There will be another new game show this summer – except this one is also very old. It’s “Password,” which began 61 years ago.
NBC’s summer version – hosted by Keke Palmer — will continue the basic plan of pairing celebrities with regular folks. But Jimmy Fallon (shown here playing with Jim Parsons), who is also the producer, will be one of the celebrities in each hour; the last of the eight episodes will be all-celebrity.
The network hasn’t said when it will air. It previously announced summer plans with “American Ninja Warrior” on Mondays, “America’s Got Talent” and the new “Dancing With Myself” on Tuesdays and a Sunday revival of “Who Do You Think You Are?”
Old game shows have been an ABC specialty lately. This summer, it’s planning three of them – “Press Your Luck,” “$100,00 Pyramid” and “Celebrity Family Feud” – plus two new ones. Also, Fox is planning to pair two music games – “Beat Shazam” and “Don’t Forget the Lyrics.”
“Password” has bounced between the networks, sometimes changing its name and format slightly. That has included CBS (1961-67), ABC (1971-75), NBC (1979-82 and 1984-89) and CBS again (2008-9).
It got its new boost when Fallon started playing it on his latenight show – sometimes with Betty White, who was considered the game’s greatest player and was the widow of original host Allen Ludden. This summer’s first show will be dedicated to White, who died Dec. 31, 18 days shy of her 100th birthday.