Today I’m grateful for an 8-tissue TV show.

11.10.2024

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I watched an episode of the TV show “What Would You Do?” today. I used to love this show and watch it regularly, but I’d kind of forgotten about it and didn’t realize that they were still making new episodes. If you’re not familiar with it, the premise of the show is that they set up hidden camera scenarios where real people are confronted with situations to see if they would react and get involved or walk on by and mind their own business. The scenarios typically involve some sort of injustice or situation where someone is being mistreated, and we, as the viewer, get to see if people step in to help a stranger in need.

This show always makes me cry. I’m not sure I’ve ever gotten through an episode without at least a few tears. But the one I watched today … whoa. It was an 8-tissue episode. I cried hard. In one of the scenarios, there was a child who had gotten separated from her dad and an attempted abduction was staged. As they played out the scenario over and over again, we saw real people who stepped in to protect the child, confront the abductor, or call the police. In another scenario, there was a couple who was staging a fake injury at a restaurant in an attempt to blame the restaurant management for their negligence. Again, as the scenario was repeatedly played out, people intervened as honest witnesses, calling out the scam over and over again.

Now I am not naïve to the fact that this show is likely heavily edited and footage is carefully chosen to portray a certain storyline. It’s TV. I know this. But this show still gets me every time. It’s touching to see people stand up for others or intervene in the face of injustice or danger. And each time they break the scene and reveal that the scenarios are staged with actors and hidden cameras, the everyday people who blindly reacted and got involved in the situations, are overcome with emotion. For most, it’s clear that they were scared, but they stepped in anyway.

I cried like a baby today watching this show. I’m always moved to see people stepping in to help strangers. It’s beautiful to see humans helping fellow humans in need. But in a world that seems a bit extra polarized with divisiveness these days, this reminder of the intrinsic goodness of humanity hit me hard – 8 tissues worth, in fact. I know it’s just a TV show, but my heart is thankful I stumbled upon it today.