“Fifth Grader” Goes Syndie in 2009

06 Aug

Posted by Alex Davis as 1 vs. 100, Fifth Grader?, Power of 10, Syndication

It’s been out there for a while but it’s being made official now: according to Broadcasting and Cable, sources are saying that FOX’s Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? will be going into syndication in 2009. It won’t be the first daytime version. Over in England they’ve had one, as well as a primetime version. Seems to be running pretty well for them. I’ve never liked the show as a million dollar game show to be honest. It’s always seemed like a lower budget show, so we’ll see how this one goes. Host Jeff Foxworthy is probably going to sign onto it. No word on top prize, but I’d just expect a quarter of a million. It’s not like Deal or No Deal where the odds are significantly stacked against you to win so they can offer half a million. Everyone theoretically has a good chance at winning and they can’t realistically afford the risk of giving away a half million too much. Of course knowing the dumbasses they cast they could do whatever they wanted.

I honestly haven’t watched the show since its first few episodes. It’s basic idea never interested me. FOX is mostly specifically casting morons (or former smart people and now morons) which just erases any drama for me. Add in the controversy with the original cast of fifth graders and the fact that the drama is so forced that it makes Duel look shameful, and it’s never appealed to me. But I’m guessing some of you have. Is it worth it to give another chance next season?

Fifth Grader was one of three primetime network shows being discussed for syndication in 2009. Others included were Power of 10 and 1 VS 100. Power of 10 bombed because of terrible scheduling on CBS’s part so I’m not expecting it to show up, but I’ve been wrong before (and often). I’d love to see it pop up again somewhere. It was one of the best shows to play along with in ages and the barrel roll for a right answer was incredibly dramatic. NBC seems to have wanted to forget 1 VS 100 has existed since half way through its first season so I’d bet money against that. Again, I’d love to see it pop up again. However, NBC has removed all traces of the show from their press site which is never a good sign. But with Fifth Grader, we’re going to be awfully crowded very soon, won’t we?

15 Responses

John L
1
August 6th, 2008 at 6:04 am

What was the controversy with the original cast of Fifth Grader? My daughter (who is now going into 3rd grade) really wants to be on that show. I am not trying to get her hopes up by any means, but I am planning on letting her try out (along with the 50 billion other kids) when the time comes.
Sam M
2
August 6th, 2008 at 9:18 am

John L, is your daughter an actor? Most of the kids on that show are actors, which is the controversy. The kids were on Ellen a while back, and 3 out of 5 of them said they wanted to be an actor when they grew up. Try not to get her hopes up.
Alex Davis
3
August 6th, 2008 at 9:27 am

the basic initial issue was that FOX was adamant on saying that these were actual fifth graders and they were not given any information in advance about the material. It was later found out that the students, most of which were actual actors, received material beforehand, some of which may have been used on the show. FOX downright said that no material was given several times and then we found out something like this. It kinda gave the show bad feelings to me.

Now that the show is popular and they’ve had casting sessions, I do believe they are using fifth graders correctly, though.
Xavier
4
August 6th, 2008 at 11:17 am

Hey Alex, lets be happy that we are now crowded. It was 4 years ago that most of us thought the Game Show was dead. H2 and Pyramid being cancelled, GSN doing their crap with reality shows, and no new Game Shows created for Syndication. 2004 was a bad year for Game Shows.

But now 4 years later, we have dond and Trivial Pursuit and next year we will have AYSTAFG? It’s great to see that Game Shows are back in full force in Syndication. Now we have to hope each is more successful than Temptation and Crosswords.
Martin
5
August 6th, 2008 at 12:38 pm

I am indifferent about this show going Syndie. I think the premise of the show is really ridiculous and giving away 1 million dollars on those easy questions is really bizarre to me. Jeff Foxworthy tries to make it suspenseful, but really…no. He can do all the walking around and elongating the show if it goes syndie (assuming its only 30 mins) so it might not work.
James D.
6
August 6th, 2008 at 1:09 pm

IIRC, Jeff Foxworthy admitted in an interview that the original “5th Grader” cast was made up entirely of SAG-carded actors. He said the show was on a quick deadline to get from “green lit” to broadcast, so they went the child actor route to find the “5th Graders.”

