Entertainment Extra

2 ENTERTAINMENT EXTRA By Jay Bobbin TV Media L et the games begin … again. ABC has gone very heavy on primetime contests in recent summers, many of them updates of shows that were popular in earlier incarnations. Already, such series as "Press Your Luck," "The Chase," "Generation Gap" and "Claim to Fame" have made their returns for these warm- weather months. That parade of participants and prizes continues as "Celebrity Family Feud" and "The $100,000 Pyramid" begin new rounds on ABC Sunday, July 9. Host Steve Harvey starts his tenth season of pitting teams of stars and their relatives or work colleagues against each other on "Celebrity Family Feud," while Michael Strahan presides over Season 7 of the latest "Pyramid" incarnation, in which personalities and their team- mates use words and phrases to guess categories (or vice versa) to get to the winner's circle and a shot or two at big money. Early Season 10 players on "Celebrity Family Feud" include Gayle King ("CBS Mornings"), Sophia Bush Hughes ("One Tree Hill") and cast members of Showtime's "Yellowjackets." Season 9 saw contests between the casts of "Abbott Elementary" and "Hacks," stars of "Bel-Air" and the revival of "Saved by the Bell," Kristin Chenoweth ("Schmigadoon!") and Kathy Najimy ("Hocus Pocus," 1993), and Kal Penn ("Designated Survivor") and Erika Christensen (before she returned to ABC full- time as a star of the series "Will Trent"). Music's Boyz II Men and the hosts of CBS' daytime show "The Talk" also got chances for "Feud"-ing last season. "Celebrity Family Feud" was tried earlier, with "Today's" Al Roker guiding it during a brief NBC run in the summer of 2008. ABC actually was the home network of the original "Family Feud" when Richard Dawson hosted it from 1976 to 1985, with several others filling that role since its current syndi- cation run began in 1999. Harvey became the host in 2010, and its rise in ratings not only have kept him there since, it paved the way for another run at the "Celebrity" spinoff. Though Harvey has done other programs including the talk show "Steve" and ABC's current "Judge Steve Harvey" – plus his sitcom "The Steve Harvey Show," he has enjoyed particular success with "Celebrity Family Feud" and its syndicated weekday parent "Family Feud." He expresses gratitude for his television career overall, which took him out of the realm of stand-up comedy and has brought him a wide and steady audience. "It turned out to be the best thing that happened to me," Harvey reflects. "If I had tried to continue as a stand-up, there's no way I could maintain the TV career because of the political correctness that has killed come- dy. Every joke you tell now, it hurts somebody's feelings. What people don't under- stand about comedians is that the joke has got to be about something. It has to be about somebody. We can't write jokes about puppies all the time. Some of these jokes are going to have to be about people." This season on "The $100,000 Pyramid," the celeb- rity players include such return- ees as Cedric the Entertainer ("The Neighborhood"), Yvette Nicole Brown ("Community"), RuPaul ("RuPaul's Drag Race") and Mario Cantone ("Sex and the City"). Among others on board are "Jeopardy's!" Ken Jennings, Amanda Kloots ("The Talk"), "Shark Tank's" Robert Herjavec, Ross Mathews ("RuPaul's Drag Race") and several veterans of "The Goldbergs": Wendi McLendon- Covey (who also has played the game before), Sean Giambrone and Troy Gentile. Also an executive producer of the program, Strahan is happy with the outcome. "This could be the best sea- son that we've done," the NFL veteran, "Good Morning America" co-anchor, Fox Sports personality and one-time astro- naut maintains. "And even if not, it has some of the shows that we've don e a lot of fun, a lot of su and a lot of good matc The energy is just great Strahan attributes tha to the long history the sh dating back to the first v which was "The $10,000 Pyramid" with host Dick think everybody knows w they're getting into," rea Strahan. "Everyone is co tive, and they want to w partner a lot of money. I tant to match up the rig bination of someone aga someone else, and I thin a good job of that." Resulting humor can indicator of that, and S is satisfied with his pro "Pyramid" host: "The m done it, the more I've b comfortable with it. I a say that the game is th I'm just there to keep i ing, and every once in I get a chance to laugh inject or have a reactio know is natural to me. that people at home ar bly having the same re so I take that moment. Schwering Realty 2 x 2" Pear Tree Gallery 3 x 2" On the Cover Michael Strahan hosts "The $100,000 Pyramid" Game time continues on ABC as two favorites ret Chase Center 3 x 2" American Legion Post 60 2 x 3" Thrifty Muffler 2 x 2.5" 230 Burlington Avenue Logansport 574-992-8038 Tired of Shopping Around for THE Right Mechanic? BRAKE SPECIAL $89.95 PER AXLE. FOR MOST CARS AND TRUCKS Give us an opportunity to earn your business! "We do it Better for Less!"

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