Yes, I Know It's January

It's that time again - time to take a look at what September 2010 has in store for five-day-a-week shows. There are several bits and pieces of news going around, and I'll get to them all in due course. Let's take this show by show...

Wheel Of Fortune\The Price Is Right: They're not going anywhere and you know it.

Jeopardy\Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?: You'd think these two would be fine also, but considering that both were forced to have $1,000,000 tournaments this year, I'd say their futures are less certain. I'm not actually saying I think Jeopardy will be canceled - I just think it's more likely to than Wheel Of Fortune or The Price Is Right.

Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?: Perhaps surprisingly, it's coming back next year!

Let's Make A Deal: Unclear at the moment; what is clear is that the show is moving production from Las Vegas to Los Angeles.

Deal Or No Deal: It appears to be close to death. It's already been kicked out of its Connecticut studios, and Howie Mandel has taken a new job as a judge on America's Got Talent, which is in Los Angeles. We don't know for sure yet, but I don't think we'll see much more of this one.

Family Feud: It's coming back next year...with new host Steve Harvey. Yes, you read that right. If this show has that much trouble holding on to hosts, maybe they should just give up.

Cash Cab: Yes, you read that right. We already have one new show confirmed, and it's Cash Cab, in the form of syndicated reruns on episodes already aired on the Discovery Channel. Say what you will about that, I'm counting it.

As The World Turns: "That's a canceled soap opera!" you shout. Exactly. After fifty-four years, CBS is set to air the final episode of As The World Turns in September, and as with Guiding Light (which was replaced by Let's Make A Deal), they are considering replacing it with a new daytime game show. Shows being speculated about include Pyramid (which wouldn't be my first choice, but is always good), Press Your Luck (which would ROCK) and The Dating Game (please, please, NO.)

Finally, it appears that the people behind the five-day-a-week version of Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader? are working on a new show vaguely described as a "companion." My personal theory is that it is one of the other two game shows that ran on Fox during the same period, Don't Forget The Lyrics (which would ROCK) and The Moment Of Truth (please, please, NO.)

So there you have it. Steve Harvey is hosting Family Feud, Cash Cab is coming to syndication, and in a best case scenario, we'd have Press Your Luck and Don't Forget The Lyrics five days a week; in a worst case scenario, we'd be stuck with The Dating Game and The Moment Of Truth. There's not much left to say. We'll have to wait and see.

Only seven months, two weeks, and two days until Labor Day,

Aaron