Wednesday, May 4, 2016

ABC reaches into the game show recycling bin again

This is a case of the other shoe dropping.

Two weeks ago, we reported, along with everyone else, it seems, the issues that cropped up after ABC decided to, ah, promote Michael Strahan to a full-time gig on Good Morning America, which raised the ire of Strahan's Live! co-host, Kelly Ripa. The tabloid press has had a field day since, with "sources" claiming that the two don't get along anymore and other typical fluff designed to cast shade on either one or both stars, just for the sake of selling papers.

What wasn't news at the time was the fact that Strahan, who has flunked out with a primetime sitcom for Fox, would be asked to be the next guy to revive the Pyramid franchise. ABC has reacquired the rights to the venerable game, the last incarnation of which aired on GSN a couple of years back and was, for all intents & purposes, a bomb, as host Mike Richards lacked the presence and charisma of the late Dick Clark.

To prove the point, here's a sample clip of The $100,000 Pyramid (The new series will also have the $100,000 price tag).



If that wasn't enough, ABC is also exhuming Match Game, nearly 20 years after the last series laid an egg. Actor and former Capital One salesman Alec Baldwin has been tapped to host. It's not his first TV gig, as before he became a big Hollywood star, Baldwin had appeared on Knots Landing many moons ago.

Trust me, Baldwin would have to go some to at least equal the late Gene Rayburn......



What's even better is that both shows, along with Celebrity Family Feud (hosted by---who else?---Steve Harvey), will air on Sundays. I don't know about you, but I'm digging that idea.

Of course, being that these are short-season series, Baldwin could become available come November if a certain fellow bloviator from New York needs him to fill out a prospective Presidential cabinet......

No comments: