Game show fans will be in for treat this summer with the influx of revivals, renewals, specials and new series flooding the primetime network television airwaves beginning in a couple of weeks. With BuzzerBlog’s announcement of a potential Password revival on ABC, I think this would be a great time to review the game shows as well as some of the new competitive series to look forward to this summer. Much like NBC during the mid- and late-2000s, ABC will be leading the game show herd along with CBS and GSN debuting new shows and specials of their own. Take a look at the list of shows below and make sure to mark your calendars!
Monday - Wednesday, May, 23-25 (8:00pm ET): The Price Is Right Primetime Specials
Beginning next Monday, The Price Is Right will be heading to primetime for the first time since the show’s Million Dollar Spectacular summer series special in 2008. Throughout the three-night event, the CBS daytime game show will be airing specials honoring the network’s three popular reality shows: Survivor, Big Brother and The Amazing Race. On each episode, contestants have a chance to win a smorgasbord of prizes along with the rare opportunity to meet one or more of these guest stars:
Survivor:
Natalie Anderson (Season 29 winner)
Joe Anglim (Seasons 30 and 31)
Rupert Boneham (Seasons 7, 8, 20 and 27)
Jeremy Collins (Season 29, winner of Season 31)
Cirie Fields (Seasons 12, 16 and 20)
Woo Hwang (Seasons 28 and 31)
Boston Rob Mariano (Seasons 4, 8, 20 and winner of 22)
Kelley Wentworth (Seasons 29 and 31)
Tina Wesson (Season 2 winner, seasons 8 and 27)
Big Brother:
Frankie Grande (Season 16)
Britney Godwin (Season 12 and 14)
James Huling (Season 17)
Will Kirby (Seasons 2 winner, Season 7)
Janelle Pierzina (Seasons 6, 7 and 14)
Rachel Reilly (Season 12, and Season 13 winner)
Da’Vonne Rogers (Season 17)
Jeffrey Schroeder (Seasons 11 and 13)
Ian Terry (Season 14 winner)
Amazing Race:
Leo Temory and Jamal Zadaran (Seasons 23 and 24)
Tyler Oakley and Korey Kuhl (Season 28)
Erin Robinson and Joslyn Davis (Season 28)
Joey Buttitta and Kelsey Gerckens (Season 27 winners)
Nat Strand and Kat Chang (Season 17 winners)
William “Bopper” Minton and Mark Jackson (Season 20)
Tiffany Chantell Torres and Krista DeBono (Season 27)
Brook Roberts and Claire Champlin (Season 17)
Nathaniel “Big Easy” Lofton and Herbert “Flight Time” Lang (Seasons 15, 18 and 24)
Thursday, May 26 (8:00-10:00pm ET): 500 Questions
The marathon trivia game show event that is 500 Questions returns for a second season with a new host, new rules and more contestants attempting to fight their way through the 500-question gauntlet with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash at stake before getting three wrong in a row. This season, the series will be hosted ABC newscaster Dan Harris and we will see a few changes including a two-minute lightning round and the contestants’ response time reduced down to five seconds, instead of ten. In addition to Dr. Richard Mason beginning his game from last season, the two-hour season premiere will also feature Jeopardy! super-champ Ken Jennings competing on the program. (Let’s hope the show makes it through 500 questions this season.)
Thursday, June 9 (9:00pm ET): Winsanity
On GSN’s new game show, hosted by Donald Faison, contestants will have a chance to win prizes for themselves and select members of the studio audience if they can rank ten interesting and random facts in from lowest to highest in numerical order. Correct answers wins them a prize and a incorrect answers forces the contestant and audience section to forfeit all of their prizes and a new contestant continues the game. Winsanity is truly living up to its name by giving home viewers a chance to win as well. The network has partnered with participation tech company iPowow to allow viewers to play along with the show in real-time for an opportunity to win prizes throughout the season.
Tuesday, June 14 (8:00pm & 10:00pm ET): To Tell The Truth
Making its official debut on ABC, the game show best known for its clever cross-examinations and paradoxical theme song is returning to television with new host Black-ish star Anthony Anderson for a six-episode season. This edition’s guest stars include NeNe Leakes, Mike Tyson, Betty White and Tracie Ellis Ross. Since its premiere on CBS in 1956, To Tell The Truth has aired a total of 25 seasons on CBS, NBC and in syndication. In case you have never seen the show before, check out an episode from the 2000 John O’ Hurley era of To Tell The Truth in the clip below.
Wednesday, June 15 (10:00pm ET): Skin Wars: Fresh Paint
GSN is set to launch its Skin Wars spinoff series, Skin Wars: Fresh Paint, in less than a month from today. After debuting the supposed one-off special last year, the network decided to go all-in on this series that has three of the top former Skin Wars mentor six new contestants each week to help them through body painting challenges for a chance to win $10,000. Skin Wars’ resident judge RuPaul Charles will host the show and international master body painter Emma Carmack and renowned art critic Mat Gleason will judge the competition.
Thursday, June 23 (8:00-10:00pm ET): BattleBots
Although the second season had unofficially began May 10 of last week, the metal madness that is BattleBots is set to return in June. The tournament will feature 48 tenacious team pitting their creatively designed battle robots (and drones) against each other for the BattleBots championship. The season kicked off with a special preview episode showing twelve teams competing in four three-minute Rumbles, with three teams fighting in each battle to determine who would claim the final four spots in the tourney of 48. ESPN’s Samantha Ponder will be the new host, announcer and commentators Faruq Tauheed, Kenny Florian and Chris Rose will return to call the action, and Fon Davis, Nerdist News anchor Jessica Chobot and actor Clark Cregg will be the judges. Check out the first episode of the new season (as well as the previous season in its entirety) on Hulu. You can take a closer look at competition on the BattleBots website.
Sunday, June 26
(8:00pm ET): Celebrity Family Feud
(9:00pm ET): The $100,000 Pyramid
(8:00pm ET): Celebrity Family Feud
(9:00pm ET): The $100,000 Pyramid
(10:00pm ET): Match Game
More than likely built around and because the predictable success of Celebrity Family Feud, ABC’s new Sunday Fun & Games lineup will be hitting the airwaves beginning June 26. Leading off at 8:00pm is Celebrity Family Feud with Steve Harvey hosting a series of star-studded match-ups with some of your favorite celebrities playing for $25,000 for their respective charities. At 9:00pm, The $100,000 Pyramid debuts on primetime network television with host Michael Strahan and the same great high stakes word association game you grew up watching. Last, but not least, the weekend block wraps up at 10:00pm with the second ABC revival of Match Game, hosted by Alec Baldwin. (By the way, there's still time for you to register to potentially become a contestant on Match Game. Just go to castingmatchgame.com for more information.)
Other competitive series to check out:
- American Ninja Warrior (NBC): Wednesday, June 1 at 8:00pm ET
- America's Got Talent (NBC): Tuesday, May 31 at 8:00pm ET
- Big Brother (CBS): Wednesday, June 22 at 8:00pm ET
- Penn & Teller: Fool Us (The CW): Monday, July 11 at 8:00pm ET
- Whose Line Is It Anyway? (The CW): Monday, July 11 at 9:00pm ET
Sources: Battlebots.com, BroadwayWorld, BuzzerBlog, CastingMatchGame.com, Hulu, Parade, The Futon Critic, TVLine, YouTube
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