NBC has grabbed U.K. game show The Wheel, ordering 10 episodes. The show premiered overseas in November. “A hilarious new take on the game show format, the series is set to put viewers into a spin each week as celebrity guests attempt to help contestants win big. Full of edge-of-your seat jeopardy, plenty of laughs, huge stars and a spectacular 42-foot-wide spinning wheel, the series debuted in November as the top game show for BBC Primetime since 2011,” said NBC.
The Wheel will be produced by Warner Bros. Unscripted Television’s Warner Horizon division and the original British creative team, Hungry McBear and Michael McIntyre, who hosts the U.K. program.
“We knew that NBC was the perfect home for The Wheel within the first few minutes of watching the show. It’s inherent ingenuity and addictive game play immediately hooked us,” said Jenny Groom, executive VP of unscripted content for NBCUniversal Television and Streaming. “We couldn’t be more thrilled to add this to our strong roster of game show formats.”
Three contestants battle it out through general knowledge questions where the objective is to keep your spot at the center of the wheel. The contestants are randomly picked from a smaller wheel underneath centerstage. Right answers keep you there, wrong answers throw you out. Only the contestant at the center of the wheel at the end of the game has a chance to take home major money.
There are seven celebrity experts on the wheel, ready to help answer the questions. “It’s incredibly rare in this day and age for a new show to become an unqualified smash hit overnight … let alone in the biggest territory in Europe,” said Mike Darnell, president of Warner Bros. Unscripted Television. “We are thrilled to be in business with Hungry McBear and our amazing partners at NBC, who immediately saw The Wheel’s potential and picked it up within 24 hours of the pitch.”
The series was created by Michael McIntyre and Dan Baldwin, who executive produce with Mike Darnell and Brooke Karzen.
