“Dating Game” and “Newlywed Game” for GSN

04 Jun

Posted by Alex Davis as GSN, New Show

After months of waiting I can finally make it official: The Newlywed Game and The Dating Game are going to GSN. Our good friends at Embassy Row asked us to put some notices about casting for The Dating Game andThe Newlywed Game, revivals of two popular classic game shows. These shows were originally rumored to be on Lifetime. If you want to apply for either of the shows, click here for Newlywed Game, here for Dating Game, or visit our casting page for these two in addition to other new shows like GSN’s Catch-21.

Each format has been updated for current times. For The Dating Game, GSN’s looking for an online dating site partner to use compatibility test to find worthwhile bachelors and bachelorettes. They are also not ruling out homosexual couples. The Newlywed Game, they want to add a showdown round where the winner of the show will face off against an older couple who won the show in the classic versions. All I’d like to note about that is that I was told by Embassy Row development people when I pitch shows that they firmly believe not every show needs a bonus round and just having a nice finish with closure will work. They picked the perfect format with that, the perfect format where if you win, you win the prize and game over. What did they do? Add a bonus round, which is the opposite of what they told me.

12 Responses

Marc Power
1
June 4th, 2008 at 10:11 am

weird move by GSN IMO, they dont’ air the enwlywed game reruns anymore and they haven’t aired the dating game in years, what made them suddenly decide to do this?
DB25
2
June 4th, 2008 at 10:51 am

Never been a fan of the dating game, but hopefully the Newleywed game will end up being OK.
Devon
3
June 4th, 2008 at 12:22 pm

These two were in serious need of a revival. I guess GSN figured that the classic runs wouldn’t bring in the best ratings so they figured a new revived, fresh format for each would do them justice. I hope in the end that ends up being just so. Now it’s just a matter of figuring if they’ll end up in primetime.
Shon
4
June 4th, 2008 at 1:35 pm

I know it won’t happen but I’m still hoping Bob Eubanks hosts. That guy that was picked for the ’90s version was horrible.
John S.
5
June 4th, 2008 at 3:43 pm

Shon, I believed Pat Billard is the new host for the Newlywed Game.
Mike B.
6
June 4th, 2008 at 6:42 pm

I hope not. You’re probably thinking of the ABC reality show ‘Here Come The Newlyweds’ that Bullard hosted. The host of the 1996 version was Gary Kroeger.

I think George Gray and Bil Dwyer would be good choices for the new ‘Newlywed Game’. ‘The Dating Game’ really doesn’t require much of its host besides cue card reading, so they could get Dylan Lane for all I care.
MikeSant318
7
June 4th, 2008 at 6:46 pm

You mean Pat Bullard from the completely botched Card Sharks 2001? Couldn’t pry Pat Finn away from the Callifornia Lottery’s Big Spin, could they?
Doug.
8
June 4th, 2008 at 8:04 pm

Well…someone thinks that the Newlywed Game and the Dating Game need an update and a format change…oh yeah, they tried that years ago…remember Paul Rodriguez? They had to bring back Bob Eubanks because it was a disaster.

TV producers never learn.
HomerJay
9
June 5th, 2008 at 5:47 am

Rodriguez replaced Eubanks on the final season of the by-then-fading ’80s revival. Eubanks did come back for the second and subsequent seasons of the ’90s revival, but remember, too, that the first season had a format that was nearly unrecognizable as The Newlywed Game. The host cannot be entirely blamed for that.

That said, time moves on and picking new hosts seems right for these revivals.
devares
10
June 5th, 2008 at 9:05 am

Well, Marc. They did the same with Chain Reaction. So that didn’t surprise me at all. As far as hosts goes, you can go with anyone.
Greg
11
June 6th, 2008 at 11:19 am

Pat “Card Sharks” Bullard? The guy from “Here Comes The Newlyweds”? Why don’t they get Bob Eubanks or somebody respectable?

GSN doesn’t know good hosts when they see them.
JD Nole
12
June 6th, 2008 at 12:30 pm

Never liked either show and that “not ruling out homosexual couples” on the Dating Game turns me off even more. That’s just my opinion, so please don’t be offended. Unlike the recent IGaS where the sexuality of the panel didn’t really matter once the initial shock wore off, The Dating Game’s m.o. is to ask provocative double entendre type questions. If this makes it to GSN, definitely put it on late night (at least 11:30).