Will network daytime game shows ever make a full comeback?

[edward1978]

Do you guys remember when daytime television had a whole conucopia of game shows, like Sale of the Century, Scrabble, Pyramid, Press Your Luck just to name a few back in the 70's and 80's.  The talk shows had wiped network game shows except The Price Is Right in the 90's and had been this way for 15 years until Let's Make A Deal replaced Guiding Light in 2009.  I was hoping that network daytime game shows would return when LMAD premiered, but all hope for game shows return to prominence died when CBS replaced As The World Turns with The Talk, then ABC replaces All My Children and One Life To Live with The Chew and The Revolution respectively.  Now that The Revolution has been cancelled will a game show replace it, I hope so if not will Game Shows ever return to prominance on network daytime television.

[TLEberle]

Do you guys remember when daytime television had a whole conucopia of game shows,

Yes I do, Geoff.

[Don Howard]

Now that The Revolution has been cancelled will a game show replace it

It is my believe that an hour-long edition of Good Morning America (which, I presume, will be retitled to fit the time of day) will be on at 2:00 New York time as a stop gap until autumn when General Hospital moves up to 2:00 (its first time period move since the late 1970s) freeing up 3-4pm for local ABC stations to fill with their own fare, which many will use for overpaid blowhard Katie Couric's daily syndicated offering.

[chris319]

They won't. A big problem with daytime game shows has historically been the older demographics of the audience. There are other economic and demographic reasons not to bring back game shows. I'm afraid the ship has sailed.

[BrandonFG]

Y&R and B&B still do pretty well at CBS. And as long as a) Julie Chen remains married to Les Moonves, and/or b) Les remains president of CBS, The Talk will likely be around for awhile. If that one ever goes away, there's a chance, since CBS had considered Pyramid.

Another scenario: if NBC ever decides to free up one of the 17 hours of the Today show, or gets rid of Days of Our Lives, there might be a shot, if they don't give the hour(s) back to the affiliates. In the case of NBC and ABC, I think they're both doing what they can to keep their only soaps. I really don't think either wants to be the first network to completely wipe them off the daytime schedule, but when it comes down to money, I'm sure that's a small price to pay for either.

At this point, I'd say you're better off looking at primetime or syndication. In the last 10 years, it's kinda felt like primetime is the new daytime with all the games that have popped up since 1999. And like daytime in the 70s and 80s, some shows lasted and became iconic and even spawned syndicated counterparts (Millionaire, Weakest Link, Deal or No Deal), while others fizzled after a few weeks (Winning Lines, Show Me the Money).

[Jay Temple]

I question whether we'll see another new network-daytime show that's not news/talk of any kind, ever.

[SamJ93]

They won't. A big problem with daytime game shows has historically been the older demographics of the audience. There are other economic and demographic reasons not to bring back game shows. I'm afraid the ship has sailed.

As the traditional networks continue to lose relevance--due to cable previously, due today to both cable and sites like Hulu, Netflix, etc.--maybe new game shows could find success via non-traditional media channels. Cash Cab certainly showed that a modest game show in a creative venue could be successful, at least for a little while...maybe a similar GS produced for YouTube could do the same?  Perhaps such a things is still a few years away from being feasible (I'm aware the prize budget would likely be next-to-nil).

I also think Hip Hop Squares is a good trial for seeing if it's possible for game shows to find acceptance among the younger generation. If it's successful, it could pave the way for other classic formats produced in a similar vein (MG, of course, but maybe even panel shows like WML and TTTT).

[TimK2003]

What really gets me to scratch my head is despite all the 60-minute syndicated talk, court, and freak shows (coughcoughSpringercoughcough), as well as the 30-minute shows of the same genres -- plus game shows -- that air back-to-back in one hour blocks by many stations during the daytime hours, I have yet to hear of anybody ever trying to crank out a full 60-minute game show for syndication.

Yes, Dawson's '94-95 Feud run was technically 60-minutes, but it really was defined as two 30-minute segments that stations could elect to take as the full hour, or they could air only the latter of the two halves, so I really don't count that show as a real 60-minute show.

This is where I'd love to see a 60-minute version of Pyramid play out, with three matches per show, the full 7-answers-in-30-seconds format, and un-rushed pacing, similar to that of the early years of Pyramid -- they should have no problem filling the 44 minutes of content needed per show.  Filling the 44 minutes of content with competent celebrity players, on the other hand....

[byrd62]

They won't. A big problem with daytime game shows has historically been the older demographics of the audience. There are other economic and demographic reasons not to bring back game shows. I'm afraid the ship has sailed.

As the traditional networks continue to lose relevance--due to cable previously, due today to both cable and sites like Hulu, Netflix, etc.--maybe new game shows could find success via non-traditional media channels. Cash Cab certainly showed that a modest game show in a creative venue could be successful, at least for a little while...maybe a similar GS produced for YouTube could do the same?  Perhaps such a things is still a few years away from being feasible (I'm aware the prize budget would likely be next-to-nil).

I also think Hip Hop Squares is a good trial for seeing if it's possible for game shows to find acceptance among the younger generation. If it's successful, it could pave the way for other classic formats produced in a similar vein (MG, of course, but maybe even panel shows like WML and TTTT).

Does it count if there's already a bit of IGaS on the remake of Nickelodeon's Figure it Out?

[aaron sica]

I don't think more daytime game shows are out of the question (not a full renaissance..maybe one or two more) down the line and I'll tell you why. I don't like to speak for the group, but I think I can confidently say that prior to 2009, very few of us ever thought there would be another network daytime game show besides "Price". And look - we're coming up on 3 years of "Deal" already...

[Jimmy Owen]

Is Deal anybody's favorite game show?  It's just "there."  The Flint market runs it on the My affiliate.

[BrandonFG]

Is Deal anybody's favorite game show?  It's just "there."

That's kinda how I feel about it. An okay show that could be so much better. I watch it if it's on, but don't go out of my way to do so.

[SamJ93]

Is Deal anybody's favorite game show?  It's just "there."

That's kinda how I feel about it. An okay show that could be so much better. I watch it if it's on, but don't go out of my way to do so.

Guess I'm one of the few who actually really enjoys the show, then.  No, it's not "Deal" the way Monty did it, but their way is just as fun to watch, IMHO, and Wayne and Jonathan have great chemistry.

Again, I think shows like that and Hip Hop Squares may be the way of the future for game shows...they have to have a freewheeling atmosphere, and have a little bit of variety show thrown in to keep modern-day viewers engaged. Don't get me wrong, I would love to see faithful revivals of "Pyramid," "Split Second," and other more cerebral games, but they may not have a chance in today's market.

[PYLclark86]

It's just "there."

My thoughts exactly. Deal isn't awful, but it's not that good either. I simply cannot get into it.

Am I the only one who is surprised at how mellow Wayne Brady is on the show, considering his flamboyance on Whose Line Is It Anyways?

Apart from what you see on CBS, I highly doubt there's going to be anything else. Daytime programming in general is more content to squeeze out talk show after talk show.

Then again, I'm amazed Deal has lasted this long.

[SuperMatch93]

I like Deal, but at least for me, it doesn't seem right as an hour-long. It would make more sense to condense it to a half-hour and maybe put a revival of Press Your Luck (or Whew!... a man can dream) before it.