Game show fans sure to enjoy summer offerings
Let the games begin.
In a summer TV lull, the usual onslaught of star-studded primetime game shows are back to fill your DVR, along with a few new twists on the genre. If you’re not sure which one to watch, fear not: There’s one for every type of competitive spirit.
If you thought American Ninja Warrior needed more Kevin Hart: TKO: Total Knock Out
It’s you versus everyone else in this extreme new CBS competition (premièring Wednesday evening at 9) from Mark Burnett (Survivor), hosted with usual manic gusto by comedian Kevin Hart. Players compete for a cash prize by racing through a Wipeout-style obstacle course lined by “combat zones,” where fellow contestants are armed with foam spikes, giant Frisbees and other “weapons” intended to knock them off their feet — and out of the competition. Better hope all those years of middleschool dodgeball come in handy.
If you’ve ever beaten a polygraph test: To Tell the Truth
ABC’s game-show revival (Sunday evenings at 10), now in its third season, is TV’s equivalent of spotting a criminal in a police lineup. Hosted by Black-ish star Anthony Anderson, the show invites panels of four celebrity contestants — among them Mel Brooks, Bill Hader and Octavia Spencer — to deduce which of three unusual guests is actually the person they all claim to be. (Recent examples: a world champion in talking backwards, and a couple that renewed wedding vows 112 times.) As the stars pry them with questions to try and sniff out the liars, it’s hard not to get swept up in their increasingly ridiculous queries.
If Catch Phrase is your go-to party game: The $100,000 Pyramid
Arguably the most intense game of word association you’ve ever seen. Overseen by genial Good Morning America co-anchor Michael Strahan, the third-season ABC revival (Sundays evenings at 9) pairs contestants with celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Leslie Jones and Kevin Smith, who try to guess as many words as possible based on their teammate’s descriptions. The out-there categories — ranging from “B-jobs” (careers that start with “B”) to “Yes we cannabis” (people you’d be surprised smoke marijuana) — are a highlight, as are the overexcited reactions of competitors gunning for the cash prize.
If you’ve ever wanted to see Jack Donaghy host a game show: Match Game
In ABC’s third revival of a classic game show (Thursday evenings at 9, contestants try to match the answers to humorous, occasionally raunchy “fill in the blank” questions with as many celebrity panelists as they can, for the chance to win $25,000. The series attracts a wide array of famous guests, recently including Laverne Cox, Ellie Kemper and Joel McHale. But the real treat is watching host Alec Baldwin, whose playful mocking and acerbic barbs about his fellow actors are reminiscent of Jack Donaghy, the corporate blowhard he played on NBC’s 30 Rock.