Buzzr Q1 2026

[Matt Ottinger]

I too am hoping for other-host TPIR.

You win!  Claim your prize!

It is *astonishing* to me that in two pages of speculation, this choice, which makes a bunch of sense in retrospect, really didn't occur to us.  Only one of us mentioned the possibility of Drew, but only in that "I hope it's not" sense.

[BrandonFG]

Cue the fanbo.....excuse me, superfans proclaiming this as the end of the world as we know it.

(pushes glasses up nose) Actually, "superfans" is the term the current version of TPIR uses to refer to its most ardent fans -- Barker's "loyal friends and true" wouldn't have made sense in the Carey era -- so by that definition, the superfans should be very pleased with this announcement. (derisively snort-laughs, pushes glasses up nose again)

That makes sense. We regret the error and those responsible have been sacked.

It is *astonishing* to me that in two pages of speculation, this choice, which makes a bunch of sense in retrospect, really didn't occur to us.  Only one of us mentioned the possibility of Drew, but only in that "I hope it's not" sense.

It crossed my mind, but it struck me as being too "recent" even though they've shown 21st Century shows in the past.

[Joe Mello]

It is *astonishing* to me that in two pages of speculation, this choice, which makes a bunch of sense in retrospect, really didn't occur to us.  Only one of us mentioned the possibility of Drew, but only in that "I hope it's not" sense.

As Scott mentioned, BUZZR is primarily for shows from the 1900's so Drew PIR wouldn't fit in that way. That being said, it does fit in the "it's the same game show you remember but different" that lets Sweep and Temptation stay on the channel. CNG will be an interesting case study because both it and Price will probably be a gauge of whether the "oldies window" shifts.

I see Whew!, TalkAbout, Match Game Hollywood Squares and Split Second all arrive to great fanfare and get shunted away rarely to be seen again after the initial push.

As fun as unearthing and digitizing obscurities can be, the main audience for BUZZR (and most FAST channels) doesn't want to see obscurities, they want to see the same stuff they remember seeing before with maybe one or two extra versions so they can go "Wow, they made more ___!"

If it were up to me, I might try to make a dedicated "Lost & Fun" weekend block that rotates a random game show each month or so, but it's hard to argue against a schedule that's almost all hits.

[chargeradiocom]

It is *astonishing* to me that in two pages of speculation, this choice, which makes a bunch of sense in retrospect, really didn't occur to us.  Only one of us mentioned the possibility of Drew, but only in that "I hope it's not" sense.

Hopefully something besides Baldwin Match Game or Carey Price.

Wow… um… not sure whether to brag or apologize, gang.

As Scott mentioned, BUZZR is primarily for shows from the 1900's so Drew PIR wouldn't fit in that way. That being said, it does fit in the "it's the same game show you remember but different" that lets Sweep and Temptation stay on the channel. CNG will be an interesting case study because both it and Price will probably be a gauge of whether the "oldies window" shifts.

Also, as depressing as it is to think about, the earliest Drew seasons are now nearly 20 years old. Hard to say there’s no audience for nostalgia of that era.

As for CNG, I’ve long thought it had a certain Pyramid-ish quality to it.

And I do agree that BUZZR/Fremantle will probably be watching the numbers closely to determine the future direction of BUZZR and Fremantle’s FAST offerings as a whole. If these shows hit, get ready for a whole lot more 21st Century content on BUZZR. If they flop, expect this experiment to quickly be buried.

[BrandonFG]

If it were up to me, I might try to make a dedicated "Lost & Fun" weekend block that rotates a random game show each month or so, but it's hard to argue against a schedule that's almost all hits.

I wonder if part of this is because we've simply become a "binging" society, and what better genre to do this than one where you can see a contestant/family win that critical fifth game all in one day?

Not that I wouldn't mind what you're suggesting. I actually wish they'd bring back Lost and Fun, but I get it.

[Blanquepage]

I too am hoping for other-host TPIR.

You win!  Claim your prize!

It is *astonishing* to me that in two pages of speculation, this choice, which makes a bunch of sense in retrospect, really didn't occur to us.  Only one of us mentioned the possibility of Drew, but only in that "I hope it's not" sense.

