Kelly Goode Out as SVP of Programming at GSN
A major personnel change is going on at GSN. Kelly Goode, the senior vice president of programming, is out of the network. Kelly started in 2008 and helped bring in The Newlywed Game (with a variety of others after some format adjustments), Big Saturday Night, Drew Carey’s Improv-A-Ganza, Instant Recall, Carnie Wilson: Unstapled, The Game Show Awards, and Hidden Agenda among others. As of this writing no replacement has been named. GSN announced Kelly has, however, inked a production deal with the network for the next two years. In Hollywood this is basically called a Golden Parachute, which is really a generous benefits packaged bestowed upon someone after they are out of their position.
I think it comes as no shock that GSN and I have had our differences recently. I don’t know why it’s like this, but whatever. It’s not remotely my choosing. However, I’ve worked with Kelly a lot previously over the past few years and she genuinely was a great person. I enjoyed talking to her and working together when we could. No, I’m not a big fan of some of the programming at the network, but I do like some of the stuff brought on by her. We didn’t see eye to eye, but I don’t know why they care so much. I’m just one critic. I just wanted to clear the air.
I’m hoping she doesn’t come back, really. Of course I know that just because she is leaving, there may not be any more classics added or anything. Hope Kelly doesn’t come back to GSN but, in 2 years she might possibly.
She brought trash to the network though. She did ruin what was suppose to be a family-friendly network by bringing these new originals.
Hoping she does not come back though. I wonder who the replacement will be and I’m looking forward to seeing IF we get any major changes to programming.
Well, all I can say is So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehen, goodbye ’cause I can barely think of one GSN original that’s really stood the test of time. Let’s hope the new sherriff in town shapes things up.
Two (maybe three) words: Catch 21…
While I rail against GSN at every opportunity, it’s unfair to blame any one person for their failings. Yes, Kelly might have been the key figure, but I doubt she alone said “I want this old crap gone, and I want trash in its place!” And I doubt this will mean a return to “the good old days” because we don’t know who will replace her and if it will matter who it is.
She’s only been there for two years–the network has sucked since long before she arrived, and it wouldn’t surprise me in the least if it continues to suck long after she, and her next two replacements are gone.
It comes in spurts. We do get a decent programming lineup about every 3 years. 2005 was good, 2008 was really good, so we should be due any day now.
But all in all, the network has sucked wet farts from dead pigeons since the 2004 rebranding. Even the 2002 era with many originals wasn’t that bad, right?
With the exception of “Baggage” (which, although IS a bit trashy, is a good idea at a “relationship” show and, obviously, has been a hit), “Catch 21″ (which may have premiered before Kelly came), and “The Newlywed Game”, EVERYTHING about the last 3 years of GSN has just plain sucked. From “Big Saturday Night” to “Improv” to the lack of classics and good originals, GSN is suffering.
Who knows what’ll happen now, but we’ll see. Might be the last chance at true survival for the network!
Don’t forget Love Triangle, which ranks right up there as one of the worst of the worst! :-D
And about survival; I am hoping for the best, but am expecting nothing. I doubt this network will last very much longer, anyway. So many of these corporations are focused on the dimwit crowd, and the old game shows we clamor for don’t appeal to them, so enjoy this channel while you can.
I know I’m in the minority when I say this, but I will never bash Big Saturday Night.
Us fans scream for real game shows and interesting programming involving game shows, this was at least an attempt to do something right. Yeah, the execution was bad, but it was far better than shows like Improvaganza and Unstapled and Love Triangle.
I would much rather see 20 bad ideas that are at least an attempt at a game show than any one of the reality type shows they have tried and failed at.
Have to agree with you here Wayne. I liked Big Saturday Night because it brought with it 2 brand new 1-hour primetime game shows to GSN (which initially got stretched to 3 hours due to the Big Saturday Night interactive part; and don’t forget that the interactive part got scrapped after a few weeks).
Big Saturday Night was at least an attempt at creating good family-oriented game show programs for the network. What we’ve seen recently with Carnie Wilson Unstapled, Love Triangle, Improv, Hidden Agenda, Instant Recall…and so forth and so forth…all of these were horrible attempts at attracting viewers to a network that was supposed to specialise in displaying game shows. Not hidden camera shows. Not reality programming. Not comedy acts. That’s why other channels exist to cover the other types of programming available.
Wow. That’s all I can say. Here’s to hoping whoever takes over the reigns will bring back a ton of classics to the network, or revive the classics in creating new episodes but without ruining the format (like they ruined the revival of Lingo and 1 VS 100).
