GSN Picks Up John O’Hurley “Family Feud”
This just in: GSN has picked up the rights to the incredible John O’Hurley run of Family Feud. The newest seasons of the Feud featuring a FAR superior host compared to Richard Karn will start airing May 5th, Tuesdays through Saturdays, at 9:30PM ET, replacing the dreadful Karn edition.
Hopefully this can get more awareness for the current version of the Feud out there. It’s been better than it has been in ages and, again, he’s exponentially better than Richard Karn. There are very few people who have disagreed to that. O’Hurley Feud has also recently been renewed for yet another season, the third under the new edition bringing the classic and modern feel of the show together. Fantastic modern pickup.
One more GSN scheduling note: a Mother’s Day marathon of Whammy! will air from 9:00AM ET to 4:00PM ET on Sunday, May 11th.
If Karn was THAT bad an emcee, he would have been yanked like an abcessed tooth after his first season. Evidently, there were more than a few people who felt he was at least adequate enough. He was kicked to the curb, because the show’s ratings slipped in just enough markets for those stations to panic. You know the rest.
On the other hand, (for my money, anyway) O’Hurley is waaaaaayyy too slick; almost stereotypical. Trust me on this one; O’Hurley may be the “Golden Boy” at this time, but he
is just as vulnerable. Once those numbers dip just enough (and invariably, they will)…
But, let’s face it. Richard Dawson put FF on the map. He took an arguably “fast food” format, and made a gourmet meal out of it. Evidently, nobody has been able to fully fill his shoes. If his successors were truly equal to the task, then any ONE of them would have likely as have been hosting (any, or ALL revivals of) FF from Day One. Elements of the original format have since been tweaked (or diluted, and arguably not necessarilly for the better, depending on POV) just enough to breathe some more life into it…kinda like a tire with a very, very, very slow leak.
Karn was not exactly gold, but if you look up “pyrite” in the dictionary, you will see a picture of John O’Hurley.
Color me severely disappointed.
I think John’s doing great. a little fake in some spots but Family Feud has had a roller coaster in terms of its types of hosts IMO: Richard Dawson (as much as I dont like him) was laid back, and let the contestants be the stars, Ray Combs started out stiff, improved but by the end of the run had gotten too pompus. Richard’s return he tried to be the old Richard Dawson but couldn’t pull it off and was kinda boring. same with Louie Anderson he was really dull and didn’t seem like he really wanted to be there at times. Richard Karn I thought was a refreshing change after Louie, Karn was much livelier and showed more entussiam for the show, but he went from one extreme too the other, too involved by the end of his run, not involved enough at the beginning. now we have John O’ Hurley who to me is coming across as a combination of Richard Dawson and Ray Combs (if that’s possible) he jokes around more than he should at times but keeps the game moving and the contestant’s get to be the stars of the show.
ultimately after watching the Karn reruns and O’Hurley’s current shows, I say Fremantle did something right here. I can’t watch Karn’s version anymore unless I’ve been hit with a bout with insomnia and really need to get to sleep.
I’d rank Ray as the best, then John with Richard Karn close behind, then Louie, and then Dawson.
I agree with posts elsewhere that the planted signs on the new version are annoying, but those aren’t John’s doing, so I don’t hold that against him per se. I like his wit and his style–he’s kind of goofing on himself in a subtle way, almost like a good version of what George Hamilton has tried to do in recent years.
I am glad O’Hurley is coming to GSN, but I liked Karn too. Is he going off the schedule completely?
The “incredible” John O’Hurley is coming from the same guy that said the “great” How Much is Enough?…
Heh.
Hey, I’ve openly said that that was a really horrible opinion based on the screener they gave me and after like two or three more episodes I was bored to tears.
I’ve seen two seasons of O’Hurley Feud and have seen no reason to not call him amazing at hosting. He’s so much better than any host they’ve had in ages, including Combs in my opinion, it’s staggering.
Heh. Gotta have a little fun at your expense, buddy. :)
This has always been my take on the Family Feud hosts:
Richard Dawson ushered in the original FF with a very smarmy humor that he was able to share well with the contestants and the audience.
When Ray Combs hosted, he had a similar humor style, so the show remained very similar to the RD version.
