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GSN Announces an Aggressive 2007 Production and Development Slate
Slate Includes Projects From Producers Michael Davies, Phil Gurin, 12 Yard
Productions, Lion Television USA and Others
Network to Produce International Emmy Award-Winning WITHOUT PREJUDICE? in a
New Original American Version
PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 12 -- GSN's production and
development slate for 2007 features new series, reality formats and
specials that include live elements, provocative subjects and the best game
show contestants, it was announced today by Jamie Roberts, Senior Vice
President of Programming, GSN, at the network's TCA presentation.
"With game programs performing well for the broadcast networks, it
became imperative for GSN to produce series that would garner attention in
an already competitive marketplace. We are confident that the slate
presented today is by far, the company's most diverse. The slate features a
breadth of topics ranging from vocabulary contests to cat competitions,
knowledge quizzers to live reality challenges, dating situations to
provocative discussions. We're adding fresh elements that push games and
competitions in the U.S. into new territories," said Roberts.
Going into its most prolific production schedule to date, GSN is proud
to announce the renewal of three of its originals. LINGO, hosted by Chuck
Woolery, begins production in February for its sixth season and premieres
April 2. CHAIN REACTION, executive produced by Michael Davies and hosted by
Dylan Lane, debuts its second season March 13 and the fourth edition of
WORLD SERIES OF BLACKJACK tapes at the end of this month for a June
premiere.
Series and specials currently in production include:
Based on the UK Channel 4 series created by 12 Yard Productions (the
team behind "The Weakest Link" and "Dog Eat Dog"), the International Emmy
Award-winning WITHOUT PREJUDICE? is being produced for the North American
audience by GSN. One of the most provocative shows to hit the air anywhere,
WITHOUT PREJUDICE? features a panel of ordinary people who are given the
chance to improve the course of someone's life by awarding one of five
contestants a large sum of money. Contestants vie for the money by opening
up their lives for examination by the panel. Executive producer: David
Young.
CAT-MINSTER: CFA INTERNATIONAL CAT CHAMPIONSHIP is a two-hour special
airing Tuesday, March 27 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET), that covers the largest
pedigreed cat show in the Western Hemisphere, the 19th Annual Cat Fanciers'
Association (CFA) International Cat Show. Hosted by the husband and wife
team of Bob Goen ("Entertainment Tonight") and Marianne Curan
("Landscapers' Challenge"), the special delves into the exhibitors' and
cats' lives before the big event, showing a rarely seen glimpse of
preparation going into the competition. The show highlights the entire
process of the prestigious cat show, providing coverage of the feline
agility course and other key judging criteria. Painless Entertainment is
producing the special for GSN with Jim Casey and Joe Carolei serving as
executive producers.
NATIONAL VOCABULARY CHAMPIONSHIP is a one-hour original special
capturing the performances of the nation's top 50 high school vocabulary
students as they compete in GSN's inaugural competition. The special,
airing Sunday, April 15 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET), will re-count the steps taken
by the winner as he or she prepared for the competition that awarded over
$40,000 for higher education as the grand prize. The first-ever National
Vocabulary Championship is hosted by Dylan Lane (CHAIN REACTION) and is
taking place Monday, March 5 at the New York Public Library. Andy Scheer of
Humba Productions is executive producing the special for GSN.
Series in development include:
From Lion Television USA, THE BOX is a live, nightly reality game show
event where contestants have to live and compete in a glass box in the
middle of a large American city. Every day, one pair of contestants build
up a pot of money, and when night falls comes a battle of wits played live
on GSN and the winner keeps the money collected. The contestants have
virtually no privacy and will compete in real-time for cash prizes with the
entire country watching their every move. The loser will exit with no money
and the winner stays to take on the next contender and spend another day in
"the box." After three weeks of live prime time excitement, one winner will
emerge from "the box." Executive producers: Tracy Green from Lion
Television USA along with Nick Catliff from Lion Television U.K. The series
is based on the Irish format.
CARRY YOUR WEIGHT is a game show centering on the three attributes that
are widely believed to give people an edge in life -- beauty, brains and
brawn. Conceived by Corbin Bernsen ("L.A. Law"), CARRY YOUR WEIGHT involves
three teams of three people and each team has one person representing the
three categories: beauty, brains and brawn. Executive producers: Burt
Dubrow and Jean Wiegman ("I've Got A Secret," "The New Tom Green Show") for
Burt Dubrow Productions and Bernsen of Public Media Works.
