The Gong Show will be right back with more stuff.
The Gong Show, which may have paved the way for reality TV more than any other series, is coming back. ABC announced it ordered 10-episodes of a new version of the 70s talent show competition. The Gong Showwill be executive produced by Will Arnett.
Every episode will feature “non-traditionally talented performers” picked from the internet. They will perform in front of a revolving panel of Hollywood judges.
ABC has not announced who will succeed the original, part-time CIA hit man Chuck Barris, who also produced The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game, as host. There is also no word on whether the network will try and find replacements for original recurring acts like Gene Gene the Dancing Machine or The Unknown Comic.
“The comedy culture we are living in has finally caught up to The Gong Show, so the timing is perfect,” Holly Jacobs, the executive VP of reality and syndication programming for Sony Pictures Television, said in a statement. “We’ve found just the right partners to bring back this iconic original.”
ABC has already rebooted classic game shows like throwbacks $100,000 Pyramid, Celebrity Family Feud, Match Game and To Tell The Truth.
“ABC has tapped into the nostalgia and excitement of primetime game shows,” Rob Mills, the senior VP of alternative series, specials and late-night programming, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to add The Gong Show to ABC’s schedule spearheaded by the incomparable Will Arnett.”
The Gong Show was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978. Produced by host Barris, the show is best remembered for its absurdist humor and its run-ins with the censors. Including the infamous "Popsicle twins,” aka "Have You Got a Nickel," who doubled their pleasure with a frosty treat.
SOURCE: VARIETY