Jeopardy’s 2017 Teachers Tournament $100,000 Finals Begins Tonight

Much like every Jeopardy! tournament, this one did not disappoint. Jeopardy’s 2017 Teachers Tournament will soon come to a close within the next two days as we have reached the competition’s two-day finals beginning today. David Clemmons, an 11th grade U.S. history teacher from Fort Worth, TX; Nan Cohen, a high school English teacher from Van Nuys, CA; and Mary Parker, a high school French and English teacher from Rogers, AK., are the three finalists who will be playing for the $100,000 grand prize plus a spot in the show’s annual Tournament of Champions on today’s and Friday’s shows. This year’s teacher’s tournament has been incredible to watch from the start of last Monday’s first quarterfinal game. In the eight games played thus far, we have yet to see a runaway game, where a contestant mathematically eliminated their opponents heading into Final Jeopardy by posting an insurmountable score. Even Alex Trebek has praised the overall superb performance of gameplay throughout the two-week event by saying at the top of yesterday’s episode, “[T]he quality of play in this year’s Teachers Tournament has been exceptional – much better than any tournament I can recall in recent memory.”

New Syndicated Game Show “iWitness” Set To Debut July 10

While Celebrity Name Game is (unfortunately) on its way out this year, it looks a new game show could be taking its place this summer. Judge Judy Sheindlin, the queen of the television courtroom, has created the latest game show to hit the syndicated circuit: iWitness (tentative title). Hosted by former Wipeout commentator John Henson, the show three contestants will be engaged in a competitive test of observation and recall by watching a series of videos and images for a chance to advance to the end game worth $20,000. The half-hour series is produced by Sheindlin’s production company, Queen Bee Productions, FremantleMedia North America and Debmar Mercury. Famed game show producer Scott St. John serves as the showrunner of iWitness. 

The show launches its six-week test on select FOX affiliate stations in top markets beginning July 10. Should the test run prove to be a success, FremantleMedia NA and Debmar Mercury may launch the show nationally in fall 2018. FremantleMedia and Debmar Mercury would respectively handle international and domestic distribution. 

Let’s hope this will be a better memory-based game show than GSN’s Instant Recall.

“Jeopardy” 2016 Teen Tournament Begins November 9

After taking a two-year hiatus, the show’s Teen Tournament returns this week with fifteen whiz kids competing for a chance to win $100,000. The two-week event will be held in Washington D.C. at DAR Constitution Hall, making it the second time in four years the show has held the tourney at the historic venue. The 2014 tournament was quite memorable when Alan Koolik and Jeff Xie tied with $54,200 each at the end of the of the second day of the finals and the game was decided by a tense, tie-breaking clue. Xie buzzed in with the correct response and won the $75,000 top prize. The winner of this year’s tournament receives $100,000; second place earns $50,000; third place takes home $25,000; and the semifinalists and quarterfinalists will respectively leave with $10,000 and $5,000. One of these fifteen contenders listed below will emerge victorious and $100,000 richer on November 22. 

“Millionaire” Moves To Las Vegas For Season 15

Beginning this upcoming season, the veteran game show will be officially moving to Las Vegas, Nevada for its 15th year in syndication. Millionaire will tape its shows from Bally’s Las Vegas in front of a live studio audience after filming its previous two seasons in Stamford, Connecticut. The new season, hosted by The Bachelor’s Chris Harrison will officially premiere on Monday, September 12 and will once more give contestants the rare opportunity to answer 14 questions correctly for $1 million with three lifelines to help them along the way: Ask The Audience, 50:50 and Plus One. 

All In The Family: HGTV Brothers and Cousins To Compete On "Family Feud” November 19

Next month, Property Brothers stars Jonathan and Drew Scott will face cousins John Colaneri and Anthony Carrino, stars of America’s Most Desperate Kitchens, in a special celebrity episode of Family Feud set to air next month. The two teams will be joined by members of their own family to play for up to $20,000 for their respective charities. Team Brothers are playing for St. Baldrick’s Foundation and includes Jonathan and Drew’s older brother, JD Scott, their mother, Joanne Scott, and Drew’s girlfriend, Linda Phan. Team Cousins are playing for Rebuilding Together and includes John’s wife, Jennifer Lindsey Colaneri, and Anthony’s parents, Alfonso Greg Carrino and Francine Carrino. Stay tuned for the special episode Thursday, November 19 in syndication to see which family pair will emerge victorious. Check your local listings for air times.

News In A Flash!: Quick Game Show Updates #72

Today's update will review some of the latest game show news headlines from the past week in 200 characters or less including updates featured on the TBIR Facebook page. Quick updates include the second season premiere of Sports Jeopardy! under a revised format, big winners on The Chase, The Chase Australia, another quarter-million dollar winner on Millionaire and some of the latest ratings updates. 

Special Weeks Announced For 14th Season Of "Millionaire"

Along with Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy! and Family Feud, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire will begin its new season in syndication Monday, September 14. Unlike the three aforementioned shows, Millionaire will see yet another change in its format and host with The Bachelor's Chris Harrison taking over. The revised format will be going back to basics by switching back to the Money Ladder format after taking a five-year absence thanks to the Shuffle format. The 14-question 2015-16 money ladder is as follows: $500; $1,000; $2,000; $3,000; $5,000; $7,000; $10,000; $20,000; $30,000; $50,000; $100,000; $250,000; $500,000; $1 million. The three lifelines that will be at the contestants' disposal this year are Plus One, Ask The Audience and the return of 50:50. List below are the speciality weeks scheduled to air this season, including a few from returning from the past few years.

