Game Show Network will debut four original shows -- three
of them live and interactive -- as part of its fall premiere week, which kicks off today
(Oct. 5), according to officials.
"For the first time, Game Show Network will have
something akin to a fall launch week," said Jake Tauber, senior vice president of
programming. "It will allow us to focus all of our promotions and marketing."
The three new live, daily interactive shows are Inquizition,
Extreme Gong and When Did That Happen? The fourth new show, As Seen on,
will air Saturday nights, and it is taped.
Inquizition is set in a deserted airplane hangar, where
eight contestants compete against each other in a battle of wits. Tauber said the series
has none of the traditional game show's trademarks. Rather, it has a TheX-Files
look about it, and it aims to attract younger viewers.
Prior to the start of the show, thousands of at-home
callers will be quizzed to see if they have what it takes to survive the Inquizition.
The four top players in the telephone-qualification round will join the four in-studio
players to face "The Inquizitor." The series airs weekdays at 7 p.m.
Extreme Gong will feature weird variety acts live five
nights per week, with viewers casting their votes on which ones they like best. Tauber
compared the show to an "electronic coliseum," with the public giving its
thumbs-ups and thumbs-downs to the acts. It airs nightly at 8:30 p.m.
The third new series is When Did That Happen?, which
takes a trip back into the world of pop culture, and which is meant to show off the
comedic talents of host Marianne Curan, according to Tauber. It runs live weekdays at 10
p.m., from a virtual set.
The fourth new show, the half-hour As Seen on, looks
back on the past five decades of game shows, exploiting GSN's expansive library of
50,000 episodes, Tauber said. It is hosted by "the Vault guys," Matthew Parrott
and Greg Baker, and it airs Saturdays at 8:30 p.m.
By debuting its shows now, GSN is bucking a trend, since
many cable networks premiered their new shows in the summer this year to avoid the
competition from the broadcast networks in the fall.
"The timing seemed right," Tauber said. "The
shows are all ready."
Tauber added that GSN will also be launching a new series
in the first quarter of next year.
