Spell-Mageddon! Can you use it in a sentence please? Putting a twist on the classic grade school contest, the spelling bee is being taken to new entertaining heights, in Spell-Mageddon. Brought to you by production company Thinkfactory Media, contestants compete to spell increasingly challenging words while being faced with constant and seemingly hilarious distractions. Production is currently underway and the series is set to premier Wednesday July 24th at 9pm ET on the hit network station, ABC Family.
The most recent media buzz surrounding this game show series, is the recent announcement of the show’s host, actor Alfonso Ribeiro, best known for his work as Carlton Banks in the 90’s comedy show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Ribeiro will host the hour long competition, surely adding some of his comedic charm and his striking looks to further distract or maybe help the competitors. Other buzz surrounding this series is its time placement. Scheduled to air on ABC Family’s trademarked comedy Wednesday, following the lineup of Melissa and Joey and Baby Daddy! It appears network executives predict Spell-Mageddon to be a successful project.
Success is an accomplishment Thinkfactory Media has created before. Most famously known for their critically acclaimed mini-series, Hatfields & McCoys, Thinkfactory Media was founded by one of the Spell-Mageddons producers, Leslie Greif. Greif has produced several popular television series. In terms of reality television, Greif has produced well known shows such as R&B Divas and Gene Simmons: Family Jewels. Other producers involved with this project include Adam Reed and Adam Freeman. Freeman is also known for being a producer for reality series Gene Simmons: Family Jewels as well as MTV’s Wild’n Out and Total Request Live.
Just looking at the previous reality series produced by the producers on this project, should spark some interest. First, all of the shows listed above have had more than one season. Next, all of these shows have left a stamp in Reality TV culture, meaning they are all memorable. Lastly, all of these shows have involved some high profile names such as Gene Simmons, Nick Cannon, and Carson Daily.
Spell-Mageddon appears like it will follow some of the patterns of the producers past and present reality projects. Only one difference separates this project from the past. Spell-Mageddon is under a class of reality TV known as the game show! Game shows are tricky. There are the classic shows that have lasted on air for years, such as Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy. Then you have short lived reality game shows like: Deal or No Deal, Hole In the Wall, and Minute to Win It.
Shows based on an activity experienced in some way by everyone, can surely capture audiences of all ages. For example, Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader took a normal life experience such as elementary school and made a successful game competition show that was full of humor and education. Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader lasted 5 seasons and is still talked about as one of the most entertaining and popular game shows to have happened in reality TV. Take something simple, like spelling a word; add some distractions, throw in potential money gain, a celebrity host, and some eccentric contestants and we have the potential for a hit reality game show series. Spell-Mageddon, comes to your television July 24th on ABC Family 9pm ET. It looks like it has all the ingredients to be entertaining and successful, so tune in!