Monday, January 11, 2021

A Classic Reborn: Name That Tune (2021)

It isn't enough that Fox has developed its own music game show in the summer series, Beat Shazam. No, they needed something to fill airtime during the winter, too.

So they went out and dug up and old chestnut that hasn't been on the air in years.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, production began on the new Name That Tune last year in Australia, meaning that contestants who'd signed up for the show were getting all expense paid round trip airfare down under, hoping to come home richer beyond their own dreams.

Actress Jane Krakowski (ex-30 Rock, Ally McBeal) is the series host, with Randy Jackson (ex-American Idol) as bandleader/announcer. As such, Randy is more involved in the show than, say for example, Stan Worth, who was the bandleader during the Tom Kennedy years of the 70's. There is a pool, I hear, on how often Jackson calls someone, "dawg", like he did on Idol.

I'm joking. As with other game show revivals over on ABC (i.e. Match Game, To Tell The Truth), there are two games per hour long show. In this teaser, Jane tries to explain the appeal of bringing Tune back.


I've read that there was an attempt to bring the show back at its original network, CBS, with Elizabeth Banks (now piloting the revival of Press Your Luck for ABC) as host, but that went nowhere. Same thing with a pilot fronted by Donny Osmond. Tune is being paired with The Masked Dancer on Wednesday nights for the duration.

Rating: B.

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