ABC greenlights "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune"

[BillCullen1]

Celebrity WOF will front a Thursday game show block for ABC starting January 7. Celeb WOF starts at 8 p.m. ET, followed by The Chase at 9 p.m. and The Hustler (a Craig Ferguson-helmed effort that sounds like a variation of Dirty Rotten Cheater and The Enemy Within) at 10 p.m

JD

Additionally  To tell the Truth returns Jan 26.

Still no $100,000 pyramid?

Yeah, Pyramid was supposed to go back in production in September.  Anyone know if that actually happened?

[Joe Mello]

What I don't agree with is when there are unnecessary distractions to the gameplay.  When you try to have most LMAD contestants do some sort of America's Got Talent act before they do an actual deal, it screams Central Casting, and it gets predictable.

I feel like a good portion of this is trying to play to the strengths of your all-purpose thespian host and house musician. Also Match Game is currently a much worse offender of derailing the game for Stupid Human Tricks.

[tyshaun1]

What I don't agree with is when there are unnecessary distractions to the gameplay.  When you try to have most LMAD contestants do some sort of America's Got Talent act before they do an actual deal, it screams Central Casting, and it gets predictable.

I think you're misappropriating the blame there. Wayne and Jonathan are best known for their improv ability, so they tailored the entire show around their strengths. Not saying I'm personally a fan of it (or the show for that matter), and I do think the show doesn't need to have every dancer dance or singer sing, but people seem to be drawn to it for that reason.

[BrandonFG]

Yeah, Pyramid was supposed to go back in production in September.  Anyone know if that actually happened?

Yes it did.

[Denials]

Agree with others on not understanding the Mike Richards hate.  He hasn't been my favorite person always in terms of some choices.

However, the fact that there is a network celebrity version of WOF does nothing to tarnish the syndie WOF product and probably enhances awareness and could help ratings/longevity.  Why should Mike be penalized or ridiculed for that?

He's barely had time to start with both shows, in the middle of a pandemic.  And something positive is coming out. 

I for one will give it a watch and chance before bashing it.

[Jeremy Nelson]

What I don't agree with is when there are unnecessary distractions to the gameplay.  When you try to have most LMAD contestants do some sort of America's Got Talent act before they do an actual deal, it screams Central Casting, and it gets predictable.

I feel like a good portion of this is trying to play to the strengths of your all-purpose thespian host and house musician.

This. Contestant interviews come in all shapes and sizes, y’all. Wayne’s job is to pull as much out of them as he can, and get the audience to root for them.

[cmjb13]

However, the fact that there is a network celebrity version of WOF does nothing to tarnish the syndie WOF product and probably enhances awareness and could help ratings/longevity.  Why should Mike be penalized or ridiculed for that?

I'm not sure if ridiculed is the right word for it, but celebrities and gimmicks seems to be his default go to ideas.

Price = Celebrity guest spots + too many themed shows to mention.
Millionaire = Celebrity contestants
Primetime Wheel = Celebrity contestants
J! = Likely will have Celebrity contestants or themed shows with a new host

Seeing a pattern yet?

[jjman920]

Price = Celebrity guest spots + too many themed shows to mention.
Millionaire = Celebrity contestants
Primetime Wheel = Celebrity contestants
J! = Likely will have Celebrity contestants or themed shows with a new host

Seeing a pattern yet?

Yes. The pattern of things numerous different producers have done prior to Mike Richards. Millionaire, WOF, and J! have done numerous celebrity shows before Mike Richards ever came around.

Like, calling out "celebrity guests/contestants" is a moot point, because it's something a lot of producers do/have done to both great reward or failure since the dawn of television. Like it or not, celebrities are interesting people that regular people have interest in. There wouldn't be an entertainment industry without the interest in fame and those who surround it. It makes sense that producers would figure that there'd be garnered interest in watching celebrities more than regular contestants.

