News In A Flash!: Quick Game Show Updates #73

This week's quick update article will cover some of the latest game show news headlines from the past few days in 200 characters or less including updates featured on the TBIR Facebook page. News updates include how ITV2's newest physically challenging game show, Almost Impossible Gameshow, performed in its first night out, GSN's record-breaking third quarter performance in nearly all of its demographic ratings, Canada's Smartest Person returning for another season and a few GSN ratings updates.

GSN Greenlights Full Season of “Skin Wars: Fresh Paint” For 2016

What seemed to be a one-off special has suddenly become a full-fledged series set to air next year on the network. GSN has ordered eight additional episodes of the Skin Wars spinoff series, Skin Wars: Fresh Paint. The first episode premiered August 26 before the second season $100,000 finale of Skin Wars. Each one-hour episode, hosted by Skin Wars judge RuPaul, has six skilled and highly accomplished artists compete in a series of intense, competitive body painting elimination challenges with the "last artist standing” winning $10,000 and crowned the day’s Skin Wars: Fresh Paint Champion. The six contestants will also be mentored by three former contestants from the original series, deemed the Skin Wars All-Stars, and judged by Emma Cammack, an international master body painter, and Mat Gleason, art critic, founder of the renowned Coagula Art Journal and contributor to The Huffington Post. The series is executive produced by Michael Levitt of Michael Levitt Productions.

Rules For GSN's "Hellevator"

Earlier this week, GSN released a new promo announcing the date and time of the series premiere of Hellevator, which airs Wednesday, October 21 at 8:00pm ET, as well as a press release synopsizing the show’s rules. Throughout the first eight-episode season, a team of three friends rides a haunted elevator and stop on various floors in an abandoned slaughterhouse. 

News In A Flash!: Quick Game Show Updates #70

This week's update will review some of the major news headlines in the game show universe from the past few weeks in 200 characters or less including updates featured on the TBIR Facebook page. Updates include TLC's Labor Games returning this month, Jenny Ryan beginning her tenure as one of the resident Chasers on ITV's The Chase some of the latest news from GSN. All syndication ratings are from the week ending August 21.

"Chain Reaction" (2015 GSN Revival) Review

Set Design- 8

Gameplay- 7

Show Flow- 9

Potential Viewer Ratings- 7

Play-Along Factor- 10

Host- 7

Overall Rating- 8.0

The Scuttlebutt On GSN Part 7: "The Chase" & "Chain Reaction" Debuts Tonight, "Steampunk'd" Premieres in August

Today’s GSN update will review the summer premieres of The Chase and Chain Reaction, both which are set to debut today at 8:00pm and 9:00pm ET, along with the network’s newest competition series, Steampunk’d. The Chase, hosted by Brooke Burns, returns with Mark “The Beast” Labbett attempting to stop teams of three smart contestants from potentially winning hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash by knocking them out of the game in a series of trivia rounds. After you have tuned into The Chase, check out the debut of the second GSN revival of Chain Reaction with Mike Catherwood at the helm this time around. This version plays similarly to the first GSN version with the exceptions of two pairs of teams competing rather than two gender-opposed trios, the elimination of the Speed Chains and a new $5,000 end game. I will post a full review of the new Chain Reaction series later this week.

Rules For GSN’s “Chain Reaction” Revival

Earlier this month, Hollywood Junket attended a taping of GSN’s Chain Reaction revival hosted by radio personality Mike Catherwood (a.k.a “Psycho Mike). Here’s how the new edition of Chain Reaction works: two teams comprised of two teammates compete to fill in a series of seven-word chains in three rounds. In the first round, two chains are played with each correct answer worth $100 in the first and $200 in the second. In the second round, another chain is played for higher stakes. The third round is deemed the betting round where teams wager between $100-$500 per attempt to fill in the chain. The team with the most money at the end of the round plays the end game where one final chain must be completed in 45 seconds for $5,000.

