Let the games begin.
In a summer TV lull, the usual onslaught of star-studded prime-time game shows are back to fill your DVR, along with a few new twists on the genre. If you鈥檙e not sure which one to watch, fear not: There鈥檚 one for every type of competitive spirit.
If you thought American Ninja Warrior needed more Kevin Hart: TKO: Total Knock Out
It鈥檚 you versus everyone else in this extreme new CBS competition (premi猫ring Wednesday evening at 9) from Mark Burnett (Survivor), hosted with usual manic gusto by comedian Kevin Hart. Players compete for a cash prize by racing through a Wipeout-style obstacle course lined by 鈥渃ombat zones,鈥� where fellow contestants are armed with foam spikes, giant Frisbees and other 鈥渨eapons鈥� intended to knock them off their feet 鈥� and out of the competition. Better hope all those years of middle-school dodgeball come in handy.
If you鈥檝e ever beaten a polygraph test: To Tell the Truth
ABC鈥檚 game-show revival (Sunday evenings at 10), now in its third season, is TV鈥檚 equivalent of spotting a criminal in a police lineup. Hosted by Black-ish star Anthony Anderson, the show invites panels of four celebrity contestants 鈥� among them Mel Brooks, Bill Hader and Octavia Spencer 鈥� to deduce which of three unusual guests is actually the person they all claim to be. (Recent examples: a world champion in talking backwards, and a couple that renewed wedding vows 112 times.) As the stars pry them with questions to try and sniff out the liars, it鈥檚 hard not to get swept up in their increasingly ridiculous queries.
If Catch Phrase is your go-to party game: The $100,000 Pyramid
Arguably the most intense game of word association you鈥檝e ever seen. Overseen by genial Good Morning America co-anchor Michael Strahan, the third-season ABC revival (Sundays evenings at 9) pairs contestants with celebrities including Snoop Dogg, Leslie Jones and Kevin Smith, who try to guess as many words as possible based on their teammate鈥檚 descriptions. The out-there categories 鈥� ranging from 鈥淏-jobs鈥� (careers that start with 鈥淏鈥�) to 鈥淵es we cannabis鈥� (people you鈥檇 be surprised smoke marijuana) 鈥� are a highlight, as are the over-excited reactions of competitors gunning for the cash prize.
If you鈥檝e ever wanted to see Jack Donaghy host a game show: Match Game
In ABC鈥檚 third revival of a classic game show (Thursday evenings at 9, contestants try to match the answers to humorous, occasionally raunchy 鈥渇ill in the blank鈥� questions with as many celebrity panelists as they can, for the chance to win $25,000. The series attracts a wide array of famous guests, recently including Laverne Cox, Ellie Kemper and Joel McHale. But the real treat is watching host Alec Baldwin, whose playful mocking and acerbic barbs about his fellow actors are reminiscent of Jack Donaghy, the corporate blowhard he played on NBC鈥檚 30 Rock.
