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The latest version of Weakest Link ran on NBC from 2020 to 2024. Now, the Jane Lynch-hosted game show has popped up on Fox, with a celebrity version. Will the show be as fun to watch now that the contestants are playing for charity instead of life-changing money?
CELEBRITY WEAKEST LINK: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: Host Jane Lynch strides through the backstage area dressed in Sue Sylvester’s signature red jogging suit, doing things like throwing a coffee in a production assistant’s face.
The Gist: The reason why Lynch was dressed as one of her most famous characters? Because the first episode of Celebrity Weakest Link was a “Glee Homecoming” episode, with all of the contestants former cast members of the hit Fox series: Max Adler, Becca Tobin, Alex Newell, Chord Overstreet, Heather Morris, Amber Riley, Dot-Marie Jones, and Jenna Ushkowitz.
The rules in Celebrity Weakest Link are the same as in the civilian version, which ran on NBC from 2020 to 2024: The nine contestants take turns answering trivia questions, where right answers help them climb up a money tree that maxes out at $25,000 in the first round and maxes out at $500,000 in the final round. The tree resets when someone either banks the accrued amount or a question is answered wrong.
The banked money goes to the next round, but the contestants vote to eliminate one of the group. The final two contestants take turns answering five questions; the one with the most right answers keeps the pot.
Other themes that we know are going to happen in the new season: TV Moms, including Jackee Harry, Monica Potter, Caroline Rhea, Bellamy Young and others; and Celebrity Couples, which means yet another chance to watch Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag.
Photo: Greg Gayne/FoxWhat Shows Will It Remind You Of? The Weakest Link, hosted by Anne Robinson (on network) and George Gray (syndicated) between 2001-03.
Our Take: One of the things that annoyed us about NBC’s Weakest Link revival is the same thing that handicapped the original American version of the hit British game show: Jane Lynch’s barbs directed at contestants that answered their questions wrong lacked bite. It wasn’t Lynch’s fault; after all, the acerbic Robinson, whose insults were so cutting on the original British version, couldn’t provide much juice to the more gentle insults her American writers gave her two-plus decades ago.
Now with nine celebrities on the stage playing for charity instead of life-changing money, those rounded barbs make more sense. The scripted ones Lynch hurled were Glee-themed, of course. “Some of us used the show as a springboard to stardom; the rest of you are here tonight,” Lynch said in one of the best scripted digs.
Lynch was always strong when she improvised, and she does that when she gives contestants the business for some boneheaded answers. Her long history with the people on stage in this episode is definitely evident, but she’ll be up to the task joshing with the other celebrity groups.
The tradeoff for having celebrities there is that there is no anger or bitterness towards the people that vote a contestant off, and the contestants that are voted off chuckle instead of get ticked off that they lost out on the money. After all, they’re playing for charity, not themselves, and we suspect that some money goes to each player’s charity, even if it’s just the equivalent of an appearance fee.
Photo: Greg Gayne/FOX.Sex and Skin: None, though there is an exchange about a question that you might have to gloss over if you’re watching with your kids and they ask you about it.
Parting Shot: Lynch enthusiastically says, “Despite what Journey says, you can stop believing.”
Sleeper Star: Amber Riley is whip smart, and in one round, she voted to eliminate Alex Newell because they won a Tony before she did.
Most Pilot-y Line: Every eliminated contestant was instructed to give the “L for loser” symbol on their foreheads as an annoying callback to Glee.
Our Call: STREAM IT. What didn’t work for the civilian version of Weakest Link works just fine for Celebrity Weakest Link, even if the stakes are much lower because the celebs are playing for charity.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.
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