GSN will debut their newest show The American Bible Challenge on August 23rd at 8:00PM ET. The show tests people’s knowledge of the bible and pop culture as they attempt to win money for a good cause of theirs. Jeff Foxworthy hosts. GSN released a preview for the show. Take a look below. Anyone interested in this at all?
Alex Davis has written 3327 articles on BuzzerBlog.
Alex Davis is an award winning writer and producer based out of Pittsburgh, PA, who works out of New York, Los Angeles, and London. Alex is the head writer and editor for BuzzerBlog and is the president and head of development of 5Hole Productions, specializing in unscripted formats for television and internet play.
Visit this author's website · View more posts by Alex Davis
29 responses to "GSN Releases Preview for “The American Bible Challenge”"
I MIGHT watch the first ep just to see the format, but I doubt I’d be a regular viewer. (Doesn’t help that I’m a former Jehovah’s Witness-turned-agnostic, but that’s neither here nor there.)
I’m with you on this one. I’d like to see the format, but have such low expectations for this show. Really, I’d like to see it fail as quickly as possible. I don’t like the idea of a game show based entirely around a religious text.
(Although, since I have such low interest in the Bible, my knowledge of it is remarkably low. Maybe I’ll learn a thing or two about it — or I could just read it.)
GSN, do us all a favor and PLEASE hire some people who know something about game shows. From Hidden Agenda to Late Night Liars to the new Lingo to Drew Carey to this, you’ve given us one piece of crap after another. How did this show ever get made? This promo was obviously done by someone who thinks a game show is about screaming people playing something they might care about but no one else does.
I wonder if Bob Boden applied for the job when he left Hasbro
In my case, this is them making good for Without Prejudice. I think it’s awesome to see regular people play for a worthy cause that they support.
We’ve seen GSN do a lot of bizarre things over the years, but this one takes the cake. A Bible Game Show ? Seriously ? Put this on a religion channel, as it has no place on GSN. I also hope for a quick cancellation… but we’ll probably get some other drivel, like “Meet Your Prostate – The Game Show” :).
Please GSN, you’ve FINALLY made a great decision with the Pyramid revival. Stick with this mindset, and make Classic Game Show revivals your One & ONLY priority. It’s what your audience is *craving*. Make it happen !
A Bible-based game show is not all that bad. You act like all the show is going to be about is all the holier-than-thou-overly-pious-book-thumping-self-righteous-idiots that go to church every Sunday. The contestants don’t seem like that; they just love their faith.
The game is being played for a good cause (as it should be; no money in the contestant’s pockets).
THIS IS NOTHING LIKE THAT MILLION-DOLLAR PIECE OF CRAP “THINK LIKE A CAT”! That was terrible.
Well said Andy, this show belongs on GMC with Chuck awoolery a host!
Not really well said.
It’s really sad to see what bigots are here posting comments, especially before viewing the entire show. It looks like there were plenty of reasoned adult having fun on the show and answering trivia questions. Just because you are ignorant on the subject matter doesn’t mean you should criticize the show outright. I can appreciate a show like Baseball IQ even if I don’t have an extensive baseball history.
It’s funny that some of the people here tout the garbage show Baggage as some great show and yet won’t even give this a shot because it’s based on the Bible. What a bunch of hypocrites.
I know, right?! SMH
Keith S. has a point.
I will say I don’t think this will work either. GSN simply isn’t the place for this kind of show, Jeff Foxworthy definitely doesn’t seem like the right host for it, and I THINK I heard it was an hour and that’s RIDICULOUS!
But with that said, I definitely will give it a chance! It’s still a solid game show and that’s ALWAYS a plus. Plus, as much as I and others might not know too much about the subject, there are a lot of people who do and who might want to watch this.
And…like Keith S. said, if a show like “Baseball I.Q.” or “2-Minute Drill” interests me (knowing I’m not a sports fan AT ALL and usually just sit and watch without answering anything), then this might do the same. I don’t think this will be as good as those shows, but it might be much better than people think. I’ll definitely reserve my judgment until after I see it.
I agree that a religious themed game show oes not belong on GSN and Jeff Foxworthy is nt the right host. It shoud be I’m a channel like GMC with someone like Chuck Woolery as host.
But hey, this seems like n interesting showso I’ll give it a chance!
I had already said that I’ll probably watch one show to see whether it’s good. A Bible-based game show has a limited audience, but the same is true of a music-based show or a sports-based show. If it’s an hour, I’ll be that much less likely to watch a second show.
Absolutely Jay.
That hour would be THE biggest mistake! I’ve spent more than one 30-minute period watching the kids Bible game show that has aired on TBN for years. This MIGHT work at 30 minutes. At an hour, the network, in my opinion, is asking for doom. There’s NO reason this should be an hour.
