In the current television scene saturated with gritty dramas and self-serious reality shows, sometimes you just want to watch people grab random stuff from a giant cage. If that’s your particular brand of escapism, then CBS’s “Raid the Cage” is back for a second season to fulfill your vicarious consumerist fantasies. Wednesday’s premiere, “Grab Your Bestie,” features teams of best friends competing for prizes in a race against the clock. The premise is simple: answer trivia questions correctly to earn more time in the Cage, where you can grab everything from kitchen appliances to high-definition TVs.
This season’s premiere pits two teams against each other: Sylvio and Patrick from Queens, N.Y., and Amanda and Korina from San Joaquin, Calif. The winning team with the highest total value of prizes gets a shot at the final round, where even bigger rewards await, potentially including a new car. Will friendships survive the pressure? Will anyone accidentally knock over the Cage in a prize-grabbing frenzy? These are the important questions “Raid the Cage” bravely tackles. It’s not exactly high-brow entertainment, but it is a reminder that sometimes, the simplest pleasures are the best. Unless, of course, your best friend elbows you out of the way to grab that last-minute Playstation 5. Then all bets are off.
“Grab Your Bestie” airs Wednesday, January 8, 2025, at 9:00 PM on CBS.
