Watch a preview of deaf model, actor Nyle DiMarco on ABC’s What Would You Do? premiere
If you’ve ever wondered what a person’s true colors are when no one is watching, look no further than ABC hidden-camera show What Would You Do?
The series returns Friday, Aug. 9 for an all-new season, and this year, they’re kicking it up a notch by introducing a celebrity guest to the equation — the season premiere features Dancing with the Stars and America’s Next Top Model winner Nyle DiMarco.
DiMarco’s guest-starring appearance can be seen in the exclusive trailer for the new season of the Emmy-winning series, once again hosted by ABC News anchor John Quiñones. DiMarco visits a restaurant and attempts to use sign language to communicate with the waiter, but he’s met with some fairly hostile deaf discrimination. What would you do if you saw it happening? Tune in to see how fellow restaurant patrons react. DiMarco also goes behind-the-scenes to watch the action and waits to see if diners will stand up to the discrimination.
“During a time of great polarization in this country What Would You Do? inspires and helps restore our faith in humanity,” Quiñones tells EW. “This season, more than ever, we travel to states throughout middle America including Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi and Alabama, for a mix of incredible reactions.”
What Would You Do? uses hidden cameras to record real reactions to scenarios created by actors. The Aug. 9 premiere also features situations that delve into issues of immigration and the crisis with immigrants, especially children, in detention facilities at the border, as well as issues of childhood hunger and poverty. In addition to DiMarco’s, here are the other scenarios featured in the episode:
- A woman is at a restaurant by the Mexico-United States border in El Paso, Texas with a young immigrant child, whom she is sponsoring in an effort to keep the child out of a detention facility. Another diner implies that the woman’s efforts should be focused on American children who need help. How will bystanders react?
- A mother is at lunch with her hungry children near the border of Louisiana and Mississippi, the two states with the highest percentage of people living below the poverty line, where the level of food insecurity is staggering. The mother can only afford to split one meal between the three of them. Will other diners come to her aid?
- A supermarket bagger lacks basic grocery packing skills. How will shoppers react when their bread is squished, chips are sampled and eggs are stacked below canned goods?
- Watch the trailer above for more. What Would You Do? returns Aug. 9 at 9 p.m. on ABC