ABC and Will Arnett’s 2017 revival of The Gong Show with Mike Myers is finally here. Find out when the show airs tonight.
In ABC ‘s ongoing effort to revive every conceivable game show from your (or your parents’ ) childhood, The Gong Show is next up to the plate. Thanks in part to actor Will Arnett’s personal love of the amateur talent contest show, the 1970s hit is back with new episodes on Thursdays this summer. The first episode will air on Thursday, June 22 at 10: 00 p.m. ET, with a repeat airing on Saturday, June 24 at 8: 00 p.m. ET. Read on for a preview of the show.
The new version of The Gong Show will still be a talent contest, but with celebrity judges giving their opinions on each act. The first episode features Arnett, with The Hangover stars Ken Jeong and Zach Galifianakis as the celebrity judges. Each episode is also hosted by Tommy Maitland, a British character played by comedian Mike Myers.
In an appearance on Good Morning America, Arnett insisted that The Gong Show needed to make a comeback to give audiences an escape from reality.
“We’ re gonna have a collective nervous breakdown at this rate and we do need something. Even the talent shows that we’ ve become accustomed to have taken on a negative vibe because the judges are fighting and each contestant is pitting themselves the other contestant. Enough. Can’ t we just have a good time and have a laugh?” Arnett said on GMA. “We’ re here to combat all the negativity for an hour a week. It’s not about somebody winning at somebody else’s expense.”
The original Gong Show ran from 1976 to 1980, with creator Chuck Barris hosting. Barris died in March at age 87. There were subsequent revivals, with Don Bleu hosting a 1988-1989 edition and Dave Atell hosting 2008 episodes for Comedy Central.
The first incarnation of the show was so successful that Barris actually made a movie called The Gong Show Movie, which was a critical and commercial flop in 1980.
“I want to protect the legacy. I’ m really carrying someone else’s torch, ” Arnett told GMA. “I want to be sure I do it in a respectful way that doesn’ t tarnish the image.”
PREMIERE DATE: Thursday, June 22,2017
TIME: 10 p.m. ET
CHANNEL: ABC (Click here to find your local ABC affiliate)
EPISODE DESCRIPTION: “Will Arnett, Ken Jeong, Zach Galifianakis” – “Unique performers demonstrate their artistry in this update of the kitschy’ 70s talent show, which features the worst performances being cut short by bangs on the titular gong. In the premiere, Will Arnett, Ken Jeong, Zach Galifianakis are the judges; and acts include a unicycler, clad in a yeti suit, playing flaming bagpipes; a married couple performing a choreographed banana-spitting routine; a woman playing the harmonica with a tarantula in her mouth; and a scary wrestler singing a lullaby.”
CAST:
Mike Myers as Tommy Maitland, host
CREDITS:
Executive Producers: Will Arnett, Peter Principato
Production Company: Sony Pictures Television
Chuck Barris, the creator of The Gong Show and other classic game shows, has died. Here’s a look at his life, career and that time he said he was a CIA agent.
