News In A Flash!: Quick Game Show Updates #57

Happy Friday, game show fans! There hasn't been a lot of game show news recently, but I will cover what I can. As with every "News In A Flash"article, today's will cover many game show news headlines and updates featured throughout the week in 200 characters or less along with some that may have been already covered on The Blog Is Right Facebook page from a new game show in the making hoping to absorb some of the success and viewers from two unscripted FOX series getting the ax to new game show formats in the works. All syndication ratings are from the week ending June 1.

Tonight's players on Channel 4's 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown teaming with Sean Lock & Jon Richardson are Freddie Flintoff & Rhod Gilbert. Henning Wehn will be in Dictionary Corner this week.

Comedian Frank Perkins and presenter Sue Perkins have been named the hosts of the ITV version of Trust Me I'm A Game Show Host. No word yet on when the show will premiere.

THE BEGINNING…: A Kickstarter campaign has been created to revive the early 2000s Comedy Central game show Beat The Geeks. Think of it as one of the predecessors to The Chase.

...AND THE END: FOX has cancelled the improv series Riot, along with reality show I Wanna Marry Harry. Both shows have been pulled from the network schedule effective immediately.

A "major network" is holding auditions for "outgoing" women contestants between the ages of 18-25 for a game show that gives them a chance to win cash with their "wits". The casting call ends June 27.

Channel 4 has ordered four 90-minute live episodes of the new singing game show, The Singer Takes It All, with “chatty” host Alan Carr. Viewers will vote on which singer wins the cash prize each week.

Sony Pictures Television has picked up format rights to a French game show from Newen Distribution called Run & Buzz. The show has 12 players race to the other side of the studio to answer questions.

Quick Side Note: Run & Buzz’s premise seems sort of similar to ITV’s former primetime game show, The Whole 19 Yards.

In the world of syndicated game shows, Jeopardy! has finally outranked Wheel for the first time in nearly a decade with the help of a 2% gain raising it to a 6.4 while Wheel lost 3% and slid to a 6.1.

Monday night's new episode of Whose Line? was the most-watched show so far this season with 1.92 million viewers tuning in and the highest-rated of the season among the A18-49 demo with a 0.6 rating.

This is the first week Jeopardy! has topped Wheel of Fortune, since September 2004 during Ken Jennings' winning streak, thanks to Julia Collins' history-making run during the week.

Elsewhere, Family Feud and Millionaire both saw a dip in their ratings. Feud fell 2% to a 4.7 and Millionaire was the biggest loser among game shows with a 5% loss, bringing it down to a dismal 1.9.

Sources: Broadcasting & Cable, C21Media, Kickstarter, Mirror, Reality Wanted, SitcomsOnline.com, TV By The Numbers, What's On TV