When they decided to bring back FF, one of the original host choices was Dolly Parton. I was appalled by this, not because I don’t like Dolly, but because the feel of the show would be so different. In my opinion, that’s what the producers decided to do. They decided to make it less of a “Hatfields and McCoys” idea, and more of a “Warm Family Atmosphere” idea. That’s why I think they went with Louie Anderson. The whole family togetherness thing was very prevalent in his life, his comedy act, his cartoon, etc. The problem with Louie was that after about two seasons, he lost the passion for it, and it showed. Plus the scandal didn’t help.
When they picked Richard Karn to replace Louie, I thought it was a great choice, especially based on the atmosphere that was being promoted (What with his homey Al character). I think that Richard did a wonderful job hosting, but when the ratings started slipping, I believe that the producers decided to change the Feud back to its original feeling. I think John O’Hurley is very good, and the smarmy atmosphere has returned. If Karn had tried to host FF with a smarmy Dawson-esque humor. He would have failed miserably. Similarly, if O’Hurley tried the warm family FF, he would have failed.
So in final analysis, I think it’s unfair to compare O’hurley to Karn. Comparing him to Dawson or Combs is fine. I think all the FF hosts were good, and the only one who seemed to drop the ball eventually, was Louie.
Well that’s great for GSN. I think many of us KNEW GSN would pick up this run but even I was surprised it was picked up this early. I assume they’re going to have a Karn/O’Hurley hour since Karn alone has gotten a bad rep if you will with many of the GSN viewers. I think this is a great idea. O’Hurley is definitely this generations Richard Dawson which is why he had me hooked.
It’s little changes like this that could benefit GSN really well.
O’Hurley RULES! Just the right mix of elegance and self-deprecating humor. I just wish they’d have brought back an updated version of the original theme when they brought back the look of the original set.
Karn didn’t suck…but wasn’t ever very smooth. He tried too hard to be funny.
Louie was never right for the show. Ever.
Combs just never seemed natural. It was like he was always “on.”
Dawson was great on Feud, and the ladies certainly loved him. But eventually, the show became all about him. His comeback after Jonathan Goodson’s ill-advised decision to fire Combs was a disaster.
According to sitcomsonline.com, ION will be picking up the show and air it Monday-Thursdays from 7-8pm. This will start on April 7th.
I am so excited for this! John O’Hurley is probably the second best host FF has ever had. Obviously Dawson would be #1, then John O, then Combs, then Karn, then Louie. I really don’t get all the hate for John O. He is an EXCELLENT host, and i absolutely LOVE the Feud with him hosting.
I too enjoy John O Hurley hosting of Family Feud. Karn was good on Home Improvement but wasn’t right for Family Feud but would take Karn over Louie. I actually think that the gameplay though when Louie was on stunk the one strike round. When it went back to 300 points the gameplay was better. The best host of Family Feud in my opinion was Ray Combs to me. I enjoyed his sense of humor and even that one time when he played that joke on the family that got 200 points in the first round of fast money that was very funny and entertaining. I would have to say in my opinion that my order of hosts goes like this
1st – Ray Combs
2nd – Richard Dawson ( i grew up with this version and he was my top until Combs came along)
3rd- John O Hurley ( I think he does a great job on this and did good on To Tell The Truth and I wouldn’t mind seeing O Hurley on more gameshows in the future when it be primetime or syndication
4th- Richard Karn ( I would say I enjoyed his hosting more unless you count Louie first season then i would put Louie here)
5th-Louie Anderson- i liked his first season of his hosting and I think he joked some about his own weight which was funny to me but the next season i could tell he didn’t want to be there anymore. I did think though that his version had the worst gameplay the one strike round and the most points won after 4 questions. I’ve seen teams do great on three questions an then the fourth question came and they would lose which is why it should have been 300 points all around.
Richard Karn was beyond horrible as he painfully tried to mimic every Dawson cleashay movement. Thank God someone came to their senses and removed him. I think O’Hurly will do fine. From what I’ve seen, he has his own style.
How can anyone not love Richard Karn, he was an excellant host. Please bring him back, Family feud will never be the same without him, shamen GSN. BUMMER!!.:(