ABC’s 2016 Summer TV Shows And Michael Strahan’s Other New Project
The internet has been abuzz with Michael Strahan’s announcement that he is quitting his popular Live! With Kelly and Michael TV show for another ABC show, Good Morning America, where he is currently appearing twice a week as it is. Though the original plan is for Strahan to start his regular morning show duties for GMA in September, rumors and reports are spreading that co-host Kelly Ripa is refusing to come back to the show until Strahan is gone.
While much speculation is swirling about how all of this will be resolved, it is ironic that ABC also announced via press release the network’s 2016 plan for summer TV programming which also includes Strahan’s other new project, The $100,000 Pyramid.
As part of ABC’s 2016 summer TV shows line-up, the new primetime version of $100,000 Pyramid will premiere on the network on Sunday, June 26. Michael Strahan will be serving as host for the 10-week long series. The word association game show will pair up contestants with TV stars in hopes of winning 100 grand.
The iconic Pyramid isn’t the only TV game show to make a repeat performance on ABC this summer. Joining Pyramid will be Celebrity Family Feud, To Tell the Truth, and 500 Questions.
Steve Harvey will be back for summer Season 2 of Celebrity Family Feud which also begins on June 26. Just like Harvey’s regular Family Feud gig, the celebrity version features various stars and their real family members playing for charity.
Anthony Anderson, star of ABC’s Black-ish, will serve as host of the new To Tell The Truth with Betty White, NeNe Leakes, and NBA star Jalen Rose serving as the panel of celebrities (along with a special guest each week). If you remember, the premise of the show is three people will come out and claim to be the same person and the panel will try to guess which one is telling the truth. The last version of To Tell The Truth was shown in syndication from 2000-2002 and was hosted by John O’Hurley. The new show will premiere on June 14.
ABC is also giving Mark Burnett’s 500 Questions another chance after its lukewarm reception last summer. However, gone is Richard Quest who served as host. Dan Harris from ABC’s Nightline will be tossing the questions to various contestants. Similar to Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, this game show offers no “saves,” “helps,” or multiple choice. The simple rule is if you get three questions in a row wrong, you’re out. 500 Questions premieres on May 26.
ABC is serving up more than game shows for summer 2016. A new sitcom, Uncle Buck, is based on the 1989 John Candy comedy movie but features an all African-American cast this time around. The sitcom TV show stars Mike Epps as Buck, James Lesure as his brother, and Nia Long as Uncle Buck’s sister-in-law. When the married couple find that they need help with their kids, they hire Buck to serve as their “manny.” Uncle Buck premieres on June 14.
In a unique partnership between ABC and ESPN (both owned by Disney), the two TV networks will present O.J.: Made in America, a seven-hour, 45-minute documentary about O.J. Simpson and his famous murder trial. Directed by Ezra Edelman, the documentary is produced by ESPN’s 30 for 30 crew. The documentary begins on June 11.
Finally, other returning summer shows include Season 4 of the soap Mistresses, Season 2 of BattleBots (June 23), and Bachelor in Paradise (August 2).
ABC’s list of new and returning shows is impressive compared to NBC’s list of just four shows (America’s Got Talent, American Ninja Warrior, Maya and Marty, and Spartan: Ultimate Team Challenge) announced last week.
[Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images]
