Supermarket Sweep begins on ABC Oct. 18. Leslie Jones hosts and executive produces the game show, which previously ran on Lifetime and Pax TV, and, going way back, ABC in the ‘60s.
Jones enjoyed watching Supermarket Sweep after school as a kid, and approached the producer about bringing it back. “She reached out to Fremantle and said, I’m a huge fan,” said Wes Kauble, executive producer.
Fremantle built a grocery store in an airplane hangar in Santa Monica. Three teams of two do battle in the store. Contestants can come away with $100,000, a far cry from the earlier iteration’s $5,000 jackpot.
“The supermarket has grown up quite a bit in the last 20 years,” said Kauble. “It’s definitely a primetime supermarket now.”
Jones was a cast member and writer on Saturday Night Live from 2014 to 2019. She has a comedy special, Leslie Jones: Time Machine on Netflix. Her movies include Trainwreck, Top Five and Ghostbusters.
Kauble said Jones brings a ton of energy to the host role. “If there’s one thing Supermarket Sweep needs, it’s that bombastic personality in primetime,” he said. “You never know what’s going to come out of her mouth.’
Kauble called Supermarket Sweep an “escapist show” that may find a grateful audience in trying 2020. “You sit down, give an hour of your time, and tune out everything else,” he said. “You relax and have a wild and crazy time.”
