'Press Your Luck,' 'Card Sharks' Revivals Set at ABC

A Game Show Network already exists on cable, but if it didn't, ABC could justifiably lay claim to the title.


The broadcaster has ordered new versions of Press Your Luck and Card Sharks, adding to a game-show lineup that already includes The $100,000 Pyramid, Celebrity Family Feud, Child Support, Match Game and To Tell the Truth.


Both shows are in preproduction and will premiere in the summer, with exact dates still to be determined. The two series are produced by Fremantle, which owns rights to the classic versions of the shows and runs them on its digital and streaming channel Buzzr. (GSN also airs episodes of both.)


Press Your Luck first aired from 1983-86 as part of CBS' daytime lineup. It featured contestants answering trivia questions to earn spins on a board where they could win cash and prizes — or lose everything at once if they landed on a "Whammy," a cartoon character that drained the contestant's winnings. Because of the Whammy — and an incident in which contestant Michael Larson memorized the board's pattern and used it to win more than $100,000 — the show permeated pop culture for a time in the mid-'80s.


John Quinn (Celebrity Name Game) will be the showrunner for Press Your Luck and executive produce with Fremantle's Jennifer Mullin.


Card Sharks originally ran on NBC from 1978-81, with revivals in 1986 and 2001. Contestants would answer survey questions and then guess whether the next card in a row of oversized playing cards is higher or lower than the previous one. The player who got to the end of their row of cards first won the game. Scott St. John (Match Game), Mullin and Jack Martin will exec produce.