Last summer, the show went to several cities to audition children to be “The Class.” IIRC, three of the five were picked from Los Angeles, so it’s possible that at least 1 was SAG-carded before being selected (there’s also a good chance that some parents balked at having their children frequently travel to LA for tapings, forcing the show to stick with LA-area kids).

I believe the show held auditions for a new “Class” earlier this summer in LA and San Diego.

The show is what it is — it doesn’t pretend to be J! or WWTBAM. It’s simply contestants trying to remember what they learned in elementary school. Foxworthy is actually a good match for the format — he interacts well with the contestants and the kids, and he’s very at ease on stage.

I read about the potential of “Power of 10″ for daytime syndication, but not “1 vs. 100″. For some reason, I think if daytime DoND is a hit this fall, then there may be a chance for a “1 vs. 100″ revival in daytime.
Bob H.
7
August 6th, 2008 at 2:05 pm

5th Grader for syndication sounds good. If they make the top prize $250,000 or even $500,000 it would be good. As for “Power of 10″, I would love to see that in syndication. Sure, the top prize may be $1,000,000 (not complaining about that) instead of the $10,000,000, but the game itself is great and fun to play along on an afternoon day IMO.
devares
8
August 6th, 2008 at 3:17 pm

It really does sound pretty good. I honestly thought that should’ve been the show’s original intention to go into syndication instead of Fox. Don’t be surprised if half of the stations that pick this up are Fox or My Network TV affiliates. As for Po10 and 1 vs 100, I would love to see them come back. Po10 did bomb because of CBS’ scheduling of the show, then again, ABC did the same with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire right before the syndicated version began, so there’s hope for it. Same could be said with 1 vs 100.
Travis P
9
August 6th, 2008 at 3:38 pm

This is where the UK production team didn’t hire any actors and all ninteen children (three groups of five, plus four spares) were auditioned for the roles. Many adverts appeared in drama schools around the country.

The research was done slightly similar here as they all had homework packs to work on each recording night (as both daytime and primetime series was filmed over five weeks). Both versions has done well for Sky One and are continuing recording the eighty five episodes at the moment, which will feature both versions and some celebrity editions. The daytime version do run five days a week at 5pm but it runs for a full hour for a £50,000 top prize. Primetime is £250,000.
Neville
10
August 6th, 2008 at 3:56 pm

I’m sorry, but I still think that a show called “Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?” should have the adults competing AGAINST the kids, not using them as help!

Still, a lot can change between now and Fall 2009, so I count no chickens.
HomerJay
11
August 6th, 2008 at 9:33 pm

I for one love 5th Grader and would be happy to see it in syndication. I see no necessity to lower the prize, as it has not once been given away at night. Only a few people reach the threshold, most of those that do walk away, and the one or two that tried it failed.

I like the trivia of Jeopardy and Millionaire, but 5th Grader is different in that it really digs back into that stuff most of us had to learn, and sometimes wonder why.

It feels fun, it looks different and it requires a bit of brain power compared to Deal.
DB25
12
August 7th, 2008 at 6:38 am

Not a fan of this show, so I won’t be watching.
Adam
13
August 7th, 2008 at 9:37 pm

Po10 was badly scheduled because of Carey’s lackluster hosting on TPiR. 1v100 is probably canned because of NBC’s urge to be suckers.
devares
14
August 8th, 2008 at 10:22 am

I disagree, Adam. You can’t blame Po10’s scheduling on Drew Carey’s hosting abilities on TPiR, you can, however, blame CBS for putting it up against Deal or No Deal knowing that it would get clobbered in the ratings, because, like Millionaire in the beginning, DoND’s hard to beat in the ratings and Po10 wasn’t established enough to compete. I do, however, agree with 1 vs 100. NBC used to be untouchable in the ’80s, now, it seems like they really don’t really care about their viewers. They cancel good shows (with the exception of Deal), and renew really crappy shows like ER (was good, but should’ve ended 5 years ago).
HomerJay
15
August 8th, 2008 at 8:50 pm

All of the speculation about Power of 10’s scheduling doesn’t bolster the argument for syndication. If it crashes and burns, as it did, in the face of strong competition, then why would a station manager want it to fill a slot up against, for example, Oprah?

If it only performs well in safe, protected times, that’s all well and good and, as CBS should have learned now with Big Brother, can still be a powerful asset to have…but it doesn’t make for a good syndicated show.