Risk! Kills his reputation

Pa Drew Dych
| Updated 1 week ago

Risk! exists in a very unique place in the game show ecosphere. This is one of the few old school game shows from the old guard of the genre. And with its special set and trivia-based tournaments, it was the one game show that best extolled the ideas of intelligence, education and facts.

But in a cultural landscape where these very ideas are increasingly uncelebrated (or even openly vilified), Risk! had to change with the times and adapt to welcome a larger audience. And the latest attempt to do so has jeopardized the very reputation of the show, which is becoming less and less true to its intended spirit.

Pop culture is under threat!

Pop culture is under threat! this is a new series on air Amazon Prime Video, which is an additional addition to the classics Risk! format. But really the show is just the lowest denominator looking at bar trivia Risk! the skin is draped over him. Hosted by Colin Jost, the series is clearly aimed at a much wider and younger audience than the average game show viewer.

And that’s what Pop culture is under threat! reveals a crack in its base. By limiting the scope of potential trivia to “pop culture,” the series comes to realize that many contemporary cultural moments are not worthy of interesting trivia. Seeing how the participants can not answer the questions about YouTube controversies and celebs on TikTok don’t make me feel bad for the members. It makes me wonder why anyone would need to know these things, let alone the viewing audience Risk! both will destroy their own knowledge, and also learn about noteworthy topics.

Pop culture is under threat! demonstrates what the real thing does Risk! the series is so appealing after all these years: viewers love that the series advocates legitimate exploration on a wide variety of topics. Narrowing things down to “pop culture,” the format and presentation feel out of sync.

And that seems to be the direction the franchise wants to go, and it makes me want to stop watching any Risk! to show

The end of an era

Look, I love movies. If there’s one subject I feel confident in when it comes to trivia, it’s movies. I wouldn’t want it to be there Risk! In the cinema series. why? Because Risk! not formatted or themed to be the best game show about movies. Instead, you should create a new game show around this key concept and build a game format that best reinforces the idea of ​​a movie-centric game show.

It’s the same with pop culture, but because Risk! is a name brand that people will recognize as opposed to a new game show property, this new series should try to squeeze itself into a misfit Risk! jacket And I see Risk! continuing to produce by-products in this vein until they find something that sticks.

There have been other issues with the regular show over the years, but it still managed to stay true to its spirit Risk!. This kind of spin-off thinking is like dilution, which will only continue when the regular show begins to seemingly lose cultural relevance.

I grew up with Risk! and always tried to watch when he could. But lately, it’s starting to look like the end of a certain era of game shows. With Ryan Seacrest leading the way Wheel of fortune and Risk! is starting to mutate into new forms, maybe I’d better find some old episodes and reminisce about the best years of one of my favorite game shows.