GSN Upfront Page Leaked, More Surprises on the Way

I certainly don't want this blog to turn into "all GSN all the time," but the major networks seem to be taking their sweet time in scheduling their new game shows, so we'll work with what news we have right now. And this news is pretty big.

For a few weeks now, GSN has been hinting (well, hinting with a sledge hammer, really) that they'll soon be offering a "big Saturday night" thing that will be exciting for viewers to both watch and participate in. Speculation has run from possible acquisitions to call-in shows to pretty much everything you could possibly imagine, and along the way the hype has been building up. I haven't really mentioned it here because I had very little inside information, and didn't want to blow anything out of proportion. I did have one tip, and as it turns out, that one might not ever make the schedule anyway. But I digress.

Yesterday, GSN's upfront page was discovered by someone over at The Game Show Forum. The site includes news on upcoming programming, including acquisitions and original shows. Some of it is good news, and some of it, well, you can be the judge. But a few of these ideas could be part of the big new Saturday night programming block.

First, the acquisitions. In addition to the shows we already know about, Deal or No Deal and 1 vs. 100 will be joining the lineup. (And to be clear, these are old episodes from past seasons, not new ones.)

Then, we get to the new programming. The games themselves include Bunco, which I'm told is similar to the poker games in that you'll basically be watching people playing, rather than it being a typical game show. There's also 20Q, which was originally set to be on a major network with Ken Jennings on board as a co-host, but now has been scaled way back. Honey Please is a hidden camera game show that challenges husbands or wives to get their spouses to do things for them to earn cash. Then we have Wake Up Call, in which the cast and crew of a game show invades someone's home early in the morning, wakes them up, and challenges them to answer trivia questions.

That's not all. There's also Love Roulette, a dating show, and Instant Recall that challenges people to remember things about a situation they're put in. And Star Treatment is a show that takes people off the streets of L.A. to play the game, and rewards them with a makeover. Finally, GSN Daily News is in fact a news program, which also offers an interactive element. Viewers can call in and answer trivia questions to win money.

Another thing that's coming up is the Game Show Awards, which takes place on May 16th. I know absolutely no details about this one yet.

Now, without any confirmation from GSN, I don't know how many of these shows will end up seeing the light of day. The upfront page doesn't confirm any dates or other details, so much of this could be ideas and pilots that may end up being cut if they haven't been already. But it's definitely an interesting peek into what may be coming up. I'd love to hear your thoughts on all of this though. Do the new show ideas grab you at all?

Photo courtesy NBC