Fox First Run has renewed its trio of syndicated game shows — 25 Words or Less, Pictionary and Person, Place or Thing — through next season, Stephen Brown, executive VP of programming for Fox Television Stations, said Wednesday. 

As part of that renewal, Fox First Run is expanding its “Super Fan Experience” to all three shows, after experimenting with it this season on 25 Words or Less. 

Each episode of each game show will feature an interview with a Super Fan from one Fox affiliate and the opportunity for that person to win a prize. On Pictionary, if the Super Fan can guess what host Jerry O'Connell is drawing, they win a prize. On 25 Words or Less, if either team wins $10,000, the Super Fan is awarded $1,000. And on Person, Place, or Thing, if a contestant wins the grand prize, the Super Fan is awarded $500. Through QR code experiences, fans also can play online minigames, as well as receive coupons and other offers from sponsors via specially created behind-the-scenes footage.

"The success of the Super Fan initiative on 25 Words or Less last season further proved that engaging with our audience in a meaningful way is how we best develop loyal fans who watch more than the average 1.2 times a week," Brown said in a statement. 

The three games join Fox’s TMZ and TMZ Live, Warner Bros.’ Jennifer Hudson and Extra, and Debmar-Mercury’s Sherri, all of which have been picked up for next year on the Fox-owned stations. 

Hosted by Meredith Vieira, 25 Words or Less debuted as a preview show on the Fox Television Stations in August 2018 before going into syndication in fall 2019. The half-hour game show is cleared nationally in 97% of the country. 25 Words or Less is produced by Dino Bones Productions and distributed by Fox First Run.

Pictionary debuted as a preview show on the Fox Television Stations in July 2021, before going into syndication in fall 2022. The half-hour game show is cleared in 99% of the country and produced by Fox First Run along with Bill's Market and Television Production. Pictionary is based on Mattel's popular 1985 board game.

Person, Place, or Thing, hosted by Melissa Peterman, debuted as a preview show on the Fox Television Stations in Summer 2022, before going into syndication in fall 2023. Created by Jeff Proctor and Paul Franklin, the half-hour game show is cleared in 96% of the country. Person, Place, or Thing is produced by Dino Bones Productions and distributed by Fox First Run.

Married couple Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell will host The Real Love Boat, which debuts on CBS October 5. The series brings singles together to sail the Mediterranean on a luxury cruise ship while looking for love. Destination dates, challenges and surprise singles will test the couples’ compatibility and chemistry. 

Like The Love Boat, crew members, including the captain and cruise director, play key roles in matchmaking.

“After years of consuming, arguing about and dissecting unscripted television, hosting a reality series where a group of singles look for love while aboard a Princess Cruise ship, seemed like a dream come true,” said Romijn and O’Connell. “When we heard it was aboard The Real Love Boat, that dream got an iconic theme song — ‘we promise something for everyone.’ ”

Romijn played Mystique in the X-Men film franchise and stars in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, reprising a role she played in Star Trek: Discovery. 

O’Connell hosts daytime show The Talk. He voices a commander in Star Trek: Lower Decks. As a boy, he played Vern in film Stand By Me.

The Real Love Boat is produced by Eureka Productions in association with Buster Productions. Chris Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Wes Dening and Jay Bienstock serve as executive producers for Eureka. ■

Pictionary, based on Mattel’s famous parlor game, is cleared in 90% of the country for a fall 2022 launch with The Talk’s Jerry O’Connell on board as host.

The show is produced by Fox First Run and Bill’s Market and Television Production and distributed nationwide by CBS Media Ventures (CMV). It’s cleared on stations from the Fox, CBS, Sinclair, Nexstar, Tegna and Gray broadcast groups. Fox, which tested the show last summer, has picked up the program for all of its stations, including WNYW New York City and KTTV Los Angeles.

“Game shows have been a consistent performer for stations, so they really embraced the opportunity to add a well-known brand like Pictionary to their lineups,” Jonathan Bingaman, executive VP of sales for CMV, said in a statement. “We’re excited to launch this franchise nationally this fall.”

On Fox-owned stations, Pictionary will likely join programming blocks that include Fox First Run’s You Bet Your Life, starring Jay Leno, and 25 Words or Less, starring Meredith Vieira.

