15May2013
TNT Developing “Monopoly” Reality Show
After years of essentially doing only kids unscripted game shows, Hasbro is finally breaking into the adult market. At today's Turner upfront announcements, TNT announced the development of the new reality game show Monopoly. Based on the iconic toy and game, this version will see eight two-person teams play a real-life game of Monopoly against each other, attempting to amass the most property and wealth that they can. It takes strategy, skill, and luck, but the eventual winners will receive a huge cash prize. The series features executive producers Stephen J. Davis, Kevin Belinkoff, Dan Cutforth, and Jane Lipsitz and comes from The Magic Elves and Hasbro Studios. Click here to learn more about the show and the previous version of Monopoly from the 1990s.
Read MoreView Comments (28)14May2013
CNBC Debuts “Crowd Rules” with Pat Kiernan Tonight at 9:00PM ET
Tonight, CNBC, in its new "CNBC Prime" block, will debut its first game show. The network brings you Crowd Rules tonight and every Tuesday at 9:00PM ET. Hosted by news anchor and TV personality Pat Kiernan (World Series of Pop Culture, Studio 7, Grand Slam) with a panel lead by entrepreneur Kendra Scott, each episode sees three small businesses fight for $50,000. They'll make their case why they deserve it to the panel, but the studio audience ultimately decides who gets the money. Who will the 97 members of the audience side with? Click here to learn more and to watch an extended preview.
Read MoreView Comments (4)23Apr2013
D.L. Hughley and Michael Ian Black Named Hosts of TBS’s “Trust Me, I’m a Game Show Host”
TBS's upcoming unscripted series Trust Me, I'm A Game Show Host has found its titular hosts. Comedians D.L. Hughley and Michael Ian Black have come aboard the Mark Burnett-produced game which will debut later in 2013. In each episode Hughley and Black will present single contestants with strange facts. One is telling the truth and one is lying. It's up to the contestant to decide who is making things up. ABC previously shot a pilot for the show in 2010 with hosts Bill Engvall and Mo Rocca. This was rejected. You can read our lukewarm thoughts on the series by clicking here. What do you think of the hosts? Click here to let us know.
Read MoreLeave a Comment18Apr2013
Disney Channel Revives “Win, Lose, or Draw”
A classic drawing game is coming back. TV Guide reports that Disney Channel is bringing back the 80s game Win, Lose, or Draw for a new season. Justin Willman, who fronted The Hub's Scrabble Showdown, will oversee this revival. Each episode will see a team of two kid contestants and one Disney star test their drawing skills. TV Guide says this time, "the players' drawing board will utilize motion control, interactive multi-touch screen displays and graphic technology." Disney Channel previously aired a kids version of the show, Teen Win, Lose, or Draw in the early 1990s. The format first aired in 1987, hosted by Bert Convy. Vicki Lawrence fronted a daytime NBC version for two years. Scott St. John will executive produce. Production begins in July.
Read MoreView Comments (8)05Apr2013
Syfy Orders Japanese Format “Exit”
Syfy has had some pretty good success in the game show market. They're planning to continue that with their newest greenlight, the Japanese format Exit. Hosted by Curt Doussett, each episode sees four teams of two face off in physical and mental challenges all while trapped in diabolical rooms. Losing teams will leave the game in inventive, scary, and horror-movie themed ways. The final surviving team wins $10,000. Think of it as a mix of brainteasers and puzzles, some elements of Syfy's Total Blackout, and the style and attitude of Saw. Exit will debut June 4th at 10:00PM ET on Syfy. Click here to see a quick pitch film for the show and to let us know if you're looking forward to it.
Read MoreView Comments (9)13Mar2013
ABC Family Casting for “Dancing Fools”; Debuts May 29th
ABC Family is stepping back into the unscripted genre. The network has begun casting for its new dancing show Dancing Fools. The show, hosted by The Singing Bee and Bet On Your Baby host Melissa Peterman, sees contestants from outrageous and memorable dances caught on camera go on the air and perform for a chance at $10,000. The series will debut Wednesday, May 29th, at 9:00PM ET. With the show's debut quickly approaching, they are looking for duos, trios, and teams who are not professionals to dance for the chance at five figures. Click here to learn how to be a part of the show.
Read MoreView Comments (3)07Mar2013
Updates While We Were Away
Apologies for the slow few days. We've been away and incredibly busy. Luckily there hasn't been a lot going on. We do have a few small updates you may be interested in, though. What you may also be interested in is we'll be on the set of Wheel of Fortune next week so watch out for some cool features then. Until that time, though, here's what we missed while away. We've got updates on The Price is Right, Robot Combat League, America's Got Talent, CBS's upcoming import of The Great British Bake Off, ITV's Tipping Point, and UK Millionaire. Click here for the full story on each.
Read MoreView Comments (13)28Feb2013
Ratings: “Robot Combat League” Debuts to 1.38 Million
Good news for fans of ass-kicking robots. Syfy's Robot Combat League started strong out of the gate. The robot boxing game scored 1.38 million viewers total. This was a drop of just 25% from its lead-in of Face Off. It also got a two-year-unscripted high viewership of 748,000 in the target demographic. No Syfy series has debuted that high in over two years. Robot Combat League retained 68% of its target demographic rating. Syndicated game shows didn't have such a great report for the second week of Sweeps. Only two shows managed to stay even or grow. Click here to read the report about all the shows and their ratings.
