CBS Casting Websites
Three shows, three brands, one set of casting workflows. Building three sites would have meant maintaining three of them, so I built one platform that wears each show’s identity and changes its casting rules per show.
Unlimited shows, one platform
CBS needed casting sites for Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race. Three shows, three brand books, three sets of casting rules — and underneath all of it, very nearly the same workflow every time.
Three separate applications would have meant three codebases to keep in step. Every fix made three times. Every new feature negotiated three ways, then built three ways.
So I built one platform that could wear any of them. Color, type, hero imagery and casting rules all come from a show's configuration. The application flow underneath stays where it is, except where a show genuinely differs — which in practice meant The Amazing Race applying as teams of two.
It also had to survive the casting window. Traffic for a show like this arrives across a few evenings rather than evenly over a quarter, and close to every applicant uploads a video on the way through.
One platform, three brands
The same casting flow, themed per show. Switch brands to see what stayed shared and what each show owned.
Shared design system, unique identity
- 01
Theme-driven architecture
A CSS custom property system let each show define its palette, typography and hero imagery through a single configuration object — the same header and hero component, re-themed per show with no code changes.
- 02
Shared component library
One React library powered all three sites. Forms, callouts and accordions consumed theme tokens, so a component on Survivor felt like Survivor while the same component on Big Brother felt like Big Brother.
- 03
Video audition uploads
Applicants submit a video with their form. The pipeline had to accept large files from consumer connections without losing a half-finished application behind it.
- 04
Salesforce-backed tracking
Applications fed CBS's existing Salesforce CRM, so casting producers worked in the tool they already used rather than learning a second system.
- 05
Built for the casting spike
Traffic arrives in windows. The platform had to hold up when a premiere drove a season's worth of applicants at the form in a single evening.
- 06
A new show in two weeks
The real test of the architecture: standing up a fourth show meant supplying a theme and its casting rules.
Every show, in your pocket
The same theme-able platform reflowed to mobile — each show keeping its colors, hero, and casting flow on small screens, where most applicants actually start.
How I'd build it today
A rebuild of the casting platform, drawn from the design system rather than from screenshots. The theme switch is the point: change show and the color, display face, imagery, deadlines and eligibility rules all follow, while the application flow underneath stays put — including The Amazing Race applying as teams of two. Every field is real and holds state. Applicants and casting calls are invented.