From Executive Producer Michael Davies and Sony Pictures Television,
GRAND SLAM is a rapid-fire question and answer game show that pits 16 of
the greatest American game show contestants against each other in
head-to-head competitions. The competition is a single elimination
tournament that will match up million dollar "Who Wants to be a
Millionaire?" winners with "Jeopardy" champions, among others. The best of
the best will go at it each week, answering questions in timed rounds
against the clock involving general and contemporary knowledge, numbers,
words and letters. The loser of each show goes home and the winner
continues on to the finals and the chance to be crowned the Grand Slam
Champion. GRAND SLAM is produced by Michael Davies' production company
Embassy Row and Monkey Kingdom Ltd. in association with Sony Pictures
Television.
From Laurelwood Entertainment, INDECISION is an exciting, new variety
game show that combines the surprises and drama of a talk show with the
thrill of a game. INDECISION features one contestant making nine decisions
that could change his/her life forever -- everything about this show rests
on the decisions made by the contestant. Decisions can be based on
anything, include receiving gifts, giving charity donations, surprising
friends, or even potentially humiliating your boss. Someone will walk away
with a small fortune in every episode of INDECISION, but an added twist is
that the winner might not always be the contestant. It could be a friend,
an enemy, a husband or even a perfect stranger, such as a member of the
studio audience. Executive producer: Phil Gurin (LINGO, Miss USA, Weakest
Link) of Laurelwood Entertainment.
KERRY'S GETTING MARRIED will follow one woman's search for the perfect
man. Played out in real-time, the bride-to-be will reside in a posh
apartment and live with one man at a time to see if they meet her dreams
and expectations. Once she decides that her current suitor does not meet
her standards, she requests that he leaves and immediately a new prospect
knocks at her door. This fully-interactive live reality series allows
viewers to nominate her next beau and influence her decisions. The focus of
this series is to create a couple that will live happily ever after. The
man she finally chooses will marry her in grand fashion on live TV and as
an added bonus will keep the dream apartment as their first home together.
The series is based on the smash-hit Scandinavian format, KERRY'S GETTING
MARRIED, created by Strix Television.
From Buena Vista Productions, CAMOUFLAGE is a fast-paced addictive game
show of hidden word puzzles with trivia clues ranging from general
knowledge to pop culture. Contestants are shown letter puzzles and they
must find the hidden words from among the puzzle's decoy letters. Decoy
letters are dropped from the puzzle with each letter dropped decreasing the
value of the puzzle. A sample of game play includes the puzzle word:
BRAINCHUORIC. The clue is -- Newsperson. Reading left to right "anchor" is
revealed. Executive producers: Terrence McDonnell and Jonathan Barry.
WAR OF THE WORDS is a vocabulary quizzer which plays on the fact that
words have more than one meaning. Players will be given definitions to
figure out a word. If the contestant is unable to guess the word after the
first definition then the next one is presented. An example of this is
exemplified through the word "Monkey." Here are the definitions that will
be given one by one -- "A kind of business," "To fool around," "A type of
wrench" and "You can find a howler in the zoo." Contestants will answer
questions in four compelling rounds which also include choosing the correct
definitions of words. The series will determine who has the best vocabulary
combined with nerves of steel. WAR OF THE WORDS was created by Mast Media.
Executive producers: Andrew Golder, Steve Havers and Mark Baker.
GSN is the entertainment industry leader in multi-platform interactive
game programs. As the premier television network for games, GSN features
challenging word games, high intensity casino programs, live participation
shows, reality series and documentaries. GSN's programming includes
original series such as "Chain Reaction," "Lingo" and "High Stakes Poker,"
as well as the classics "Jeopardy" and "Pyramid," among others. The network
also boasts America's first live participation TV program "PlayMania,"
which airs in late-night six times a week. Complementing the network,
GSN.com features all types of game play: innovative Flash games for fun,
skill cash game tournaments and downloadable games. The website also
features GSN's two-screen interactive play-along for prime time shows. Now
reaching more than 62 million Nielsen homes, GSN is distributed in the U.S.
through all major cable systems and satellite providers. The network is
jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation.
For further media information, visit GSN's press website at corp.gsn.com.
-GSN '07-
SOURCE GSN
http://corp.gsn.com
http://www.GSN.com
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