You win some, you lose some.
That’s the nature of game shows.
And Craig Ferguson learned on Thursday that he’ll continue hosting one, Celebrity Name Game, which received a renewal for a second season this fall via Debmar-Mercury and FremantleMedia North America. The game show that has celebrities and contestants guessing the names of other celebrities is executive produced by two other celebs, Courteney Cox and David Arquette. It debuted in September in more than 80 percent of the United States, mostly on weeknight in the post-news, pre-primetime hour.
Ferguson’s plans to revive his version of The Late Late Show as another half-hour that could pair with Celebrity Name Game? Not looking like it’s happening.
Despite buzz that Ferguson, his robot sidekick Geoff Peterson (voiced by Josh Robert Thompson) and human horse costume Secretariat could survive the leap from 12:35 a.m. to 7 or 7:30 p.m. ET/PT, sources say the deal is falling through because Tribune Media hasn’t found syndication partners to carry it on more stations than Tribune’s own in 42 U.S. markets.
Is 42 stations not enough for a soft launch, though? Hmmm. Sounds like someone doesn’t want to play the game.
Celebrity Name Game, meanwhile, returns with new episodes on Jan. 12, 2015, and pre-production for the second season already has begun.