Netflix Orders Carbon of Show It Already Has!

[Mark Jeffries]

Netflix's UK division has announced for 2023 a new game show called "Cheat" from Fremantle, where contestants can win big bucks by cheating--if the other contestants don't catch them in the act:

http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2022/05/16/danny-dyer-and-ellie-taylor-to-host-new-netflix-quiz-show-cheat-117410/20220516netflix01/

There's just one little problem--it sure sounds a lot like Netflix's current "Bullsh!t the Game Show," which is produced by ITV for Netflix's U.S. division at their new Albuquerque facility and is seen in the UK by Netflix subscribers.  If it is true that all Netflix originals are available to all of their subscribers worldwide (witness the fact that shows like "Squid Game" and "Lupin" are available to U.S. subscribers and popular), WTF would they basically do two versions of the same premise from two different suppliers, the only difference being that on one the contestants are playing for U.S. currency and on the other they're playing for pound sterling?  Yeah, "Best Shazam" and the "Name That Tune" reboot are essentially the same premise, but they're only being seen on the same network in the U.S.

[Adam Bowie]

I think the issue here is that game shows don't really travel. Well  - the formats do, but they require localisation.

While "Bullsh!t the Game Show" may be *available* on Netflix in the UK, whether viewers are actually watching it is another question altogether. Howie Mandel may be a massively known host in the US, but over here I suspect a handful of older viewers would remember him from St Elsewhere and that's about it. Whereas the newly announced "Cheat" has Danny Dyer and Ellie Taylor as hosts. Dyer has been in one of our big soaps for years (and presents another gameshow on BBC1 called "The Wall"), while Taylor is a known comic. This is squarely aimed at a UK audience and I doubt many viewers in the US will be tuning in.

I see in the new schedules that NBC has a version of "The Wheel" - and despite using the same British host, comedian Michael McIntyre, NBC obviously isn't going to show the BBC episodes. I guess when game shows need to appeal to local audiences, they're thinking about how viewers determine which contestant they root for. Is it the one from your city/town/state/wherever? The one who's brief life-history closest reflects yours? The one you find most attractive? All of that is easier if the show is localised.

As for two game shows with similar-ish premises at the same time? Think about how many competitive singing shows there are at any point. Often on the same network. In any case, these shows sound more distinct from each other than most of CBS's primetime lineup!

Adam

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[JW]

> In any case, these shows sound more distinct from each

> other than most of CBS's primetime lineup!

Well said.

[PGage]

Except, I know and remember Howie all too well, and for that reason would much prefer the British hosts (or almost anyone else) to him. I tried one episode of BS and bailed. To be fair, it was not just Mandel; the contestants were also extremely unlikable, which seems to be a common problem for most of the Netflix game/reality shows I have sampled. I got to the last two episodes of “Is it Cake?” And realized I still did not like or care enough about any of the contestants to give a damn about who won (though there probably one or two I disliked enough to have an active rooting interest against - I may go watch the end some time I guess). 

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