[cmjb13]

Yes. The pattern of things numerous different producers have done prior to Mike Richards. Millionaire, WOF, and J! have done numerous celebrity shows before Mike Richards ever came around.

The difference is those producers before him didn't do the gimmicks/celebrities thing as the one of the first ideas that they implement

It's one of the first, if not, the first thing he does. Like there's nothing else for him to try first.

[jjman920]

Yes. The pattern of things numerous different producers have done prior to Mike Richards. Millionaire, WOF, and J! have done numerous celebrity shows before Mike Richards ever came around.

The difference is those producers before him didn't do the gimmicks/celebrities thing as the one of the first ideas that they implement

Except the entire idea of the panel show was watching celebrities play games. How many solely civilian shows did Goodson even have in the 50s? Winner Take All? Beat the Clock? Two for the Money? It was honestly very few and far between when I think about it. It was a well that he went to pretty early and stayed in for quite a while.

[Denials]

However, the fact that there is a network celebrity version of WOF does nothing to tarnish the syndie WOF product and probably enhances awareness and could help ratings/longevity.  Why should Mike be penalized or ridiculed for that?

I'm not sure if ridiculed is the right word for it, but celebrities and gimmicks seems to be his default go to ideas.

Price = Celebrity guest spots + too many themed shows to mention.
Millionaire = Celebrity contestants
Primetime Wheel = Celebrity contestants
J! = Likely will have Celebrity contestants or themed shows with a new host

Seeing a pattern yet?

If celebrity contestants were being booked on syndie Wheel, I'd agree with you.  But they aren't.  Therefore your argument breaks down about the "changes" that Mike is making.  We don't know if ABC approached Wheel looking to expand their game offerings or if it was the other way around. 

Also, I personally find the celeb/essential worker rotation in Millionaire really refreshing.  Without an audience, and without being able to pull from a wide geographical area because of travel restrictions, I think it makes sense to shake things up a bit.  It doesn't feel forced, although Joel McHale drove me crazy trying to be funny.

And you're just speculating about Jeopardy, which doesn't do a thing to prove your point.

[Kevin Prather]

Having a separate primetime series for celebrities has been a popular trend in the UK. Pointless Celebrities, Cats Does Countdown, Tenable All-Stars, etc. I for one think that's a great way to do it. If I don't like the celebrity version, my Original Recipe remains untouched.

How would Primetime Millionaire have fared if they had Celebrity Millionaire on Saturday nights, and left the rest of the week alone?

[Joe Mello]

Having a separate primetime series for celebrities has been a popular trend in the UK.

Also Celebrity Family Feud is already a thing that exists.

And honestly what else could Wheel be able to do to make it sufficiently primetime?

[BrandonFG]

I'm not sure if ridiculed is the right word for it, but celebrities and gimmicks seems to be his default go to ideas.

Price = Celebrity guest spots + too many themed shows to mention.
Millionaire = Celebrity contestants
Primetime Wheel = Celebrity contestants
J! = Likely will have Celebrity contestants or themed shows with a new host

Seeing a pattern yet?

Not really. Millionaire and J! have done celebrity episodes for years. Theme weeks aren't new to J!, with Kids Week, and various tournaments. The Battle of the Decades could be seen as a gimmick, but instead uniquely incorporated its past. I think Mike realizes the difference between that and the decades episodes TPiR did a few years ago. I also think he realizes the two shows are completely different animals, so you won't see something like a daytime soap star doing Final Jeopardy! A cameo during a main game video clue? Maybe.

Wheel has done theme weeks for years, and while I think the show needs a shot in the arm, I don't see this being any worse than what Harry and Co. have tried for the last two decades.

I think this boils down to you just don't like Mike or anything the current crew does on TPiR. Mileage may vary, etc.

[WarioBarker]

Millionaire, WOF, and J! have done numerous celebrity shows before Mike Richards ever came around.

Yes, but both Wheel and Jeopardy! dropped having celebs play well before Harry departed - 2007 for the former, 2016 for the latter.