I attended an audition for "On The Cover" a couple of days ago and made it into the contestant pool. Tapings will begin in late April, and will continue through July.
30 question quiz, fill-in-the-blank style, on pop culture and recent events. Passing score was not announced, but approx. 2/3 of the 35 auditioners passed. Passers then proceeded to play a mock game in groups of 3.
The Game: "On The Cover" refers to magazine, CD, DVD covers which will be used as the basis for the questions. Newspaper front pages will also be used. In addition to people, locations, objects, and titles may also be answers. The game will have 3 contestants each show, no returning champ. There are three rounds, with the leader at the end of the first round going onto the bonus round to try for the grand prize. First round will have each contestant on their own trying to identify 10 covers within 30 seconds. Each correct answer accumulates points. In the 2nd round, the contestants compete together with 3 covers displayed. The 3rd place person at the end of Round 1 selects one of the 3 covers, and the host (not yet cast) will ask a question regarding the cover. First person to buzz in after the question has been read in its entirety will get a chance to answer. So far, they said that there is no penalty for an incorrect answer. If someone is incorrect, the other 2 get to buzz in. Correct answers accumulate more points, and the keeps control of "the board". A new cover replaces the one used in the previous question. Every time a cover is not selected for a question, the point value for that cover increases. In Round 3, there are 3 covers displayed, and the host will ask a series of 5 questions in which the subject of one of the 3 covers is the answer. After the 5 questions, the 3 covers are changed to a different set, and 5 more questions are asked. Don't know how long round 2 and 3 last in total, but I think we have a 30 min show. The leader at the end of Round 3 goes to the Bonus Round, and the other 2 get "very nice" consolation prizes. There are no cash prizes.
In the Bonus Round, the contestant will be given 4 covers to identify. Each answer has a key word which will be highlighted for the contestant if a correct response is given. The 4 key words act as clue for a final answer. Bonus round winner will get a trip for 2 to an exotic location worth at least $10K, so it will be an ultra-luxury week-long thing. There will be no returning champion, 3 new contestants each show.
As of Thursday, they were still auditioning for a host as well. They have a committment for 130 shows, so they will need plenty of contestants. You can go to the link in goongas's first post in this topic. The production company (Western International Syndication) also has a web page about the show (
http://www.wistelevision.com/otc.html) but does not contain any more information (yet).
Tim H.
