U.S. version of UK’s #1 game show ‘The Wheel’ coming to America on NBC
Coming off a wildly successful run in the UK, an all-new U.S. version of “The Wheel” has landed a 10-episode series order on NBC. On a new take on the game show format, the series is set to put viewers into a spin each week as celebrity guests attempt to help contestants win big. Full of edge-of-your seat jeopardy, plenty of laughs, huge stars and a spectacular 42-foot-wide spinning wheel, the series debuted in November as the top game show for BBC Primetime since 2011.
In the U.S., “The Wheel” will be produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television’s Warner Horizon division and the original British creative team, Hungry McBear and Michael McIntyre, who hosts the UK version.
“We knew that NBC was the perfect home for ‘The Wheel’ within the first few minutes of watching the show. It’s inherent ingenuity and addictive game play immediately hooked us,” said Jenny Groom, Executive Vice President of Unscripted Content for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to add this to our strong roster of game show formats.”
The series adds to NBC’s slate of impressive unscripted programming, including the upcoming series “College Bowl,” with Peyton Manning as executive producer and host, and “Weakest Link,” which just received a season two pick-up.
“It’s incredibly rare in this day and age for a new show to become an unqualified smash hit overnight … let alone in the biggest territory in Europe,” said Mike Darnell, President of Warner Bros. Unscripted Television. “We are thrilled to be in business with Hungry McBear and our amazing partners at NBC, who immediately saw ‘The Wheel’s’ potential and picked it up within 24 hours of the pitch.”
The game provides three contestants an opportunity to battle it out through general knowledge questions where the objective is to keep your spot at the center of the wheel. The contestants themselves are randomly picked from a smaller wheel underneath centerstage. Correct answers keep you there, wrong answers throw you out.
Only the contestant at the center of the wheel at the end of the game has a chance to take home a life-changing sum of money, so they must do their best to stay there. The contestants are not on their own. There are seven celebrity experts on the wheel, ready to help answer the questions. With a mixture of real people, larger-than life celebrity experts and a massive rotating wheel under the host’s command … the fun and challenges are unlimited.
“I’m thrilled ‘The Wheel’ is spinning Stateside,” Michael McIntyre said. “Hosting this show is the most fun I’ve had on television. The format creates wonderful camaraderie among the celebrities, natural hilarity and genuine suspense. I can’t wait for ‘The Wheel’ to roll across America.”
(Source: Warner Bros.)
~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Follow Richard on Facebook and Twitter