Oh, it occured to me, I just didn't want to risk putting the possibility in writing into the universe. Didn't work 
It does make economic sense, as I'm assuming these additions were already digitized.

[TLEberle]

I was 27 years young when Drew was named host, so he has been running things for 40 percent of my lifetime, and there are now high school students who weren't around to see Bob hosting.

Admittedly I don't love this choice, though I would love a chance to see CNG again because I unduly slagged Craig as late night host because he replaced Craig Kilborn. I guess we should be happy Buzzr is making movies with an eye to keeping viewers which means the whole idea of a conveyor belt/fire hose of content can even serve our happy little corner of the internet.

[Joe Mello]

I wonder if part of this is because we've simply become a "binging" society

I think it's less "binge" and more "on-demand," which is what I thought was Netflix's original hook. If you already have access to The Office or Friends or whatever--stuff you already know you like--whenever you want, why would you need to take a chance on something new? (Of course, my brain works the opposite in that if it's available whenever I want, then there's no penalty in doing literally anything else, especially if that anything else is time-sensitive, and I do know that line of thinking is also fraught but I digress)

Looking at the rest of the Pluto offerings (of which BUZZR is one), it's pretty clear that most people aren't going to the platform to watch new or weird shows, just like most people aren't going to the oldies radio station to hear the Madonna songs that weren't hits.

/If conversations about media literacy/regular literacy are to be believed they may not even be watching watching either
//Game shows would do great with Netflix's "explain everything 12 times" quota

[Nick]

That's what drives me crazy. For years growing up, I used to think this was some contractual obligation or Bob wouldn't clear his appearances unless all the fur episodes were taken out, but hearing it's just out of deference to his reputation I thought, "okay, Bob's a massive star and one of the executive producers of the show back then, he could possibly pull weight if wanted." Then when he died, I thought for sure there were just gonna go from Episode 1 to honor him. When I found out that they were still gonna skip episodes in the half hour era, I couldn't believe it. The amount of people that might possibly care about furs being offered on the show to cause some sort of stink that Buzzr/Fremantle doesn't want to have to deal with would probably register a negative two on the Richter scale. It's silly to continue to kowtow to a frankly very vain policy in order to please the reputation of a dead man...

It's always been bonkers to me that first episode has never(?) been rerun to honor the show. Not even as an exception to this self-imposed rule. Just clips of the intro and Any Number chopped up around the IUFB as if they had offered a coat from the Ed Gein collection.

I'm glad to read somebody else saying this.  I agree wholeheartedly and believe we're long overdue on seeing all of the first ten seasons of the Barker era and the '70s nighttime syndicated version (my personal favourite incarnation of the show) unearthed.

As fun as unearthing and digitizing obscurities can be, the main audience for BUZZR (and most FAST channels) doesn't want to see obscurities, they want to see the same stuff they remember seeing before with maybe one or two extra versions so they can go "Wow, they made more ___!"

How can this be, though?  How can you get people to keep coming back when you're running the same fifty, hundred, two hundred or whatever number episodes into the ground as most of these channels are?  It's the obscurities that, to me, would be what keeps people coming back, along with lots and lots of fresh content by going through the full runs of these shows that lasted for years and have thousands of extant episodes.

Also, as depressing as it is to think about, the earliest Drew seasons are now nearly 20 years old. Hard to say there’s no audience for nostalgia of that era.

In retrospect, I have no problems with Drew's first season being "some fat guy hosting Bob's show" that was still recorded live-to-tape and had Roger Dobkowitz's fingerprints all over the production.

Season 37 was an embarrassment with the show literally turning into a parody of itself by times.  I can't see where they can ever get an rerun value out of them.

[BrandonFG]

How can this be, though?  How can you get people to keep coming back when you're running the same fifty, hundred, two hundred or whatever number episodes into the ground as most of these channels are?  It's the obscurities that, to me, would be what keeps people coming back, along with lots and lots of fresh content by going through the full runs of these shows that lasted for years and have thousands of extant episodes.

