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UPDATED: ABC’s game show Million Dollar Mind Game (formerly The Six) is finally getting its day in the sun after almost a year on the shelf. But there is a twist — ABC is scheduling the series, originally developed and ordered for primetime, on Sunday afternoon. Million Dollar Mind Game, which is based on the hugely popular Russian game show What? Where? When?, will premiere October 23 and air in the 4-5 PM Sunday slot. The highly unusual move was made in light of NBA’s recent decision to cancel the first two weeks of the basketball season. While ABC doesn’t carry NBA games so early in the fall, the network decided to do a trial run as a contingency in case the entire NBA season is canceled. ABC owns the time period and has been throwing repeats of shows like Dancing With The Stars in it. But an original with a $1 million prize? Million Dollar Mind Game features teams comprised of six people who all know each other — co-workers, friends, teammates, etc. The teams take turns tackling a series of logic-based questions, which they have 60 seconds to discuss and decide upon an answer, for a chance at winning the $1 million grand prize. The show is hosted by UK presenter Vernon Kay and produced by Merv Griffin Entertainment. I hear the series came in below expectations. Still, it’s sad to see a show that is far more intellectual than the average reality fare on American television (I grew up with the original and am a huge fan of it) being relegated to afternoons.
TV Editor Nellie Andreeva - tip her here.
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ABC doesn’t air Sunday NBA games until mid to late January though. I don’t think this show would last that long.
Yet another game show? Yeah!
am i missing something or did nellie grow up in russia where the original format was produced?
This article was not written or even researched properly. ABC doesn’t start airing NBA games until Christmas and yes, their schedule is quite limited thanks to ESPN and this stupid merger of the sports departments, but Nellie, you need to get your facts straight here. This show will be an ultimate failure just like ESPN Sports Saturday has been throughout the year and maybe the brass at ABC will wake up, end this partnership with ESPN and finally be allowed to rebrand ABC Sports once again. Enough of this crap of ESPN on ABC. ABC can easily air other events.
Jed ultimate failure? Wow, strong words for something you’ve never seen before. Tune in folks you’re in for a treat!!!!!
Jed, you didn’t read the entire article. Nellie said that ABC doesn’t air NBA games in the fall, but this is just a test to see how well orginal programming works, though I predict not too well because it will be going up against the Dallas Cowboys except for the upper midwest.
I expect ABC Sports and ESPN will have to stay part of the same unit, but I can see the “ABC Sports” branding return.
I’m just happy for the contestants. If I remember correctly, even if you win a million dollars you don’t get ANYTHING if the show never airs, so good for those who will finally get their money
)
Wait, a game show based on THINKING and REASONING? And Americans are going to play this? They’re not going to bring people in from Canada?
It might be a burn off, but if it’s anything better than “Wipeout” reruns, burn-offs of movie rights from the early 2000′s or the awful time-buy motocross and “all star” events as ABC has been doing lately on non-big sports weekends, I’ll take this over anything. I’d rather see a low-pressure run on Sunday afternoon of this that will be completed than having to do something on ABC’s bad Friday primetime lineup.
This ain’t replacement programming for anything. It’s just a land grab from the affiliates by ABC.
Last year in the entire fourth quarter they aired NOTHING in this time slot. In the first quarter they only aired 6 NBA games on Sunday afternoon.
Read the article. ABC owns the slot on Sunday afternoons and can do anything they want with it. If they want, ABC can air nothing and let the local affiliates do the work.
This wouldn’t be a first.
In the 1950′s until the very early 1960′s, there wasn’t much in the way of sports on Sunday-afternoon network television. And much of it was (in major markets) coverage of (mostly) games of local Major League Baseball clubs.
The networks used to air a lot of public-affairs and cultural programming on Sunday afternoons. NBC had an in-house television Opera company in the 1950′s and early 1960′s whose performances were broadcast on Sunday afternoons. In fact, I believe those Opera telecasts actually had a commercial sponsor in Texaco gasoline.
In the early 1950′s, NBC News’s famed military documentary series “Victory At Sea” was initially broadcast on Sunday afternoons.
In the 1960′s, “Wild Kingdom” and “G.E. College Bowl” were also staples of NBC’s Sunday-afternoon lineups (by the end of the decade, the former had moved to prime-time.
CBS used to show it’s Leonard Bernstein “Young People’s Concerts” on Sunday afternoons; as late as 1970 (outside of the NFL season), that network broadcast the “Ted Mack Amateur Hour” on Sunday afternoons at 5:30 (Eastern time).
And after CBS (briefly) lost the NFL in the mid-1990′s, the network tried broadcasting a few movies on Sunday afternoons as counterprogramming (which didn’t work, in large part because the NFL’s female fanbase has grown exponentially over the last 20 years).
And ABC itself has recently aired “Wipeout” on Sunday afternoons.
Besides, were ABC to turn back the late Sunday-afternoon time period to it’s local stations, (1) most local stations would fill it with infomercials, and, (2) ABC might have trouble getting it back if/when the NBA returns (and I say “if”, for should the entire NBA season be cancelled, I can see the league folding).
Good rundown. I watched “Mr. Ed” on CBS after The Original Amateur Hour.