(Walt Disney Television/Jeff Neira)
ABC might have a “blank” spot in their schedule. The alphabet network has reportedly cancelled the Match Game TV show so it won’t be back for a sixth season. The last original episode aired on July 28th of last year.
A revival of the classic 1970s game show, Match Game is hosted by Alec Baldwin. Contestants try to match the answers of six celebrity panelists as they answer fill In the blank questions. In the fifth season, celebrity panelists include Sam Richardson, Jane Krakowski, Ben Schwartz, Caroline Rhea, James Van Der Beek, Vivica A. Fox, Joel McHale, Amy Sedaris, Kevin Smith, Raven-Symoné, Ne-Yo, Malin Akerman, Mario Cantone, Jennifer Esposito, Adam Rodriguez, Angie Harmon, Michael Chiklis, and Melissa Fumero. On Match Game, contestants try to match the answers to “fill in the blank” questions with as many celebrities as they can. At stake is a grand prize of $25,000.
The fifth season of Match Game averaged a 0.48 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 3.00 million viewers. Compared to season four, that’s down by 15% in the demo and up by 6% in viewership.
The series has been out of production since before the pandemic and the 11 episodes of season five were spread across two broadcast seasons, airing sporadically between May 2020 and July 2021. A total of 65 installments were produced since this version of Match Game launched in 2016. Variety was the first to report the news of the cancellation.
What do you think? Did you watch this iteration of Match Game on ABC? Are you disappointed that it’s been cancelled and won’t return for a sixth season?