Georgia has now become a hot spot for game shows

Rodney Ho, Tribune News Service

Georgia is losing the battle for big-budget films to other countries and states, but it has found a consolation prize: game shows. At least seven game shows have shot here in the past year including “Family Feud,” “25 Words or Less,” “Flip Side” and the Fox prime-time program “The 1% Club.” Game show budgets are a pittance compared to, say, “The Avengers,” but they provide locals a chance to not only win a few bucks, but show up on TV. As broadcast networks seek cheap original programming amid shrinking viewers and ad revenue, game shows remain a cost-effective avenue to produce oodles of content in a short period of time.

“Game shows are both fun and efficient to create,” said David Bulhack, an executive producer of the new game show “Scrambled Up.” “We are seeing the benefit of coming down to Georgia.” But even game shows require creative teamwork to launch in 2025. “Scrambled Up” needed four companies to get off the ground: Keller/Noll for the game show concept, Bulhack’s Big Fish Entertainment for distribution, Atlanta-based Crazy Legs Productions to pin down Electric Owl Studios to shoot the show and former Disney chief Michael Eisner’s Tornante Company for up-front investment cash.

“The goal remains the same: develop a great game show for the whole family that will attract the widest possible global audience,” said “Scrambled Up” creator David Noll, who hopes to turn the game show into a successful app. (“Bingo Blitz” began as a mobile app and was adapted for TV.) For decades, most game shows were shot in Los Angeles. But California tax credits favor scripted shows, while Georgia does not.

Game show producers are drawn by Georgia’s generous tax credits and the sizable volume of potential game show contestants within driving distance of Atlanta.

Shows often need to find at least 700 different American contestants a year, which makes camping overseas economically daunting. For most of these lower-budget productions, players have to pay their own way to get to the studio. As a result, the contestant pool, producers say, is diverse and not overly saturated with would-be actors and models that tend to show up in Los Angeles.

“You see so many more salt of the earth people,” said Eric Pierce, a GSN executive producer who oversaw “Flip Side” at Trilith Studios this past June. “One of my favorite parts of the show each morning was going into the contestant holding room and seeing such a wide variety of players from 18 to 80.”

Sean Ricci, 32, who works in finance, drove five hours from Jacksonville, Florida, to Atlanta to compete in “Scrambled Up” in early September. He took a day off from work and crashed at a friend’s pad overnight. During the taping, host Michael Yo asked for Ricci’s favorite song. Ricci said, “Trap Queen” by Fetty Wap, then sang a bit of it while Yo laughed and the audience egged him on. When asked how Ricci would use his winnings, he said he’d go to Turkey to get hair plugs because the procedure is more affordable there. The producers guffawed in the control room. “I had a blast,” Ricci said after the game ended. “It was so much fun. The scrambles really test the brain.” Deborah Norville, a Dalton native and host of the new syndicated game show “The Perfect Line,” did notice an unusual number of serious cosplayers while shooting at Trilith Studios. “Must be because of Dragon Con,” she mused.

Jaleel White, who hosted the second season of “Flip Side” locally after shooting Season 1 in Los Angeles, was bowled away by the Southern hospitality: “I had one Southern grandma come back the next day after playing with a plate of ribs, potato salad and greens. Another guy made me this amazing sweet potato pecan pie.” Julie Plinto, a 46-year-old Powder Springs high school math teacher, spent years trying to get on game shows like “Match Game,” “Press Your Luck” and “Card Sharks” to no avail. But with geography suddenly to her advantage, Plinto has competed on three shows shot locally over the past year: “25 Words or Less,” “Flip Side” and “Scrambled Up,”

“They ask if I could go on with 24-hour notice,” she said. “As a teacher, I can do that in the summer. And it helps I’m in driving distance.”

The potential prizes for most of the shows are not life-changing, mostly peaking at $10,000 before taxes. Plinto was surprised to learn that there was no consolation money for the nonwinners on “Scrambled Up” and “Flip Side.” (Both shows are new, and producers hope to be more generous if they make it to a second season.) Appearing with her friend and co-worker Crystal Frizie, Plinto last year pocketed $10,000 on her first “25 Words or Less” appearance playing with “Superstore” actor Colton Dunn. She used her half of the winnings to take her family on a Disney cruise.

The cash was besides the point, she said: “I really was auditioning for the experience of being on a game show.”