“Pictionary is the capstone to a powerful game show block on our affiliate stations,” Stephen Brown, executive VP of programming and development, Fox Television Stations and Fox First Run, also said in a statement. “It's family-friendly, fun, and driven by the energetic and hysterical Jerry O'Connell. We think audiences will love the hours of play we have in store for them.”

Pictionary is based on the game of quick sketches and hilarious guesses from Mattel. The broadcast version of the game will follow the rules of at-home play. Two teams of three will consist of two players led by a celebrity captain. One player from the team will draw images that depict a word or phrase found on a card chosen at random, in an effort to have their fellow teammates guess the correct word or phrase on the card. The grand prize winner will receive a trip to an exotic destination.

The program will be executive produced by David Hurwitz and Noah Bonnett. Fred Soulie, senior VP and general manager of Mattel Television, and Phil Breman, VP, live-action, serve as co-executive producers for Mattel. ■

Pictionary, hosted by Jerry O'Connell, is the first new series to be picked up into syndication for fall 2022, with the Fox Television Stations planning to air it across all of its stations, Frank Cicha, executive VP, programming, Fox Television Stations, said.

Pictionary will be produced by Fox First Run and Bill’s Market and Television Production with CBS Media Ventures (CMV) is distributing and selling the advertising time. 

“Our partnership with CBS Media Ventures produced an entertaining program worthy of a national launch, but more importantly, we needed to bring Jerry O’Connell back to teach me the game because I still stink at it,” Cicha said in a statement.  

“After a successful summer run on Fox stations, we’re excited to continue our relationship with Fox and roll out Pictionary to the rest of the country,” Jonathan Bingaman, executive VP, sales, CMV, said also in a statement. “Game shows have been delivering impressive ratings and growth regardless of daypart, so this is a great opportunity for stations to add another well-known franchise to their lineups.”  

Pictionary is based on Mattel’s popular at-home game in which players quickly sketch pictures to try to get their team to correctly guess a word or phrase. The TV show will pit two teams of three players each against each other, with each team led by a celebrity captain. The grand prize is a trip to an exotic destination. 

“I grew up playing Pictionary and now my kids are growing up playing Pictionary. All these tension-filled years of yelling, 'What is that supposed to be' and 'Draw faster, Grandma,' have culminated in this moment,” O’Connell said. “Sharpen those pencils. Daytime just got a little more exciting.”  

O’Connell, who joined the panel of CBS’ The Talk this fall, began his acting career at age 11 when he starred in Stand by Me, and then went to appear in such films as Jerry Maguire, Scream 2 and Kangaroo Jack. He’s also appeared in many TV shows, including Carter, The Death of Superman, Scream Queens, Mistresses and Billions. He recently starred in A Soldier’s Play on Broadway, which is nominated for seven Tony awards.

In summer 2019, O’Connell hosted his own test talk show on the Fox stations, Jerry O, but it was not picked up to series. 

Pictionary will be executive produced by David Hurwitz and Noah Bonnett. Fred Soulie, senior VP and GM of Mattel Television and Phil Breman, VP, live action, serve as co-executive producers for Mattel.    

Jerry O’Connell is replacing Sharon Osbourne as one of the co-hosts of CBS' daytime talker The Talk, making him the first man to occupy one of the show’s permanent seats. O’Connell has been a frequent guest-host of the show this summer.

Last month, Fox announced that O'Connell would host a test of game show Pictionary on select Fox stations starting July 12.

Also Read: Jerry O’Connell to Host ‘Pictionary’ Game Show on Fox Stations

O'Connell joins The Talk’s Sheryl Underwood, Carrie Ann Inaba, Amanda Kloots, Eve and Elaine Welteroth. He comes on board after Sharon Osbourne departed in March after defending English news anchor Piers Morgan's comments about Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle after her and husband Prince Harry sat for a primetime interview with Oprah Winfrey. Morgan stomped off the set of Good Morning Britain after co-host Alex Beresford challenged him on air for saying that he didn’t believe Markle’s claims of bullying and racism within Buckingham Palace or that she considered suicide as she said in the interview.

O'Connell has plenty of daytime experience. He has been a frequent co-host of Disney's Live with Kelly, sitting next to Kelly Ripa after Regis Philbin retired in 2011 and again after Michael Strahan departed in 2015. He was considered a finalist to become the show's permanent co-host. 

