Ugh, I just heard about the new crop of game shows coming soon to network TV because of the writers strike. And, appropriately enough, they hinge on whether contestants are bluffing. Mediaweek reports about these game shows and I've cast around for more details:
ABC’s Wanna Bet?, a game show based on a German format, has celebrities wagering on stunt-performing contestants.
ABC's Duel, based on a French format, has two contestants face each other in a high-stakes quiz game while trying to bluff their way to win money. It's a cross between a quiz show and a poker game.
CBS’ Do You Trust Me? where strangers team up for money, wagering on how much each can depend on the other. It's supposed to be hosted by bow-tie-sporting pundit Tucker Carlson, and the cash is over $1 million. Carlson reveals secrets from each contestant's past, influencing how much trust their teammate may have.
Fox’s Moment of Truth is based on a Colombian format where contestants are strapped to lie detectors and asked personal questions in a quest for cash. As long as they answer truthfully, they win money and continue on in the game.
NBC’s Amne$ia is a quiz show that delves into players’ personal lives. The brainchild of Mark Burnett, it challenges contestants to remember events from their own life.
I bet viewers are gonna want to forget the rest of the TV season.
How about “Bum-fights: The Network Executive Edition”?
Comment by Steve S — November 13, 2007 @ 3:56 am
That last game show reminds me that my Tivo is set for the rest of the runs of “Pushing Daisies” and “Scrubs,” and then straight to Turner Classic Movies.
Enjoy low ratings you mentally fickle networks.
Comment by Rory L. Aronsky — November 13, 2007 @ 3:58 am
“Amne$ia” and “Do You Trust Me?” sound enticing, the rest sound boring.
Reality TV will do better than writers hope, but less than studios hope, with game shows tanking in general. The new reality shows with staying power will be ones with unusual, non-studio settings, like Amazing Race or Big Brother or Survivor. The in studio format makes them all look alike, and thus forgettable.
Comment by realtv — November 13, 2007 @ 4:30 am
I love a good game show (which most of these don’t sound like they will be), but even if one of them turns out to be a good one, sorry but I’ll be playing board games with friends during the strike…no new replacement shows for this Criminal Intent, Burn Notice & Mad Men fan.
Comment by VDOVault — November 13, 2007 @ 4:34 am
Looking at this list I am surprised they didn’t buy Blackmail, Prejudice or Spot The Braincell from the Monty Python people came up with. They would have fit right in.
Comment by Kelly — November 13, 2007 @ 5:10 am
The first show (Wanna bet) is the US adaption of the most successful european television show “Wetten, dass…?” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wetten_dass). In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the show constantly gets an audience share of roughly 40%. But I highly doubt, that the US version will be as successful… The success of the show in Europe comes from many foreign “A list” celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith, Elton John, etc. Furthermore many leaders like Bill Gates, Mikhail Gorbachev or Gerhard Schröder (at the time he was german chancellor) that doesn’t visit entertainment shows very often come to “Wetten, Dass..?”.
Comment by Lars — November 13, 2007 @ 5:31 am
Wasn’t there a show like “Do You Trust Me?” before? There were three people and they each had to choose a stranger after hearing bad/deceitful things that they’ve done. Then the three teams squared off and then at the end the final team squared off against each other. It was something like each person had to choose to share the money or steal the money. If they both chose to share, they split the money. If one chose to share and the other chose to steal, the one who chose to steal got all of the money. If they both chose to steal, then neither got the money. Does anyone remember this game and what it was called?
Comment by Angel — November 13, 2007 @ 5:33 am
As anybody from Germany could attest… Wanna Bet (which is a long Saturday Evening Gala Show on state TV… Channel 2, ZDF) is a concept that is way too old too succeed outside of Germany. The allure of it is the fact that celebrities come there to promote their latest movie/cd/whatever in order to get a huge number of eyeballs. With about 12-14 million viewers (mostly in the way upper age bracket), it is the easiest way to attract attention.
However, in the US, there is Late Night for that, and the bets shown are a mixture of Ripley’s Believe it Or Not and Fear Factor (minus the ewwww).
Putting that thing into development is… nine ways stupid, and if anybody wants to know exactly why, they can email me. TGerhardt@the-word-factory.com
The reason DANCING WITH THE STARS and CELEBRITY D-LIST SURVIVOR “kind of” works is that the audience WANTS to see them FAIL.
They do NOT want to see them on a couch, touting their latest stuff and perhaps, PERHAPS do something silly (like, when Tom Cruise lost a bet in one of the shows, he had to… wow, ride a motorbike through the studio)
This will be cancelled before somebody had the chance to put out all the lights in the studio after the first show.
