fremantle media-related stories
Posted Sep 8th 2009 1:01PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Game Show, Reality-Free
At first I thought that a new
Let's Make A Deal wouldn't go over well in these oh-so-hip, ironic times. Who wants to go on television in front of millions of people dressed like a hot dog or a robot and embarrass themselves? And then I remembered that people go on TV nowadays to eat bugs, frolic naked in hot tubs, and showcase their children to the world, so dressing up like food products and fire hydrants will probably seem quaint now.
Continue reading New Let's Make A Deal starts filming next week
Posted Aug 28th 2009 5:05PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Sports, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals
At first, I want to sit here and laugh at the idea that
Fremantle Media thinks they can develop a TV series with parkour. It's just people running and jumping across the landscape. How's that a sport? And most of the coolest videos feature the idiots who think they can do it and fail beautifully.
But I also laughed at the idea of bringing poker to television; it's just people sitting around playing cards. The lesson I've learned is that people will watch anything. And parkour is something. And it can look cool when done right, and even cooler when done wrong.
But Fremantle Media (
American Idol) is hooking up with Motion, Inc. thinking they can develop league competitions and turn it into a global entertainment brand. Which makes me think of wrestling or The X-Games. Hell, parkour would fit in very well there. I don't deny that it takes an incredible athleticism to perform parkour, but I can't see myself sitting down and enjoying a competition for an hour or more. But then again, I can't watch poker either, so it'll probably be as huge as they think.
Posted Aug 6th 2008 5:42PM by Bob Sassone
Filed under: Celebrities, Game Show, Reality-Free
There seems to be an inordinate amount of lawsuits involving
The Price Is Right: sexual harassment, wrongful termination, etc. Now one of those lawsuits is going forward but with one key member no longer involved.
A judge in Los Angeles has
dismissed allegations against Bob Barker in the lawsuit involving a former production assistant who says she was demoted because she testified in one of the other cases. The reason for the dismissal? Barker wasn't her boss. The judge also dismissed claims that the woman made against Fremantle Media, but those could be reinstated later if the judge is convinced by her attorney that they should be.
Continue reading Bob Barker removed from Price Is Right lawsuit (for now)
Posted Jul 8th 2008 11:19AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, Daytime, Game Show, Ratings, Reality-Free
Drew Carey and company recently wrapped up shooting Season 36 of
The Price is Right --
Drew had pizzas delivered to the studio from his favorite place in Cleveland -- but when the crew comes back to tape Season 37 in a few weeks, they're going to be faced with a number of changes.
The first change is that Roger Dobkowitz, who's been the producer of the show since it started its run, won't be there. According to Golden-Road.net, a
TPiR message board,
Fremantle Media let Dobkowitz go after Season 36 wrapped up; a replacement has yet to be named.
But there may be other changes afoot, namely with the look and format of the show, whose ratings declined 15% in the first season after Bob Barker's retirement. Rumors are swirling that the changes will include new pricing games and a video wall, all the way up to a rumor --
published on a TVGuide.com fan blog but later
pulled -- that the show will be completely overhauled to make it look more like Fremantle's money-making machine,
American Idol (or their new money-making machine,
Million Dollar Password).
Continue reading Big changes coming to The Price is Right?
Posted Feb 13th 2008 2:21PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Video, Game Show, Pickups and Renewals
One of my regular blog haunts is the game show news site BuzzerBlog, and when I logged into it today and saw
this post, I couldn't believe my eyes: FOX and Fremantle Media are apparently putting together an American version of the popular Japanese game show
Hole in the Wall. I was so flabbergasted that I had to see who else reported on it; sure enough, it was
right there in Variety for all to see.
If you're not sure what
Hole in the Wall is, take a look at the video after the jump. Basically, it's a game of human Tetris: contestants have to bend themselves into the shape of a cutout on a fast-approaching wall. If they do it in time, they go through the wall. If they don't, the wall pushes them into a pool of water. That's it. That's the whole game.
Continue reading FOX orders pilot for dumbest game show ever - VIDEO
Posted Jan 31st 2008 9:31AM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Industry, Game Show
Interesting story in
The Hollywood Reporter today: Fremantle Media, who owns
American Idol, The Price is Right, and a number of popular game shows,
is looking to revive Match Game.
That's right folks: in this era where no section of TV history is left unscathed, everyone's favorite shag-carpeted, wokka-wokka game show from the seventies might be coming to a TV near you soon. Fremantle is currently talking with cable networks about a revival of the show and is also looking for an executive producer, and will hire talent after the EP is brought on board.
Continue reading Is a new Match Game on the way?
Posted Mar 13th 2007 12:46PM by Liz Finn-Arnold
Filed under: FOX, American Idol, Alumni, News and Gossip
Is it ever quiet in
Idol-Scandalville? We just got rid of Antonella and her wet T-shirts, and now Mario Vazquez resurfaces from Season Four at the front and center of
the latest Idol controversy.
As you may or may not recall,
Mario quit in the middle of Season Four's competition for vague "personal reasons." It now looks like those "personal reasons" may have involved Mario's unwanted sexual advances and a former
Idol employee.
Continue reading Mario Vazquez named in Idol sexual harrassment lawsuit
Posted Nov 2nd 2006 3:46PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: CBS, TV Royalty, OpEd, Daytime, Celebrities, Game Show
Ever since
The Price is Right's Bob Barker
announced his retirement, game show fans have been bandying about names of possible replacements. The names most commonly mentioned are Todd Newton, who hosts the
TPiR road show, Marc Summers of FoodTV's
Unwrapped (and the late, lamented Nick game show
Double Dare), and Rich Fields, the show's current announcer. But an unexpected name is coming out of left field, and may be a strong contender: Dave Price.
The Early Show's weatherman and all-around goofball recently signed a new deal with CBS, and according to
an article in the New York
Daily News, that contract also calls for him to do "entertainment-based projects" for the network. In addition, the story reports that he was at the offices of
TPiR producer Fremantle Media doing a mock run-through of the show for a small audience (who responded to a Craigslist ad, for crissakes). CBS is saying that it's too early to even talk about a replacement for Barker.
Continue reading Dave Price to take over for Bob Barker?
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