Once again, much of TV’s dramatic, scripted shows move over for more playful fare. In addition to such favorites as America’s Got Talent, MasterChef and Celebrity Family Feud (not to mention the return of a fan favorite), four new shows have been added to the mix. These include a cooking competition twist, a mystery travel show, a conniving trivia show, and one that isn’t really a game show, but a challenge for the show’s host.
Yes Chef
Mondays / 10 p.m. / NBC
NBC got a head start with Yes Chef! having premiered last month, but you can still get caught up on Peacock. The show is the brainchild of Magical Elves, the same people behind Bravo’s Top Chef. NBC is calling the show a “bold new cooking competition,” but most of us would just call it having good manners. Beyond a traditional cooking contest, this show aims to “reform hot tempers, egos and attitudes in the heat of the kitchen.” It sounds like your regular competition show served with a side of therapist. And who better to host than mild-mannered, Emmy Award-winning chefs José Andrés and Martha Stewart? (Have you ever seen Martha get out of hand?) The pair also serve as executive producers.
The Price is Right at Night
May 12 / 8 p.m. / CBS
The Price is Right at Night is basically the same as the daytime version, but with higher stakes. For instance, in one episode, contestants will play the Shell Game with a chance of winning $150,000. In the game Grid Lock, a contestant gets a chance to win a $90,000 Porsche electric vehicle. And in a game of Hole in One, a player gets a chance to win not one, but two cars. Like the daytime version, the show is hosted by Drew Carrey.
LEGO Masters
May 19/ 8 p.m. / FOX
Hosted by Will Arnett, LEGO Masters, a LEGO-building competition, is great for the whole family. Each week, Brickmasters Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard introduce incredible challenges to teams of two and will put their creativity and skills to the test. This year’s challenges include a masquerade party and a colossal wedding cake. Additional episodes will celebrate iconic IPs including Star Wars, Wicked and Arnett’s favorite, Batman.
MasterChef: Dynamic Duos
May 21 / 8 p.m. / FOX
MasterChef celebrates its 15th season with a “dynamic duo” twist. Pairs of home cooks will participate together in hopes of becoming America’s next MasterChefs. From married and dating couples, to mothers and daughters, siblings, best friends and even divorcees – relationships will teste. Too many cooks in the kitchen? This season, the show is hosted by Gordon Ramsay, renowned restaurateur Joe Bastianich and James Beard Award nominee Chef Tiffany Derry.
Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service
May 21 / 9 p.m. / FOX
Viewers get a second help of Ramsay with a new series where he goes undercover and acts like a spy using state-of-the-art surveillance. Technically, it’s not a game show, but it does sound like the chef is playing a game hoping not to get caught until the final reveal. Gordon Ramsay’s Secret Service sounds like his other “restaurant rescue” series (Kitchen Nightmares and Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back), but this time, he will sneak into restaurants with the help of a secret source on the inside. Under the cover of night, the famed chef will gather raw, unfiltered evidence of major issues facing each restaurant before they get the chance to hide them. The network states that the show will reveal “more filth and grossness than ever before” and will be his “toughest assignment yet”.
America’s Got Talent
May 27 / 8 p.m. / NBC
The “Got Talent” format has had more than a billion global viewers since it began airing in 2006 in America and has aired in 194 territories worldwide. The show holds the Guinness World Records title as the Most Successful Reality Television Format, with more than 70 local versions produced across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas. The 20th anniversary of America’s Got Talent will be missing judge Heidi Klume but will welcome back former judge, singer Mel B. She will be sitting alongside Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara and Simon Cowell. Terry Crews returns as host.
Destination X
May 27 / 10 p.m. / NBC
This new travel competition series turns Europe into a real-life gameboard. Each week of Destination X, players who are complete strangers will enter each country in a blacked-out bus with the goal of figuring out where the “X” they are each week. When they leave the bus, they will visit unique and unfamiliar tourist attractions that have been gamified into experiential challenges. The players will need to rely on their knowledge of pop culture, history, geography and observational skills. To make things even more challenging, they will need identify hidden clues that are disguised as artifacts and discern intentional misdirects from their competitors. The new show is hosted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.
