News / TV

Jamie Foxx: Oscar winner, soon game show host for FOX’s “Beat Shazam”

You’ve seen Academy Award winning actors and actresses in TV ad campaigns, perform stand-up comedy, guest host sketch shows and award shows. But until now, you’ve never seen someone go from Oscar to game show host.

Jamie Foxx will host Beat Shazam this summer on FOX.

Foxx, who broke through on FOX a quarter-century ago as a cast member on In Living Color before starring in his own sitcom and later winning the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Ray Charles in the biopic Ray, will be front and center in the new interactive game show set for primetime and based upon the popular app, Shazam.

FOX announced the moves today during its annual winter session with the TV Critics Association.

“Jamie is a quadruple-threat and creative genius,” said executive producer Mark Burnett said in a statement. “He is an incredible actor, comedian, singer and dancer. Also, his musical knowledge is so great that he could probably… Beat Shazam.”

“Shazam is one of the most beloved apps in the marketplace, and can identify millions of songs in a matter of seconds – whether you’re using it to discover a new band or to identify a newly released hit from your favorite artist,” noted Don’t Forget the Lyrics creator Jeff Apploff. “It reaches more than 160 million music lovers worldwide, and combined with Jamie Foxx’s amazing talent and worldwide star power, we simply can’t imagine a greater team to create the next big music game show.”

Beat Shazam will have teams of two contestants face off against each other and the clock in a name-that-tune game, and winning teams then face off against the Shazam app itself. Apploff, Burnett, Foxx, Rich Riley and Lauren Zalaznick executive produce, with production from MGM TV and Shazam Entertainment Limited.

 

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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