He also guest-hosted for Wendy Williams during summer 2016 when Williams took time off to deal with some personal issues. 

As a result of that guest-hosting stint, Fox tested a talk show called Jerry O in 2019 starring O'Connell but it didn't proceed into national syndication. In 2014, CBS developed a talk show pilot around O'Connell and his wife Rebecca Romijn called Man in the Middle that also did not go forward when CBS could not find available daytime time slots for it. 

O'Connell also has guest-hosted ABC's The View.

With Fox testing Pictionary this summer, O'Connell could find himself with two shows on his hands by next year.

Fox Television Stations will premiere game show Pictionary July 12, with Jerry O’Connell hosting. 

Distributed by CBS Media Ventures, Pictionary will run on select Fox-owned stations, including WNYW New York and KTTV Los Angeles. It will air weekdays for four weeks. 

“We’re sure a lot of families got much better at Pictionary over the last 15 months, so we think the timing is perfect for a fun, innovative TV version, and to have Jerry O’Connell as host is a real bonus,” said Frank Cicha, executive VP of programming for Fox Television Stations. “We’ve loved working with him in the past, and are fortunate he chose to do this with us.”  

The show is based on the Mattel game of quick sketches and goofy guesses. Teams will be led by a celebrity captain. One player from the team will draw images that depict a word or phrase found on a card chosen at random, and their teammates have to guess the word or phrase. 

O’Connell played Vern in Stand By Me when he was 11. Other film credits include Jerry Maguire, Scream 2, Can’t Hardly Wait and Kangaroo Jack. His TV work includes Scream Queens and Billions, and he hosted talk show Jerry O on the Fox-owned stations in summer 2019. 

“Ever since my failed drawing of a koala bear lost my mom and me our household Pictionary crown, I’ve wanted to prove myself on the Pictionary stage,” said O’Connell. “I’m so happy to be working with this team from Fox and CBS. Sharpen your pencils, it’s going to be a fun summer.” 

The limited series will be executive produced by David Hurwitz, Noah Bonnett and Richard Brown with Fred Soulie, senior VP & GM of Mattel Television, and Adam Bonnett serving as co-executive producers for Mattel.

The Pictionary game came out in 1985. 

Bravo has signed up for a late-night talk show hosted by Jerry O’Connell and executive produced by Andy Cohen. It’s called Real Men Watch Bravo and it is set to premiere this fall.

O’Connell, an executive producer on the program as well, will discuss “the buzziest Bravo moments” and a range of pop culture topics with a panel of male celebrities and tastemakers.

Related: Bravo Pre-Super Bowl Spot Aims at Male Viewers

O’Connell, an actor, has been in the films Stand By Me, Jerry Maguire and The Death of Superman. His TV work includes Crossing Jordan and The Defenders. Bravo calls him “an avid Bravo viewer” and “a walking encyclopedia of Bravo history.”

A former Bravo executive, Cohen produces and hosts Bravo’s Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen. He also hosts Love Connection on Fox.

Real Men Watch Bravo is produced by Embassy Row. Besides Cohen and O’Connell, Michael Davies will executive produce as well.

WGN America add launch two new original detective-themed shows to its programming lineup, according to network officials.

Detective comedy Carter will debut Aug. 7, while drama series Gone will debut in early 2019, according to network officials. The 10-episode Carter, which stars Jerry O’Connell (Billions), Sydney Poitier Heartsong (Chicago P.D.) and Kristian Bruun (Orphan Black), revolves around a down and out actor who taps into his acting experience as a detective to become a real-life detective in his hometown along with his two best friends.

Gone, which stars Chris Noth (Sex and the City, Law & Order) Leven Ramblin (The Hunger Games) and Danny Pino (CSI: Miami), follows a survivor of a highly publicized child-abduction case who is recruited by the FBI agent who rescued her to join a special task force he created dedicated to solving abductions and missing persons cases.

“Carter and Gone are very exciting additions to WGN America’s superb Prime Crime lineup,” said Gavin Harvey, president of WGN America in a statement. “Both shows bring stellar casts and appealing stories to powerfully complement the network’s multi-faceted mix of hit procedurals, dramas and comedies.”