American Ninja Warrior
June 2 / 8 p.m. / NBC
Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila are back, along with co-host Zuri Hall, to call the action for season 17 of American Ninja Warrior. Athletes head to Las Vegas for the qualifiers and semifinals, culminating in the national finals where the fastest ninjas in the country will face a high-stakes course in side-by-side and head-to-head races. In a new bracket-style tournament, one ultimate champion will walk away with the grand prize and the crown of American Ninja Warrior.
The Quiz with Balls
June 2 / 9 p.m. / FOX
The fact that FOX has renewed The Quiz with Balls for a second season is a mystery. Hosted by actor and comedian Jay Pharoah, this goofy game show combines a high-stakes quiz show with a large-scale physical competition. Each episode features two families competing for $100,000 in a “battle of the balls.” Standing on a high platform over a pool of water, the team must all work together facing a multiple-choice quiz. Each answer is allocated to a spot with a giant ball positioned up behind it. If the answer is wrong, the massive ball will launch them into the pool. The more players each team loses, the harder the questions get.
The 1% Club
June 10 / 8 p.m. / FOX
The 1% Club begins its second season with a new host, Joel McHale. It tests the nation’s intelligence, based on a scientific survey. It also gives viewers a chance to play along testing how their brain works through a series of questions. All of them have a right answer but can also lead to a series of entertaining wrong answers along the way. Answer enough questions correctly, and you could earn yourself a place in the 1% Club: an elite group of people who can honestly say they’ve outwitted 99% of the population.
The Snake
June 10 / 9 p.m. / FOX
Befriend. Betray. Or Be Gone. FOX’s new, wholly owned “social survival of the fittest” competition series, The Snake is an “unmatched battle of plotting, scheming and strategy.” Hosted by comedian Jim Jefferies, the show has gathered 15 masters of manipulation. Each of them have a unique skill set to compete in an array of challenges and twists in hopes of becoming that week’s “Snake.” According to FOX, The Snake doesn’t just hinge on winning challenges – it’s about winning people over. Connections are everything, “whether making friends, faking friends or sparking romantic connections”.
Big Brother
July 10 / 8 p.m. / CBS
Big Brother is coming back in a BIG way – in hours of screen time anyway. CBS is boasting that the show will air the most original hours of programming since its 2000 debut. The show debuts on Thursday, July 10th with more episodes airing on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays all at 8 p.m. After 25 years, the show is still hosted by Julie Chen Moonves. In addition, the show is featuring Big Brother: Unlocked to air every other Friday beginning on July 25. These bonus episodes will contain never-before-seen broadcast footage from the house, exclusive interviews, surprise guest appearances and unprecedented behind-the-scenes access.
Celebrity Family Feud
July 10 / 8 p.m. / ABC
Hosted by Steve Harvey, the iconic Family Feud game show features celebrities, along with their family members or their extended TV families, who go head-to-head in a contest to name the most popular responses to survey-type questions posed to 100 people for a chance to win $25,000 for a charity of their choice.
Press Your Luck
July 10 / 9 p.m. / ABC
Hosted by Elizabeth Banks, Press Your Luck is a game of wits, strategy and high stakes as contestants compete for a chance at life-changing cash and prizes. During each game, three contestants battle each other, answering questions to earn spins on the Big Board. Contestants then use their spins to win cash and prizes while trying to avoid the WHAMMY, which could take all their winnings and leave them with nothing.
Who Wants to be a Millionaire
July 23 / 8 p.m. / ABC
Hosted by late-night’s Jimmy Kimmel, this version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire features pairs of celebrity contestants playing together in the hopes of winning $1 million for the charity of their choice.
Match Game
July 23 / 9 p.m. / ABC
This goofy game show returns after a long hiatus with a new host – Martin Short. Each week of Match Game, four contestants will attempt to match answers with six celebrities in a game of fill-in-the-blank for the chance to win $25,000.
Project Runway
July 31 / 9 p.m. / Freeform
Having debuted on Bravo in 2004, moved to Lifetime in 2009 and moved back to Bravo in 2019, Season 21 of Project Runway is moving again to Freeform as well as Hulu and Disney+. The show debuts with a two-episode premiere with Heidi Klum returning as host. Nina Garcia and Law Roach will be the show’s judges with Christian Siriano set as the contestants’ mentor.
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