Center square
Barrymore to anchor ‘Hollywood Squares’ reboot
Center square: The most star-studded take on the classic game of tic-tac-toe, “Hollywood Squares” is about to be relaunched once more — and expect Drew Barrymore (“50 First Dates,” 2004) to be front and center (literally).
The latest iteration of the game show, which has been rebooted and reimagined several times already, is set to debut this January as part of CBS’s 2024-25 broadcast season.
Produced by Jesse Collins (“Rhythm + Flow”) and Barrymore via her Flower Films production banner, the new “Hollywood Squares” will stick with the tried-and-true format of having three vertically stacked, open-faced cubes each occupied by a celebrity who is chosen to answer a question. If the contestants correctly judge the truthfulness or accuracy of the celebrity’s response, they’ll claim the square on their way to winning the game by scoring three in a row — whether it’s three across, up, down or diagonally.
Barrymore, whose syndicated talk show “The Drew Barrymore Show” is distributed by CBS Media Ventures, will occupy the seat of honor in the hotly contested center square.
CBS Entertainment president Amy Reisenbach and CBS president/CEO George Cheeks revealed the lineup addition during a recent news conference. The plan is for “Hollywood Squares” to be the follow-up to “The Price Is Right at Night” and “Raid the Cage” on Wednesday nights in January, when the schedule takes a mid-season break between the fall pairing of “Survivor” and “The Summit,” and “The Amazing Race’s” springtime run.
“Drew’s already a part of our CBS family,” Reisenbach told reporters. “She’s adorable, she’s engaging, she’s going to bring her friends under the squares. We think this is going to be a great 10 o’clock show for us. We now have a really solid Wednesday night of game shows to bridge the ‘Survivor’ seasons.”
Paging Don Johnson:
Prolific creator, producer and writer Ryan Murphy (“American Horror Story”) has a new ABC series in the works, and given his reputation as a creative force to be reckoned with in the TV business, it should come as no surprise that “Dr. Odyssey” already boasts a star-studded cast.
Joshua Jackson, who first broke out in “Dawson’s Creek” and recently starred in Paramount+’s TV remake of “Fatal Attraction,” will star in the titular role, a character who is only being described as someone “whose charms help him get what he wants,” according to Deadline. This will be Jackson’s first network series since “Fringe,” which ended its run on Fox in 2013, and will add another executive producer credit to the actor’s resume.
Former “Miami Vice” and “Nash Bridges” star Don Johnson will also star in the series alongside Jackson and, similarly, not much is known about his character, either. Actually, the series’ premise is also being kept under wraps — Murphy is famously tight-lipped about projects that are still in development. Though, the title suggests it will be a medical procedural of some kind, while Deadline’s sources indicated it may be set on a cruise ship, given “9-1-1’s” (another Murphy series) splashy Season 7 opening disaster that kicked off its post-Fox era.
Other series regulars include Sean Teale (“Skins”) and Phillipa Soo (“Hamilton,” 2020).
Kelce TV: After 13 seasons playing for the Philadelphia Eagles, now-retired NFL star Jason Kelce has indicated he’s ready to embark on a new career in TV broadcasting.
Kelce indicated he’ll be joining ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” as a commentator next season during a recent installment of his “New Heights” podcast, which he shares with brother Travis Kelce.
Similar to his brother, Travis has spent his entire NFL career with the same team, the Super Bowl LVIII champion Kansas City Chiefs.And while the Chiefs tight end isn’t ready to make any post-NFL career moves yet, Travis is nonetheless poised to make his first foray into series television.
Prime Video has ordered a Hollywood-heavy spinoff of the game show “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?,” with Travis hosting all 20 episodes. It’s titled “Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity?” and contestants will try to win $100,000 by answering elementary school-level questions with the help of “celebrities from stage, screen and sports,” according to the news release.
“I grew up loving game shows, and I’m excited to be following in the footsteps of so many TV icons by hosting my very first one with ‘Are you Smarter than a Celebrity?’” said Kelce, in a statement. “The original show is a great success, so to be bringing a new format with everyone’s favorite celebrities to the screen, will definitely be entertaining. I’m just happy to be on the hosting side of the equation here and excited to see how these famous faces keep up.”
This isn’t Travis’ first taste of TV outside of football: he had his own dating reality show (2016’s “Catching Kelce”), he hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live,” and he was given a role in Ryan Murphy’s upcoming FX series “Grotesquerie.”
The Kelce family is no stranger to Prime Video, either — the streamer is behind the documentary “Kelce,” which followed Jason and wife Kylie throughout his penultimate playing season.*