Comment by Thomas — November 13, 2007 @ 5:46 am
Who’s going to be writing the questions for the contestants to answer?
Comment by Dimes — November 13, 2007 @ 8:00 am
The various “reality” titles all sound like buzz words that might be heard around a table at a AMPTP over latte.
Wanna Bet
Moment of Truth
Duel
Do you trust me..?
pb
Comment by pb — November 13, 2007 @ 8:51 am
This suggestion may not help the economy in general, but why don’t we try to start a movement to DISCOURAGE everyone from buying new TV’s or plasma/LCD screens until the strike is over?
Our plasma screen went out about a month ago and we haven’t replaced it yet. I’ll wait until after the strike to buy a new one. If enough people didn’t buy TVs or screens this holiday season, that might really scare the networks!
Comment by Alexander Chow-Stuart — November 13, 2007 @ 10:00 am
How about a game show where the striking writer that walks around in circles with a picket sign the longest gets a development deal when this whole mess is over?
Comment by TAG — November 13, 2007 @ 10:28 am
Tucker Carlson? So he’s failed upward from 1/4 of Crossfire (cancelled) to his own MSNBC show (low ratings) and now to network hosting. Wow, that’s quite the plan the networks are putting into motion.
Comment by JoshA — November 13, 2007 @ 10:31 am
Sounds like someone’s a bit xenophobic. Fact is, as good as Americans are at scripted TV, Europeans are at variety shows. Granted, there is no way “Wanna Bet” can reach the stature of it’s German run, it’s actually a classy show. Yes, it does appeal to older audiences but not exclusively. In fact, most bets are done with young children and all generations show interest. It’s essentially a four quadrant show — like the Cosby show was — a concept that has largely been forgotten by US TV programmers in the age of cable TV. Who knows if they’ll get it right but it’s worth a shot.
Comment by John — November 13, 2007 @ 10:37 am
The only hit I see here is ABC’s Duel and that is due to the nature of the quiz game combined with Duel being part poker as well. Last I checked, poker was doing very well at ESPN which is a Disney/ABC property.
Comment by Jessy S. — November 13, 2007 @ 10:41 am
Here’s a show, we take indie writers, directors, producers from all over the country and we write and produce shows for the moguls.
Comment by Rod F. — November 13, 2007 @ 11:00 am
Are game shows covered by the WGA? I hear that some are and some aren’t . How does that all work? anyone?
Comment by redblack — November 13, 2007 @ 11:12 am
Seems the networks are united even in their programming.
Comment by General X — November 13, 2007 @ 11:16 am
Gee I wonder how well these game shows will do on DVD at the end of the season? A scripted mid-level ratings show like Bionic Woman or Journeyman can rake in huge dollars via DVD making the show profitable for the studio. Game shows are a good choice over returning to the bargaining table. It’s like cutting off your revenue stream to spite your face.
Comment by ReelBusy — November 13, 2007 @ 11:44 am
I’ll wait for “Celebrity Do You Trust”.
When Jon Stewart comes on as a contestant, Tucker Carlson shits in his pants!
Comment by Unindicted Co-conspirator — November 13, 2007 @ 11:48 am
Alexander C-S,
I agree. Everyone should stop buying TVs in a stand of solidarity for the writers AND a protest of the inevitable junk that will be trotted out by the networks during the strike. I mean, why bother? But there’s always movie rentals, for which we do need nice tv sets. A better idea: boycott any new shows the networks present during the entire strike.
Comment by I agree — November 13, 2007 @ 12:09 pm
In the past, two attempts were made to adapt Wetten, dass?, the german game show (a cult-classic in Germany), on french-tv for TF1 (our equivalent of USA Network). And it didn’t work.
I may be wrong but I think that the format is too local to be adapted outside its country.
Comment by Thierry Attard — November 13, 2007 @ 12:56 pm
Just over six years ago, The Daily Show did a spoof on reality TV with “Pitch,” in which “Average, everyday Hollywood producers are locked in a house for three months and given one simple task: come up with more ideas for reality programs.” EVERY SINGLE ONE of the ideas they generated is better than these.
Comment by Priscellie — November 13, 2007 @ 12:59 pm
In defense of comedian Tucker Carlson - he dropped the bow-tie gimmick years ago. Still, nobody takes him seriously.