"Lie Detectors" Review

Set Design- 6

Gameplay- 6

Show Flow- 6

Potential Viewer Ratings- 5

Play-Along Factor- 10

Host- 7

Overall Rating- 6.6

"Skin Wars" Second Season To Premiere June 10 on GSN

Along with FOX's Boom! and ABC's Celebrity Family Feud, the second season of GSN's hit competitive reality show, Skin Wars, is set to make its summer debut June 10 at 9:00pm EDT on GSN. Skin Wars, featuring host Rebecca Romijn and judges RuPaul, Craig Tracy and Robin Slonina Return, has twelve contestants compete in a series of body painting challenges for a grand prize including $100,000 in cash, an all-expense paid trip for two to the World Body Painting Festival in Austria and a nationally-distributed Royal and Langnickel custom brush collection with their name on it. Natalie Fletcher, from Bend, Oregon, was crowned the first season's champion. Who will join her in winner's row at the end of the season? It will be one of these twelve artists listed below and on the Skin Wars page on GSN.com. Stay tuned!

Game Shows To Watch For The Next 48 Hours

This week seems like a moderately busy one for game shows — well, at least for the next two days. Tomorrow,  HLN premieres its first-ever game show, Keywords, with former Figure It Out host Summer Sanders and CBS's daytime talk show The Talk revealing this year’s Daytime Emmy nominations including the nominees for “Outstanding Game Show Host” and “Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show”. On April Fools Day, both CBS daytime game shows, Let’s Make A Deal and The Price Is Right, are marking the occasion by hosting special episodes featuring the cast of LMAD kidnapping Drew Carey and legendary host Bob Barker stopping by set of TPIR. Later that evening, Idiotest returns for a second season. I also have news of a last-minute decision by GSN to pull Monopoly Millionaires’ Club.

STAY TUNED: Season Two Of “It Takes A Church” Premieres Tonight on GSN

The sophomore reality dating series returns with new episodes and new singles looking to make a love connection with help from their church members. The second season of It Takes A Church is set to debut tonight at 8:00pm EDT on GSN with returning host Natalie Grant. In each episode, the show travels to various churches around the nation to surprise unsuspecting singles with news of friends and family of the church helping them pick their suitors. After a series of dates takes place, at the end of the show when a match has been made, the matchmaker who introduced the suitor to the featured bachelor/bachelorette wins a donation made to the church in their name. Viewers will have a chance to chat with Natalie Grant live via Facebook (Facebook.com/NatalieGrantMusic) starting at 7:45pm EDT through the rest of the show.

STAY TUNED: “Lie Detectors” Premieres April 20 on GSN

It seemed like it was only yesterday when GSN announced the new shows in development for 2015 at their upfront presentation this year, including a Chain Reaction revival, a Skin Wars spinoff series, and a new game show called Lie Detectors. Yesterday, GSN revealed the latter show will premiere Monday, April 20 at 6:30pm EDT with host Rove McManus (former host of FOX’s Riot). The game show gives contestants from the studio audience a chance to win cash if they can successfully determine the lies from the truths based on information given by three celebrity panelists. Lie Detectors is produced by Jim Co. and executive produced by Jim Biederman, Marla Ratner and Tim Fornara. Check out a preview of the show on GSN's Facebook page and stay tuned!

"Idiotest" Returns To GSN April 1 For Second Season

In a little less than a month from today, Idiotest returns to GSN with new episodes for its second season beginning Wednesday, April 1 at 8:00pm EST. During the latter half of 2014, the network announced its renewal of the brain-busting game show, hosted by comedian Ben Gleib, and ordered 65 additional episodes to air this year. The show is currently casting for contestants to compete this upcoming season including children ages 11-16 (Go to Craigslist for more information.) Adult applicants can go to gsntv.com/casting for more information on how to apply. You can also prepare yourself for the show or even just play for fun to see smart and observant you are with GSN.com's "Idiotest Challenge".

GSN Revives “Chain Reaction”

Well, here’s some interesting game show news for today: GSN is planning to revive its version of Chain Reaction. Forty episodes have been scheduled to air for the first season of the 2015 revival later this year. Sony Pictures Television will produced the new series of episodes and Vincent Rubino (The Newlywed Game, Million Dollar Password) will be the show’s executive producer. Chain Reaction is a word-association game show that has two teams racing to complete a series of word chains where each word is related to the word above and/or beneath it for thousands of dollars in cash. Since the show’s premiere on NBC in 1980 with host Bill Cullen, Chain Reaction has been revived twice in 1986 (aired on USA Network/Global Network in Canada) and in 2006 by GSN. 

