Passion Offers Game-Show Format

LONDON, September 24:
Passion Distribution will launch a new U.S. game-show format, Smartest Guy
in Town, at MIPCOM.

The format is from Jon
Hotchkiss of Hotchkiss Industries, the executive producer and creator of NBC’s My
Dad is Better than Your Dad, which
sold into 25 territories around the globe. Hotchkiss hopes Smartest Guy in
Town will be as successful.

The series travels across
the country to find the smartest guy in town. It involves the whole community
as they cheer on their family member, work colleague or neighbor to win the
title. It could be the high school teacher, the 10-year-old schoolgirl or the
stay-at-home mom. As well as a cash prize the smartest guy in town goes on to a
final round that if he wins would benefit the whole community. The new hero of
the town will then decide what to spend additional winnings on… for the
community. It could be new sports equipment, a refurbished community hall or
regenerating open space.

“Smartest Guy is more than a game show—it’s also a dynamic
and unique storytelling format, that’s part documentary and travel show, too,”
Hotchkiss said. “We take the traditional iconic elements of a game show and set
them up on farms, street corners, in public parks, and the like. You can have a
game show anywhere—as long as you have dynamic and challenging games, a
huge spinning wheel, a gorgeous prize model, some challenging trivia questions
and a few podiums with buzzers and lights. Smartest Guy has all of that, plus much more.”

—By Jackie Stewart