Fresh For Fall 2011: Shows To Look Forward To This Fall

Comedian George Lopez makes his appearance
during a Showcase. Courtesy CBS

As this summer is coming to a close, so are a lot summer staple shows as well in order to make way for new episodes of the fall television shows. This also means that there will be new episodes of some of your favorite game shows like Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy (starting September 19) and new series premieres of shows like The X Factor. In this week's article, I will be spotlighting the shows I am the most interested in seeing this fall. Enjoy!

Let's Make A Deal 
The CBS revival of Let’s Make a Deal return for a third season this fall with the trio of Emmy-nominated host Wayne Brady, hostess Tiffany Coyne, and announcer Jonathan Mangum. In addition to the minor changes in the set, some of the newer features in this season of Let’s Make a Deal include new games such as “Strike a Match” and “Go For a Spin”, which resembles the Door #4 wheel game used in The All New Let’s Make a Deal during the mid 1980s. In “Go For a Spin”, one contestant will be select at random to spin the wheel for cash, a new car, or a Zonk. Like “Door #4”, It can appear at any time during any show throughout the season. You can check out preview clips from the new season of Let’s Make a Deal on the show’s YouTube page and stay tuned for the third season premiere of Let’s Make a Deal on September 19 on CBS. 

The Price Is Right

Courtesy CBS

This upcoming season of The Price Is Right will be a milestone season for the popular daytime game show as the series enters into its 40th season on television. For the 40th season, the set has been slightly updated with a larger monitor and new blue lighting behind the studio audience and the Punch-A-Bunch board has been updated with a bigger cash prize. Also, comedian George Lopez and rapper Snoop Dogg are lined up as the first guest stars for the new season to appear for separate Showcases. Even though there are o new pricing games lined up this go round, this season of The Price Is Right will still be filled with fun, excitement, amazing prizes, and cameo celebrity appearances. Could this mean a cameo appearance by Bob Barker to help celebrate the show’s 40th year on television? Could this also mean a 40th anniversary primetime Million Dollar Spectacular special? Well, Hope springs eternal. Find out this season on The Price Is Right premiering September 19 on CBS. 

Who Wants To Be a Millionaire

The Price Is Right is not only game show with an upcoming milestone season. This upcoming season of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire will also be a milestone for the syndicated version of the series as the show goes into its 10th season. The last season brought new changes to the game, making the game more exciting and unpredictable with the new randomized category and money ladder. In this season, special prize will be added to one of the first round question, and if the contestant gets it right, they will win the money attached to the questing and the prize (which is theirs regardless of the outcome of their game.  Also, some episodes will be declared as “Double Your Money” days at the discretion of the producers. On “Double Your Money” days, one question in round one will be worth double the value; thus, a contestant could win up to $50,000 on a question in round one of their game. This season of Millionaire will also feature more celebrity weeks and special theme episodes such as Celebrity Week, starting on September 19 in honor of Alzhemier’s Month and Alzhemier’s Action Day, a special Ghost Hunters episode featuring ghost hunters Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson, and a special Deadest Catch episode featuring the show’s stars Jonathan and Andy Hillstrand. On a quick side note, Meredith Vieria will guest star on Ghost Hunters on October 26 on SyFy. Check out actor Peter Gallagher's run for the $1,000,000 on last year's Celebrity Week (which also honored Alzhemier's month) on the video below. In addition to the new game features and special episodes, Millionaire will be introducing “Club Millionaire” on the show’s website, where the viewers will have a chance to win cash, prizes, and even a chance to win $1,000,000 by becoming a contestant on the show. The last season of Millionaire was pretty awesome and I hope this season will be even better. Check out the 10th season premiere of Millionaire on September 5 on your local station.

Family Game Night 

Courtesy The Hub Network

Last year, two new original game shows debuted on the new kids’ network The Hub, one of which was Family Game Night. Family Game Night is the show that takes two families and pits them against each other in games such as Boggle and Cranium for cash and prizes. Family Game Night, hosted by Emmy-nominated host Todd Newton, returns for a second season with brand new game to add to their repertoire such as Simon Flash, Trouble Pop Quiz, and Operation Slam Dunk. In honor of the second season arrival, The Hub will be airing two brand new episodes of Family Game Night on September 2 starting at 7:00pm EST. In addition to the new season, The Hub will also be airing a Family Game Night Labor Day marathon on September 5 beginning at 10:00am EST. Stay Tuned!

The Game of Life & Scrabble Showdown

Courtesy Wall Street
 Journal

Speaking of original game shows, The Hub will air two brand new original game shows, The Game of Life and Scrabble Showdown. The Game of Life brings the classic board game of the same name to life in this live-action game show where two competing families will drive through a 3-D version of the game board in their own “game car” and win cash and prizes in the process. The host of this game show will be former Street Smarts host Frank Nicotero. In Scrabble Showdown, two families will try to spell their way to victory, big points, and fabulous cash and prizes in this new game show hosted by Justin Williams. The Hub has done an excellent job so far of turning board games into game shows so far. I hope their success continues with the premiere of these two new shows. Both The Game of Life and Scrabble Showdown will premiere on September 17 with The Game of Life premiering at 6:00pm EST and Scrabble Showdown premiering at 6:30pm EST.

Family Feud

Courtesy EURweb.com

The last season of Family Feud proved to be one of the best seasons in the show’s history because of one person: Steve Harvey. After John O’ Hurley left the show on his own terms, Family Feud moved its set to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and hired comedian Steve Harvey to take over as the emcee of the show. The ratings from Harvey’s first season on Family Feud, increasing more than 40 percent from a year ago, is proof enough that Harvey was the right man for the job. Not only that, but there were a lot of funny, priceless, and just downright outrageous moments that were created during the last season, including this clip where a contestant’s “blunt” answer during the Fast Money round completely derails him from asking any more questions. I haven’t seen comical breakdowns like that since the Dawson era of the Feud. You can check out more clips like this on the show’s YouTube page. As for the show’s new season, Family Feud will once again relocate their set, this time to Atlanta, Georgia. I am looking forward to the new season of Family Feud to see even more hilarious moments from Steve and the contestants. The new season of Family Feud premieres on September 12 on your local station. 

More Shows To Look Forward To!
FOX's The X Factor & NBC's The Sing-Off