The King of Gameshows

[HarryRobbins]

Dear All,

I'm a TV producer from the UK and I'm developing a program where two UK TV personalities work their way accross America spending only what they can win on gameshows.

I really need help finding some small and obscure cable gameshows that it might be feasible to get places on. If anyone has any suggestions I'd be eternally greatful.

Many thanks,

Harry Robbins

[itiparanoid13]

I really hate being a site whore, but I have just about every US game show that is casting on the top lefthand box of BuzzerBlog.com.

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'itiparanoid13\' post=\'130051\' date=\'Sep 1 2006, 04:53 AM\']
I really hate being a site whore
[/quote]
<splort>

[ChrisLambert!]

This isn't going to work.

There aren't enough gameshows in production in the US that offer cash prizes, and the few that do have contestant waiting lists a mile long and certainly aren't going to be interested in being used as a prop for some other production company's program.

[Jimmy Owen]

Instead of trying to get the UK TV personalities to be contestants, it's far easier to get them jobs as presenters here.  A good number of the gameshows on in the US currently are hosted by Brits or Canadians.

On second thought, there are a good number of people here with fertile minds, who, with a little seed money, could "create" some shows for the guys to go on, never mind that they don't actually air on television.

[JasonA1]

I think the best thing you'll get out of coming to us for help is finding just how unfeasible the idea is. No disrespect, sounds good in theory, but...

You say "work your way across the country" implying people can get on game shows in certain parts of the country. Of the few remaining regional lottery shows one can go on, for example, potential contestants must first complete some sort of qualifying exercise based on lottery tickets. In Ohio, it involves getting a lucky scratch followed by winning a drawing - back when Michigan had one, it was winning a drawing whose entry was three losing scratch-off tickets.

Winnings on game shows typically take time to process as well, so the idea of only spending the money won on game shows would be a tough one to enact. People don't just stand in line, get on a show, and walk out in the same day. If I'm insulting your intelligence, my apologies, but that's what your idea seems to flesh out.

Even PlayMania (if you chose to count it) who give away small (usually) tax-free sums take a week for their check to be delivered and all of that.

-Jason

[clemon79]

The whole thing does seem to smack of a supreme lack of understanding of how the game-show business works in this country. Which is not what I would want in a prospective producer of an international-based format, but what the hell do I know, I thought GSN would run Price, too.

[PYLdude]

Why is it, that what I read this, I had a flashback to Jay Jianoran's Game Show Triple Crown idea?

[remlap]

Good luck to you and the team your working with Harry.

Im in the UK so know very little about how appearances on US game-shows work, am I right in understanding if you appear on one your bared from any others for certain ammount of time?

Also if say anyone from any other nation other than US or Canada got on a US game-show how would taxes work, is it tax free to them?

While im asking are Canadian Game-Shows winings tax free like other Common Wealth Countries?

Cheers

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'remlap\' post=\'130150\' date=\'Sep 2 2006, 07:13 AM\']
Im in the UK so know very little about how appearances on US game-shows work, am I right in understanding if you appear on one your bared from any others for certain ammount of time?
[/quote]
Strictly legally speaking, no. But most have a policy that you can't have been on another show in a certain period of time to be eligible. That could be waived, but, again, there's nothing in it for a domestic production company to help promote a foreign reality show like that.

Also if say anyone from any other nation other than US or Canada got on a US game-show how would taxes work, is it tax free to them?

Since most US shows have the stip that you have to be a US citizen to be eligible (probably for this very reason), then I'm not sure.

[remlap]

Thank you for your simple to understand reply, can anyone help with my question about Canadian game-show taxes?

Cheers

[mmb5]

[quote name=\'remlap\' post=\'130201\' date=\'Sep 2 2006, 04:32 PM\']
Thank you for your simple to understand reply, can anyone help with my question about Canadian game-show taxes?

Cheers
[/quote]

Canadian ones are generally tax-free, but you would also need an English language one to actually be in production to be on.  The only ones in production right now are in French.


--Mike