# What ever happened to game shows? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [November 2, 2026, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-game-shows/1034357 "2026-11-02T21:28:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leftpopulist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ee7513/32.png) [@Leftpopulist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leftpopulist)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-game-shows/1034357/1 "2026-11-02T21:28:09Z")
They’re still around, but they don’t have the cultural visibility they once did. I think their high point, at least in the U.S., was the 1970s. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-game-shows/1034357/2 "2026-11-02T22:14:21Z")
They are on Dropout TV and they are amazing. You’ve definitely got to check out _Game Changer,_ it features one of the best improv casts I’ve ever seen. There are some videos on YouTube. _Make Some Noise_ is pretty good too. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-game-shows/1034357/3 "2026-11-02T22:35:58Z")
> [@Leftpopulist](#): > > They’re still around, but they don’t have the cultural visibility they once did. In the '70s, we had four channels. So not a lot of choice in what we watched. That made a lot of shows a common touchstone with the rest of Bored American TV Viewers, whether they were good or not. Seems like EVERYone watched The Price is Right, The Match Game, Let’s Make a Deal, etc… (though I’ll admit I would’ve seen Hollywood Squares and Jeopardy even if I’d had more choices). And, believe me, if we’d had more channels we wouldn’t have sat through Family Feud… _Survey says: We’re all idiots!_ ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-game-shows/1034357/4 "2026-11-02T22:45:12Z")
> [@digs](#): > > In the '70s, we had four channels. So not a lot of choice in what we watched. Yeah, the [monoculture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monoculture_(popular_culture)) is dead. There’s tons of game shows out there now, but everybody is watching different ones. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-game-shows/1034357/5 "2026-11-02T22:57:45Z")
And the game shows seem to have evolved into high-energy reality contests with celebrity hosts. What is _America’s Got Talent_ but a glitzy version of _The Gong Show_? Jimmy Fallon hosts _Password_. ABC has _Who Wants to Be a Millionaire_ and _Celebrity Jeopardy_. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-game-shows/1034357/6 "2026-11-02T22:57:57Z")
> [@Leftpopulist](#): > > They’re still around, but they don’t have the cultural visibility they once did. Some of them are called “reality TV” now. E.g. Survivor, Traitors. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [November 2, 2026, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-game-shows/1034357/7 "2026-11-02T23:11:52Z")
Can you imagine how lame “Survivor” would’ve been in our childhoods? “Watch as Milton Jablonsky tries to navigate the backyards of his suburb, while clotheslines full of sheets and shrapnel from power mowers cause what the network’s determined is an acceptable level of danger!” ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-game-shows/1034357/8 "2026-11-03T00:06:34Z")
Is _Taskmaster_ a game show? I feel like the possibilities are broadening. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2026, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-ever-happened-to-game-shows/1034357/9 "2026-11-03T00:29:48Z")
What happened to them? They appeal to the lowest common denominator now more than ever, especially in the US. Other than _ **Jeopardy!** _, I can’t stand American game shows any more. It seems like the contestants are deliberately chosen to be the dumbest and lose, thereby saving the shows lots of money. I’d also rather listen to monkeys chattering than the inane bantering that goes on between hosts and contestants simply to fill time.