The other scary thing I feel about this show is that promos are touting the producers from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” are behind this show. I REALLY hope it’s not that same kind of “good feeling” kind of game show that ABC has done SO many times. I, unfortunately, feel like it might be. :(
If GSN tries to promote it as being the same good-feeling type of game show such as last year’s ABC failure YOU DESERVE IT, then the ratings will be the same.
I’ll watch the hour-long premiere to see how it goes, but I’m expecting it to be dry, and to only last 6 episodes, as many of today’s first-season modern game shows end up being. I still think 20Q and The Money List are better suited for 1-hour-long series.
I will not watch this show.
The podiums look like the old J! Podiums.
People didn’t think Foxworthy was the right host for 5th Grader. After a few eps, everyone calmed down. I’ll at least watch an episode of it before trashing and dismissing it. People probably think it’ll be all rednecks as contestants because of the host.
I will be watching this show. I like a show where I can learn about the Bible.
No wonder our country is ripe for judgment. We are ignorant and apathetic which shows in these responses -”I don’t know and I don’t care”. GSN has two shows that I feel are absolutely obscene and they are “The Newlywed Game” and “Baggage.” So why not have something wholesome that the whole family can watch. I myself and looking forward to a gameshow of this nature.
Personally, I doubt this is a show I’ll have any interest in. Not because of the Bible focus specifically, but because I never could manage any interest in any show with too narrow a focus for questions. That also goes for Movie Week on Millionaire and basically every game show in the history of ESPN as well. I think I actually fell asleep in the middle of the 1 vs. 100 Pop Culture episode. And despite being a gigantic Jeopardy! fan, I could never be bothered to watch Rock & Roll Jeopardy! at all. But that’s just me being a general-knowledge trivia geek.
Whatever happened to general-knowledge quiz shows in the US, anyway? The only survivors that come to mind are Jeopardy! and Millionaire (and Cash Cab, if reruns count).
I don’t get GSN, but I might pay for a higher level for this and Pyramid (yes, both intrigue me). My gut tells me there isn’t a big enough audience for this unless they do some big advertising (chruches, Christian colleges and magazines, Exterme Makeover?, etc.), especially at one hour, but they’re doing about everything they can to succeed in the format.
As someone said earlier, there is an audience that likes game shows but don’t want to watch Baggage or the Newlywed Game. Setting it at 8 p.m. gets them a chance to have kids watch with parents. Jeff Foxworthy has shown he can host game shows and seems to present himself as a nondenominational Christian (and is one of the producers).
The catch that money earned is for a good cause and not for themselves is a unique angle in a TV show. The Extreme Makeover Home Edition people certainly don’t appeal for everyone, but they’ve got a good chunk of their audience probably interested in this show too, and could carry the “positive vibe” (whether you like that or not) over to the game show. The Extreme Makoever people certainly have lasted a long time. Finally, I think the least of their problems will be finding sponsors if this has even a fair chance of making it (not risque, potential for the curious, and I don’t think this works if the contestants take the money home for themselves, for multiple reasons).
It’s got a shot, and for those who don’t like this, the same advice you’d probably give for those don’t like/wouldn’t watch Baggage: applies: change the channel. If it draws enough ratings, it probably won’t matter what detractors think anyway, and GSN is hoping for a similar run as the 5th Grader show.
REal quick, to clarify: They likely will attract “family”/Christian oriented products as advertisers/sponsors, and likely won’t worry about something controversial that will make them withdraw from the show. My two cents.
I see both sides. I think it deserves a chance but I’m not sure GSN is the right fit. GMC or TBN make more sense.
I like Foxworthy here. He gives me the deep south bible belt vibe actually. I’ve said a few times He reminds me of Bill Anderson as a host. I think he’s a good fit
The set, meh…don’t like the giant Bibles on the Podiums but Do like the lighter feel. From the clips it won’t just be a hard quiz which is good, that could be tedious for those who don’t know the Bible.
I will say that they have amped the fun factor and that’s good. For the record I didn’t like 2 minute Drill as I thought it was too dark and dry for such a niche subject (perfered the humor or Sports Geniuses, Dream League or the challenge of Stump the Schwab) so this is the right approach keep it light.
I will say if they get 50 eps of Tim Tebow wannabes supporting Rick Santorum for president, you got issues…but if they can show that these are good people who Know their bible and not Bible thumping nuts who hide from everything…it could work well…I’ll be happy to give it a shot, but likely won’t see it much. But do want to catch an ep. Do think an hour is too long tho.
The video’s not playing… it’s not doing anything. It’s just black.
Neeeever mind… I was trying to do it with Google Chrome. Firefox plays it.
Jeff Foxworthy is some kind of a comedian turned game show host. I would like to see him team up with Bill Engavall and Larry The Cable Guy to host a two hour top 20 country music countdown show titled The Foxworthy, Engavall and Cable Guy Top 20 Country Countdown. Or a Jeff Foxworthy Weekly Country Top 40 country music countdown show in 2013. He Could be the next Rick Dees of radio.
Foxworthy did host a radio countdown show – for 10 years! (1999-2009)