Read MoreView Comments (1)26Feb2013
Review: “Robot Combat League” Lives Up to the Hype, But Takes Too Long to Get There
Our most anticipated game show of the year so far has been, without question, Syfy's Robot Combat League. From the day it was announced, our interest was piqued. It's gigantic robots kicking the hell out of each other. How could you not be somewhat interested? However, yes, while the idea sounds interesting there was concern about how it would look on television. TV budgets aren't mammoth, especially cable budgets. Could Syfy pull off a game of robot boxing without it seeming dumb, corny, or uninteresting. The debut episode has been posted on Hulu (among other places) to preview before next week's debut. We're relieved to say Robot Combat League more than lives up to its hype, but it takes a bit too long to get there. Click here to read our very favorable, excited review and to watch the first full fight of the Robot Combat League.
Read MoreView Comments (121)25Feb2013
Reelz Channel to Launch “Race to the Scene” Spring 2013
We try to keep on the ball but, occasionally, a story slips through the cracks. I have no idea how this one stayed completely hidden despite being announced in June, though. Reelz Channel has announced they are launching their first game show, Race to the Scene, this Spring. Race to the Scene sees pairs of teams compete in challenged ripped directly from some of your favorite movies. You may be taking a bike ride from E.T. or performing high-octane stunts from Terminator 2. Anything is open game for contestants. Interestingly action hero Dolph Lundgren will host the series. The series is created and executive produced by Justin Hochberg, Charlie Ebersol and Reelz. Click here to read our thoughts about what we've watched from the show and to see Dolph discuss it.
Read MoreView Comments (3)13Feb2013
MundoFox Renews “Minuto Para Ganar” for Second Season
The Minute to Win It format looks like it has a lot of life left in America. Just over a week since GSN announced its upcoming revival, MundoFox has announced it is bringing back the Spanish-language version, Minuto Para Ganar, for a second season. MundoFox is a Spanish-language American broadcast network headquartered in Los Angeles. Marco Antonio Regil is set to return as host. Each episode sees a team of contestants play for up to $100,000 by competing in ten simple challenges made from household objects. Casting is currently underway. The biggest change this season is production will move from Los Angeles to New York City. There's no indication if this will affect GSN's version at all, if it was sharing studio space with MundoFox's version to begin with. Click here to let us know what you think of the renewal and to see a small glimpse of this version.
Read MoreView Comments (1)05Feb2013
Gallery: Previews of Syfy’s “Robot Combat League” Too Cool to Ignore
I don't think I can accurately state how excited I am to see Syfy's Robot Combat League, and that takes a lot. The series will debut Tuesday, February 26th, at 10:00PM ET on Syfy. Essentially mixing the old Comedy Central show BattleBots with the movie Real Steel, twelve robots will fight each other, lead by fighters and technicians. The ultimate champions will take home $100,000. Xbox 360 and Roku users get a special preview of the show before anyone else. One week early, on February 19th, tune to the Syfy app in either of the two devices to stream the series premiere for free. In the meantime, since we've read all about it, how about we finally see some proof of the robot carnage? Take a look at some videos and pictures. Are you as excited as we are? Click here to check out some pictures and video of the show.
Read MoreView Comments (3)28Jan2013
TBS Acquires Repeats of ABC’s “Wipeout,” Begins Airing Weekday Afternoons
An interesting bit of information has come out quietly today. TBS, which apparently is getting heavier into game shows than GSN has this month, has picked up reruns of the ABC hit game show Wipeout. The show will air at 2PM ET on weekdays starting today, replacing repeats of Rules of Engagement. The rights to air Wipeout repeats have been in the Time Warner family since sister network TruTV started airing them in Fall 2011. TruTV has a nice level of success airing repeats of the show in a block on Friday nights, so TBS will borrow the episodes to see if they can have similar success in propping up their afternoon schedule. Click here to read about TBS's scheduling of the show.
Read MoreView Comments (6)23Jan2013
TBS Orders Six Episodes of Bam Margera’s New Stunt/Trivia “Bad Ass Game Show”
Of all the networks to have game show news come from this month, I did not think TBS would be the one to talk about most often. Today, TBS announced that Bam Margera, skateboarder and Jackass luminary, will be starring in a new stunt/trivia hybrid game show starting in 2014 on their network called Bam's Bad Ass Game Show. The show will feature multiple contestants duking it out in a variety of extreme challenges, like answering questions above disgusting water and attempting hand/eye coordination stunts after - or even while - being shot out of a cannon. Some of Margera's friends that have been featured on other programs with him are likely to turn up here as well. Contestants drop out each round until the last one standing wins $10,000. The show was piloted in fall 2012 and has gotten the go-ahead now. Click here to read more about TBS's newest out-of-the-box game show idea.
Read MoreView Comments (5)11Jan2013
USA Casting for New Game Show from Bright Road Productions
Game shows seem to be thriving on cable right now. We just discussed TBS's pickup of Trust Me...I'm a Game Show Host which was jettisoned by ABC a long time ago. USA is getting back into the game business. They are now casting for a family game. The show will see families of four compete for a chance to win up to $10,000. Kids in the family must be between 13 and 20. This will not feature physical challenges but instead traditional games. They are looking for people, "that can strategize and consider themselves masters," in these games. Click here to learn more and to find out how to apply.
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