyna & Princess appeared on the ninth series of Britain's Got Talent, where they passed through the auditions but did not make the Semifinals.
- Matt Johnson made it to the semifinals in series 12 of Britain's Got Talent.
- Space Cowboy competed on multiple seasons of Australia's Got Talent, most recently in 2019.
- TNT Boys won the second season of Philippines' Your Face Sounds Familiar Kids; then appeared on Little Big Shots, Little Big Shots UK, and the Little Big Shots Australia, Little Big Shots in 2018.
- William Close competed on the seventh season of America's Got Talent. He finished in third place.