It goes back to Joe and I discussing how bingeable and on-demand everything is nowadays. We established a few years ago that GSN and HGTV want shows that can air in the background at the doctors office on repeat. As much as I love the obscure 13-week wonders or pilots, I realize I'm in the minority and most people want the tried and true stuff. Same reason why TV Land or Nick at Nite would rather show Friends or George Lopez* instead of Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. And believe it or not, people watch the same episodes of shows over-and-over as comfort food.

But honestly, they can get more social media mileage out of dark-haired Bob Barker or Alex Trebek's mustache than they do the unsold pilot with the confusing rules from 1978. I've seen several people post a picture of Trebek in the 70s, and offered a few thirsty comments. I've also seen a few people reminisce about Classic Concentration on various Reddit subs or FB groups. I love Talkabout, but I realize it invokes way less mainstream nostalgia as CC.

*That's just an example. Work with me here.

[Joe Mello]

In retrospect, I have no problems with Drew's first season being "some fat guy hosting Bob's show" that was still recorded live-to-tape and had Roger Dobkowitz's fingerprints all over the production.

Season 37 was an embarrassment with the show literally turning into a parody of itself by times.  I can't see where they can ever get an rerun value out of them.

If it were me, I'd choose episodes that happened after the "Awkward Teenage Years" took place, of which there are plenty. Just for context, Dream Car and Big Money Weeks started in 2013, Decades Week was 2015, College Rivals and the Mash Up Shows started in 2016. Even if these were all started during that transitory phase, there's still plenty of average-or-better stuff to pull from now that it's 2026.

[BrandonFG]

It's kind of a shame that Drew's weight loss seasons are seen as some of the worst. I say that because as absurd as the "Fried chicken! Fried chicken! Fried chicken!" Showcases were, it would be cool to show the late-aughts eps. to college students and see them react to how people my age would when we saw Bob with dyed hair.

Maybe the 07-08 season?

[chrisholland03]

NGL - I kinda miss some of the attempts at making Price a variety show.  I'll take that over the 'edited to within a breath of its life' version we have now.  Hell, I'm willing to drop a pricing game and do a 5-player SCSD where the two top spinners advance to get some unscripted mayhem back.

[jjman920]

It's kind of a shame that Drew's weight loss seasons are seen as some of the worst. I say that because as absurd as the "Fried chicken! Fried chicken! Fried chicken!" Showcases were, it would be cool to show the late-aughts eps. to college students and see them react to how people my age would when we saw Bob with dyed hair.

Maybe the 07-08 season?

I think it would be just such a wonderful time capsule of history to see Drew's first two and a half seasons. I know we have plenty of recorded episodes from those seasons, but it would be great to see them in better than VHS quality (the fact that the era wasn't yet removed from VHS recordings is mind-blowing) and, in the case of Season 37, in high definition since basically none of the home recordings are in that quality.

It would just be fascinating to see in an ordered rewatch; how Drew has improved from then to now, the way Roger went about producing that first Drew season and his lasting effects into Season 37, and the way the show marched forward after that seismic departure in both good ways and bad. It's not a bad thing to look at the past in this regard.

I always feel like Drew's hosting started to turn around when he lost weight at the beginning of Season 39, which is when I began watching the show regularly again. He embraced his role more and you could tell he really enjoyed coming to work. By the time they had settled on George Gray as the announcer after that season, he made it feel like a family. George and the models got involved more, to the point that they started to mic the models. To me, it felt like the 80s when Bob and the models would joke around together after a game before going to commercial. So, I am happy they are running these seasons as well.

[TimK2003]

Hell, I'm willing to drop a pricing game and do a 5-player SCSD where the two top spinners advance to get some unscripted mayhem back.

Here's an idea I was toying with for a 4 or 5 person SCSD along these lines:

All 5 players each take their first spins either starting with the top money winner on down or going low- to-top winner.  Top 3 scores advance to their second spins. The top spinner(s) may elect to hold/freeze on their first spin total, if not $1.00 or a tie, or try to better their scores with a second spin as normal.  Top 2 scores advance to the Showcase.  Tie breaker spinoffs if needed.