Second Season of "Monopoly Millionaires' Club" To Debut September 12

The weekly syndicated lottery game show, based on one the world's most popular board games, will be returning for a second season next month. Host Billy Gardell and co-host Todd Newton will be back to help contestants become instant thousand-aires and millionaires. This season, Monopoly Millionaires' Club will move to a half-hour format and will have only three contestants face three $100,000 games with the top winner possibly risking all of their winnings to play the "GO For A Million" end game for up to $1 million. Like the previous season, the studio audience will consist of lottery players and their guests who won a five-day, four-night trip for two to Las Vegas, a stay at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, and a seat in the live audience to watch a taping of the show and potentially win a chance to play on stage or win a share of the competing contestants' winnings in their section.   During the show's 12-episode first season, over $5 million in cash and prizes were given away to contestants who won their way on stage by playing the Monopoly Millionaires' Club lottery game, including two million-dollar winners.

Bill Engvall To Play “Millionaire” May 8 & 11

Beginning this Friday, comedian and former Lingo host Bill Engvall will be stepping up to the tough trivia challenge that is Millionaire. Engvall will be playing for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, an organization dedicated to helping as many children as possible by raising vital funds and awareness for children's hospitals across North America. All this week, Millionaire will be donating $10,000 to the charitable organization every time a contestant makes it through to the second round (a.k.a. Classic Millionaire). Stay tuned this Friday and next Monday to find out if Bill Engvall can become the show’s next million-dollar winner. Check your local listings.

"Monopoly Millionaires’ Club" Review

Set Design- 10
Gameplay- 8
Show Flow- 7
Potential Viewer Ratings- 6
Play-Along Factor- 4
Host- 7
Overall Rating- 7.0

"Let's Ask America" Will Not Return For Fourth Season

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.

VIDEO REPLAY: Rick Galten Wins $100,000 On “Wheel of Fortune”

Last night, Rick Galten, a court reporter from Fairfield, CA, was the latest contestant to break six-figures on Wheel of Fortune thanks to his big $100,000 bonus round payoff. After exhibiting an impressive main game performance, including solving the night’s first two toss-ups and earning $21,000 with the Express wedge, Galten faced his bonus puzzle. Once he correctly solved the puzzle, UPHOLSTERY FABRIC, Galten became the season’s second highest winner with $130,565 in cash and prizes, trailing Sarah Manchester by a few hundred thousand dollars ($1,017,490) and topping Chad Ruter’s natural $100K+ winning sum of $100,623. Not a bad way to start Wheel's "Wheel Around The World" week. Check out the big win in the clip below.

“Millionaire” To Raise Money For Shriners Hospital for Children Next Week With Special Guest

From February 9 - February 13, Millionaire is dedicating the week to raise money for Shriners Hospitals for Children, a charity that has transformed the lives of more than a million kids with special medical needs. Every time a contestant reaches the "Classic Millionaire” round, the show will donate $10,000 to Shriners Hospitals, regardless of their performance in the second round. The special week concludes on Friday, February 13 when Justin Pugh, offensive tackle for the New York Giants, steps up to the “Hot Podium” and plays for the charity. Stay tuned and check your local listings for air times. 

"Jeopardy!" 2015 Teachers Tournament To Begin February 2nd

Beginning tomorrow after Super Bowl Sunday, Jeopardy! will be kicking off its fifth Teachers Tournament. The two-week event features 15 of the nation’s brightest and smartest K-12 teachers competing to win tourney’s $100,000 grand prize and a coveted spot in the show's next Tournament of Champions. The runner-up and the third place contender will receive generous consolation prizes of $50,000 and $25,000, respectively. Take a look at the roster of contestants who will be competing in the opening qualifying quarterfinals round this week in the list below. 

"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.

"Celebrity Name Game" Expected To Be Renewed For Second Season

After showing a solid household rating average during November sweeps, it looks like Celebrity Name Game might be sticking around for another season. During the sweeps month, The Meredith Vieira Show and Hot Bench, the rookie court show created and produced by Judge Judy Sheindlin, were both renewed for a second season with respective averages of a 1.2 and a 1.7. Debmar Mercury’s Celebrity Name Game and Warner Bros.’ talk show The Real are expected to be renewed after holding steady with a 1.3 and a 1.0 rating. This is a big boost to the U.S. syndicated market after a lackluster performance last year with only one first-year show averaging above a 1.0 (Queen Latifah, 1.1). 

News In A Flash!: Quick Game Show Updates #67

Happy Monday, everyone! Today's update will review some of the major news headlines in the game show universe from the past week in 200 characters or less including updates featured on the TBIR Facebook page. Headlining updates include Bradley Walsh hosting a new family game show, GSN's Mind Of A Man possibly returning in syndication next year, and a million-dollar winner unfortunately proving that money is not always the key to happiness. All syndication ratings are from the week ending October 5.

News In A Flash!: Quick Game Show Updates #65

Today's article will cover some of the latest game show news headlines from the past week in 200 characters or less including updates featured on the TBIR Facebook page. Today’s updates include Jimmy Fallon getting involved with a new NBC comedy game show format that shows some resemblance to Make Me Laugh, one of the most difficult quiz shows on U.K. television returning for a second civilian series and information on how you can watch your favorite GSN game shows in person. All syndication ratings are from the week ending September 21.

News In A Flash!: Quick Game Show Updates #64

Today's article will cover some of the latest game show news headlines from the past few days in 200 characters or less. This afternoon's updates include the ratings for the 13th season premiere week of Millionaire and the syndicated series premiere of Celebrity Name Game, two brothers winning the biggest cash prize in Indian game show history, The Price Is Right remodeling two pricing games and HISTORY's Pawnography returning for a second season. All syndication ratings are from the week ending September 14.

"Celebrity Name Game" Review

Set Design- 9

Gameplay- 7

Show Flow- 9

Potential Viewer Ratings- 7

Play-Along Factor- 9

Host- 10

Overall Rating- 8.5