Coincidentally (or not?), The Hub’s senior VP of programming is also out. Hmmm….
http://www.allvoices.com/news/10274755-bob-boden-out-at-hasbro
don’t let the door hit you on your way out
Kevin Belinkoff is being promoted to replace Bob Boden at the Hub. Belinkoff was a producer for Jay Wolpert Productions on Shopping Spree and Wait Till You Have Kids in the 90s and later co-produced Match Game 1998 I believe with Wolpert.
Does this mean Boden is out at Hub? He’s been doing some great work there (given what Hasbro has given him to work with) and looks like some interesting fare under development.
Alex, what is the backstory (if any) on Boden’s departure (which is news to me). Are you able to put your journalist hat on for a bit on this one?
Also, the link to Alex’s “personal comment” does not work. Can that be fixed?
Looks like The Hub is pulling a GSN. Hopefully this doesn’t mean that The Hub is going to go down hill without Boden at the helm.
The only positive I could imagine by Boden leaving The Hub would be his returning to “save” GSN. Of course, my cable provider dropped GSN ages ago…
GSN actually did air quite a lot of classic shows from 2005-2009, some not on the regular schedule since the 90s.
Well during the Cronin/Boden administration, things were good!
What Boden needs to do is put Press Your Luck, Wheel, Joker’s Wild, Jeopardy!, Ray Combs’ Feud, those kinds of shows back on there and elliminate credit crunches for the millionth time.
I agree! The damn credit crunches irriate me to no end!
Don’t even get me started! Like I said, I guess you can say I got GSN too little too late in 2006(?).
I like hearing the closing theme songs and announcer signoffs as much as the next person. But let’s face it, “credit crunches” have been here a long time (going back to Boden’s last term) and are not going anywhere. However, I think bringing back all of the aforementioned shows (other than maybe TJW) could work. They were all on the air when Boden was in office. Of course, we may be getting ahead of ourselves with the idea of Boden returning to GSN, but we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.
It’s an interesting idea to say the least. Boden’s departure from The Hub might be mere coincidence, or it might not. But it wouldn’t be surprising if he did return to GSN. After all, GSN could be so desperate at finding success due to this year’s massive failure of new original programming (and massive loss of funds creating and promoting said programming) that it wants to return to its roots, so to speak, with a person who previously had success with the network.
If anything, the recent September 2011 shift to a more 2009-ish schedule indicates that GSN is willing to take 2 steps backward to take 1 step forward. We can only hope that this is a sign of more good things to come in the future, and not just a temporarily programming shift while they create more new original programming to replace the older shows on the network.
Well, Credit Crunches weren’t there when the network first started and he helped launch the network.
GSN may have been on a rocky path since she’s been around with exception of a few shows (Baggage, Bill Lingo) but I want to be clear about something. I am sick and tired of networks just rearranging the furniture in their living room. I want to see cleaning done. I want somebody in that position that can bring back the meaning of CHANGES to schedules like it used to be. That’s the bottom line. Maybe even somebody that could bring Now You See It, a word game, to daytime.
Look at The Hub. TONS of shows.
If there were any two originals that were not at all bad during Goode’s tenure, they were 20Q and the Money List. What WAS GSN thinking putting newer episodes of both of those shows on Saturday Nights?
Maybe that most game show viewers would watch new Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! at night. Not to mention GSN’s other originals that air daily. Saturday Night doesn’t have much new programing in any genre and the idea might have been to get those viewers to watch new programing on GSN. Obviously it didnt work, but I don’t think the idea was THAT far fetched.
Well, one way or another, both 20Q and the Money List deserved more air time (especially the latter) back then, than Baggage and Love Triangle deserves today. BTW, IF I was in charge of NBC, I’d air the Money LIst without any hesitation b/c NBC still needs a hit, and Money List would gratefully help NBC.
I totally agree about The Money List and we should air The Money List and better yet, Get Fred Roggin to host it again! He is working for NBC in their sports division and he can moonlight as host of The Money List. We can revive Sportscasters hosting game shows!
All I have to say is “Goode-Bye” and “Goode Riddance”.
Hey guys, we have enough of ”GSN” airing new orignals, new hidden camera, new reality shows and I wantthem to stop reaaranging the furniture and we need their butts to bring back the claasic game show programming like ”TJW”, ”TTD”, and classic ”Wheel” and ”J!”, i hope the new SVP could change things and bring all of the classics back to ”GSN”.
”GSN” is a ”network for games” not ”network for garbage” and also they need to eliminate all of the ”poker” crap off of there too, if they wanted to watch ”poker”, they should turn to ”ESPN”, ”FSN” or other channels that airs ”poker”.