Looks like Fox's loss is CBS's gain! CBS has apparently picked up the British game show The Cube, and is flying Neil Patrick Harris out to London to host the show. According to Josef Adalian at The Wrap, NPH will tape a pilot, and then CBS will decide what to do with it.
This is excellent news - The Cube is a really fun game, and Neil Patrick Harris would make a terrific host. I really can't imagine a better combination. The only thing that might throw a wrench in these plans is NBC's upcoming Minute to Win It, which is pretty much a replica of The Cube. If NBC's version struggles, that might make CBS reconsider. On the other hand, if Minute does really well, will CBS want to put basically the same format on in prime time? Hard to tell, and it's really all speculation at this point.
Keep your fingers crossed, either way. This is a winning combination, and I really hope the show makes it to our television screens!
This is excellent news - The Cube is a really fun game, and Neil Patrick Harris would make a terrific host. I really can't imagine a better combination. The only thing that might throw a wrench in these plans is NBC's upcoming Minute to Win It, which is pretty much a replica of The Cube. If NBC's version struggles, that might make CBS reconsider. On the other hand, if Minute does really well, will CBS want to put basically the same format on in prime time? Hard to tell, and it's really all speculation at this point.
Keep your fingers crossed, either way. This is a winning combination, and I really hope the show makes it to our television screens!
Comments
Too bad CBS couldn’t be bothered to find a real game show host, but at least this isn’t someone from the Where Are They Now pile…
I’m sure NPH will do OK, but really, he’s not the guy.
If only I could fly over there to try and be a contestant! The Cube is one of the coolest shows in a while. This is something that could easily be done in 1/2 hour daytime along with something else (cough, pyramid without celebrities, cough). I really don’t see CBS putting this in primetime since 11 million viewers doesn’t satisfy their needs (cough, Password, cough). CBS also has too strong a primetime lineup they don’t need to put it there, although they can always find a little space in summertime.
I love Neil Patrick Harris, I’ve seen a few episodes of How I Met Your Mother and I saw him host the Emmies. I’m sure he’ll do a great job.
Wayne, if it’s good hopefully they’ll move the set to America and move it into syndication or daytime network.
I don’t see this being done in daytime at all. It’s a possibility of course, but a name like Neil Patrick Harris, plus the glitz of the set – it all says “prime time” to me.
NPH is an excellent host, he’s well-respected, and he’s funny. Plus, he was one of the few celebrities who actually learned the game and played well on MDP. I think he’ll do very well with this format.
I agree with Carrie. If CBS is putting NPH in front of this, they’re looking at prime time…probably summer. They always have the down times between series of Survivor and The Amazing Race to fill. And even though Password actually pulled in decent numbers in the Amazing Race slot, the audience skewed older. The Cube won’t. I’d bet we see The Cube in a limited run this summer or next winter.
And Wayne, THANKS for backing me up on doing Pyramid without celebrities! Some of the BuzzerBloggers think I’m crazy, but I think the days of celebrity-driven game shows are done.
Yeah, it does smack of primetime, but realistically, CBS doesn’t have a place for it long term. As excited as I am for this, it’s hard to deal with the reality of this being a 6 and out show.
Here is why celebrity-driven game shows won’t do it anymore:
1. Contracts are tighter these days, makes it harder to get A listers.
2. The reason they were popular in the first place is no longer valid–to see “the stars” as themselves. There used to be much more of a mystique to celebrity, but now that we have 24/7 TMZ and others of that ilk, we just don’t have the need to watch them play games.
One more thing since the buzzerbloggers and game show forum people don’t seem to be much for conversational postings: what are everyones opinion on this being an east coast show? Does the former Doogie have strong ties to NYC that you think the show would be done there?
I think people still like to see celebrities on game shows, but there’s no doubt that Pyramid could work without them. It’s a solid format that has never relied on the big names to get people to watch.
As for New York, How I Met Your Mother is filmed in L.A. if I’m not mistaken, if that has any bearings on where The Cube would be filmed if it were picked up long-term.
They’ll likely do a short-run at first, much like MDP did. But if CBS wants a shot at something more permanent in prime time, I really think they’ve got a winner here. And with them, there’s less of a chance of it being both spoiled before the episode starts, and being run to death multiple times a week. Touch wood.
But I guess we’re getting ahead of ourselves a little. *lol*
I just saw a promo for Minute to Win It. The creators of The Cube should sue.
Agreed. When they first started planning ‘Minute to Win It’ it sounded different enough that it wouldn’t be a big deal. Now though, I’m pretty sure this is going to be a problem for CBS somehow.
I actually went to the taping last week and NPH did an awesome job. I really hope CBS picks up the series (mainly cos I want to see myself on tv) but I’m not sure it will be too popular. The filming went for 5 hours and one of the contestants was sitting in the cube forever building up blocks like a 3 year old, I cant image the US audience sitting through this.
therealmelbel, thanks for stopping by and letting us know how it went!
With a pilot, it’s expected that things will be dragged out – and there’s no guarantee that these contestants will ever be seen on television even if the show does get picked up.
For contestants like the one you mentioned though, that’s where the editing comes in. I’m sure you’re right, that audiences would have trouble being patient through that kind of thing. But they could edit it down so it’s not so painful to watch.