Could this be the simple solution to our increasing disconnection from friends and family?

This puzzle is more complicated than just locking in B, because game show prizes are rarely life-changing; It’s unlikely to be more than $35,000, split between four people, including Penny from the sales team, who doesn’t contribute her part to the team. This is nothing compared to a big-budget, multi-episode television series.

As a genre, we should have surpassed TV game shows in the seven decades since their inception here. But we didn’t.

JAMILA RIZVI

However, the appeal of the game show remains and may even be growing. A few years ago Channel Ten’s ratings dropped significantly. Family Feud was struck. Difficult Exam It consistently outperforms its commercial rivals on the ABC and helps Tom Gleeson win a Gold Logie. Popularity of shows in the UK Meaningless And chase It meant we made our own versions.

As a genre, we should have surpassed TV game shows in the seven decades since their inception here. But we didn’t, perhaps because we are drawn to the extraordinary, but also because we like the possibility of “I could have won that.” And we’re drawn to the stories of ordinary people who just want to make enough money to fix up the front porch or take a trip to the Gold Coast, but don’t really care either way.

Recent inclusion of my brothers-in-law chase kept our extended family in conversation for weeks. No spoilers, but it wasn’t about winning or not winning, or getting this close or not. The point being that he was part of the whole nonsense in the first place. #GoCharlie.

Indeed, what is critical to the long-term success of the game show is that the level of skill required is impressive, but not so high that it is beyond the reach of the average person. I realized I could never compete Ninja Warrior, But do I think I can hold myself back? 1% Club? I am sure.

The game show format – repetitive, formulaic, predictable – is a kind of security blanket, the familiar jokes, innuendos, music, lights and proceedings order are all part of the appeal. A game show won’t surprise or shock you. Viewers can rely on its sameness, and that ordinariness makes television comfortable.

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This is television you can watch intently, testing your skills against on-screen and off-screen opponents. Or passively following the emotional journey of others. Game shows don’t challenge your worldview, make you uncomfortable, or threaten to start a family argument. You never have to worry about missing an episode or spoiling this season’s outcome for a friend who isn’t up to date.

Game shows may be the last vestige of truly multigenerational family-friendly viewing. Most new parents have a story about their toddler being glued to the screen and joining in the applause of the audience. Everyone who started watching Foreign or vikings understands the need for safer family options, thinking it will be okay for children as long as their parents are there.

Free television is finding new ways to stay relevant in the age of streaming, where we all watch something different, on a different show and on a different device. The result is enormous complexity for programmers and marketers.

But what if there was a simple solution? What if what audiences really want is simple, wholesome entertainment that can be consumed in a mixed environment while deepening real-world relationships through the shared enjoyment of a screen, rather than burying our loneliness in the personal devices we hold in our hands?

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