Card Sharks, Goodson-Todman's adaptation of Acey-Ducey, marked its 40th anniversary last year. Undaunted, Fremantle Media, the current rights holder to the G-T library, sold ABC a revamped version of the series to add to the network's expanding family of summer game shows.
Actor-comedian Joel McHale (ex-Community) serves as host, but unlike his predecessors (i.e. Jim Perry, Bob Eubanks), McHale, other than the commercial below, leaves the cards alone.
The last two incarnations of the series, a 1996 unsold pilot we screened yesterday and a 2001 syndicated run hosted by another comedian, Pat Bullard, veered away from the basic concept, which is why they're not held in high esteem. Yes, the set is bigger, and, as with most revivals these days, Sharks gets a hour-long berth, in this case airing Wednesdays on ABC. There are some tweaks with the original game format. For example, while each contestant has to navigate 10 cards instead of 5 to win a game, it's just one game per half hour block. No more best of three, like the original. Because it's weekly, they don't want any cliffhangers.
Edit, 11/8/23: Had to change the video. This is the season 2 opener, complete with an updated version of the classic theme music.
McHale will be seen next in DC Universe's Stargirl, due next year, barring any other guest appearances in between.
Rating: A.
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