Rumor has it that Tucker accepted a 50% pay cut mid-contract in order to keep his MSNBC show from being cancelled. Subsequently, his agents shopped him around for something, anything, to make up for the lost wages… which is how a lame political pundit wound up as a game-show host.
Comment by Dan F. — November 13, 2007 @ 1:46 pm
More reality crap whoopie doodle. I swear the networks are retarded. They really are, because if they think viewers are gonna settle for Reality TV and Game Shows 24/7 Then they have another thing coming.
I know American viewers are retarded, when they watch that crap in droves. Like Dancing with the Stars and AI.
But come on I want my TV shows back not Reality TV.
Networks get your act together.
TV Fan
Comment by Argh — November 13, 2007 @ 1:55 pm
For your consideration, The Price Is Right with a return of the great Bob Barker. Studio execs place bids on available industry items such as family vacations in Jackson Hole, top network jobs for spouses, a birthday party or bar mitzvah featuring Aerosmith and private school for two on the westside.
The suit who bids closest (but not over) then goes on to play one of several mini-games. Items for pricing include international sales of DVD packages, revenue increases from online viewing, ad-supported content, and exact losses tied to piracy and illegal downloading (a.k.a. “stealing”).
Continuing the fun, the Showcase Showdown requires execs to spin a large wheel with various amounts from 3 cents to $19.99. The exec that bids closest to what they feel the writers are owed ($0.00) is declared champion and immediately returns to a demanding sked filled with meetings and manicures. A Winners Breakfast might follow at the Regency or Bel-Air Hotel. Following TPIR, a drive-by at various picket lines would ensure an opportunity to gawk at overpaid writers, seal the suits’ sweet victory and guarantee a one-way trip to hell.
Comment by Adrienne Merrill — November 13, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
NEWS FLASH: Q&A shows ARE covered by the WGA!!!
See Appendix A, Page 424 of the 2004 MBA:
http://wga.org/subpage_writersresources.aspx?id=1610
Comment by Aaron — November 13, 2007 @ 2:48 pm
I find it HIGHLY amusing after Ben Silverman’s rant last week that at of all places, Amne$isa is shooting the show on the Disney lot!
Comment by James — November 13, 2007 @ 6:10 pm
Thanks for the newsflash Aaron. I guess the only show that can air through improv is Wanna Bet! In any case, be sure to post the Pitch video to another thread Nikki.
BTW, I would love to watch Stephen Colbert’s idea about people using potty mouths at Thanksgiving, but expand it to all family gatherings and include just anything including reunions. Also, in the “Pitch” title card, doesn’t Stephen look a bit like Ben Silverman?
Comment by Jessy S. — November 13, 2007 @ 10:30 pm
Wanna Bet? ran for about ten years in the UK as ‘You Bet!’ and was a Saturday night staple for ITV in the late 80s and early 90s. Used to get easily over 10 million viewers back in the days before multi-channel TV & DVD. It is a very family friendly show and obviously can travel successfully from Germany.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You_Bet!
However, I think it’s success may depend on the host. Each UK host (There were 3) brought their own style to it but by the final one I was over it (may also have been that i had grown up by then!)
PS - the calibre of the guests on the UK version was nowhere near what was commented regarding the German one - we usually got Z-list celebrities, kind of sub-Hollywood Squares level (we got that too, called Celebrity Squares in the UK)
Comment by SteveM — November 14, 2007 @ 8:48 pm
I think we need to give Wanna Bet a chance. It is about time that we can all watch a show as a family. Wanna Bet has alot to offer. Family fun for all.
Comment by Anonymous — November 18, 2007 @ 9:07 pm
Angel upthread: the show that was very much like “Do You Trust Me?” was “Friend or Foe,” hosted by former MTV VJ Kennedy and airing on the Game Show Network.
It combined paired strangers, a trivia contest, and an implementation of the Prisoner’s Dilemma: at the end of the show, the winning team (out of three pairs that start the game) face each other over an “honesty box” (or whatever they called it), and each person chooses to either be “Friend” or “Foe.”
As in the classic Prisoner’s Dilemma, if both go Foe, nobody gets any money. If both go Friend, they split their winnings. And if one goes Foe and the other goes Friend, Foe wins everything.
The pairing at the start of the game had Kennedy describing a few characteristics of each contestant, including some incident in which they had behaved badly. Then they get paired up using a somewhat simple preference picking (three players get to choose from the three other players; if any pickee gets picked more than once, then they get to pick from the possible partners).
So yeah, I think that might be where the “Do You Trust Me?” idea came from.
Comment by Ryan Cousineau — November 20, 2007 @ 11:38 pm