Movin' On Up: GSN Shows Year-To-Year Growth Across All Demos

GSN does it again as 2014 marked the most watched year in the network's history showing growth across all demographics in cable primetime. GSN showed year-to-year growth among total viewers, Adults 18+, Women 18+, Women 25-54 and People 25-54. Other notable statistical highlights include 2014 tying 2013 as the most watched year in total day among total viewers, showing positive primetime growth among Persons 25-54 and Women 25-54 for the third consecutive year (a GSN first), delivering its most watched fourth quarter ever in total day among total viewers and cable primetime among Women 18+ and becoming one of the top ten fastest growing ad supported cable entertainment networks in the fourth quarter in cable primetime among Persons 18-49 and Persons 25-54.

"Monopoly Millionaires' Club" To Premiere February 7th

The new lottery game show makes its series debut a little less than a month from today on February 7 and 8 in national syndication and on GSN. Each weekly, hour-long episode of Monopoly Millionaires' Club, hosted by Mike & Molly star Billy Gardell, will have five studio audience members play games based on elements from the board game (Community Chest, Electric Company, Advance to Boardwalk...) for a chance to win up to $100,000. In the final round, the contestants must decide whether to keep their winnings or risk it all for a chance to win $1 million. Contestants featured on the show have qualified through the semi-nationwide lottery game of the same name. Each winning player and an invited guest won a five-day, four-night trip to Las Vegas to attend and potentially compete on the show filmed at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino. The show is executive produced by Scott St. John (Celebrity Name Game, Deal or No Deal) and Kevin Belinkoff (Family Game Night). Additionally,  BuzzerBlog revealed today that Todd Newton will be co-hosting alongside Cardell.

Fourth Season of GSN's "The Chase" To Premiere January 27th

Mark "The Beast" Labbett and host Brooke Burns return to GSN later this month for all new episodes of The Chase. The Emmy-nominated show's upcoming fourth season debuts Tuesday, January 27 at 8:00pm EST.  This season will feature more brainy contestants facing tough general knowledge trivia questions as well as a series of special themed shows. Special episodes include two celebrity games, with Carson Kressley (How to Look Good Naked), Cameron Mathison (All My Children) and Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air) competing February 3 and Joe Morton, Kate Burton and Brian Letscher (Scandal) competing later this year, and a "revenge" episode inviting back three losing contestants to face "The Beast" for a second time.

Stay Tuned: New Episodes of "Idiotest" and "Baggage On The Road" Premiere Tonight on GSN

GSN is set to premiere all new episodes of Idiotest and Baggage's spinoff series, Baggage On The Road, beginning tonight at 8:00pm EST. First, the first season of Idiotest continues with two new episodes at 8:00pm and 8:30pm filled with more competitive teams, more brain teasers and more of host Ben Gleib poking fun at the contestants while knocking them off of their intellectual pedestals. GSN announced late last year that the network renewed the show for a second season with 65 episodes to air. At 9:00pm, Baggage On The Road debuts on the network with two new episodes. The network revived its most successful original dating game show and reformatted it as a traveling game show with Jerry Springer returning as host. The gameplay remains the same with three single contestants trying to win a date and make a love connection with the episode's featured contestant while revealing their most intimate secrets, or "baggage". The series kicks off with episodes filmed from LSU and Austin, TX. Later this season, we will see the shows filmed from Tampa Bay, FL and the University of Connecticut. Stay tuned for both shows this evening and take a look at a couple of promos from both series.

"The Line" Review

Set Design- 8

Gameplay- 6

Show Flow- 7

Potential Viewer Ratings- 6

Play-Along Factor- 8

Hosts- 6

Overall- 6.8

'Tis The Season: "Fifteen To One" Special, "The Line" and GSN Marathons To Air This Week

With Christmas right around the corner, various game shows around the globe are getting into the holiday spirit by airing special episodes and marathons throughout the month. Tonight, Channel 4 in the U.K. will be airing a special celebrity episode of Fifteen To One with Adam Hills and GSN will be debuting its latest game show special event, The Line, with hosts Jeff Davis and Candace Bailey. Later this week, GSN will air marathons of The Chase and Idiotest and reruns of The Line.