Yesterday afternoon, a spokeswoman for E.W. Scripps Company had confirmed that
Let's Ask America will not return for a fourth season this fall. According to the spokeswoman, "In reviewing the data after three seasons of the game show, we see that the audience affinity settled at a level that is below where we want it to be." The supported data include the show averaging a dismal 0.6 household rating and a 2 share in 16 metered markets according to Nielsen for the two-week period of March 9-20 of this year. The syndicated game show, distributed by MGM Domestic Television Distribution, was created by Jeff Apploff and the late Jim Paratore and was originally produced by Warner Bros.' Telepictures for Scripps. Kevin Pereira hosted the first two seasons and Bill Bellamy is the currently hosting the third season.
This news is a bit surprising considering GSN ordered a batch of season two and three episodes to add to their lineup last year and even inspired the
Philippines and a local station in
Cincinnati to develop versions of their own. However, there were hints at the show's decline this season including the grand prize decreased from $50,000 to $35,000. Despite its brief run,
Let's Ask America will go down in recent syndication history as the third longest-running syndicated game show to premiere in the 2000s* next to
Millionaire (2002-present) and
Street Smarts (2001-2006), for the time being. In the mean time, stay tuned for new episodes on GSN and on your local station (check your local listings and
letsaskamerica.tv to find out if the show is listed in your area).
Sources: TV NewsCheck, TV Week
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