ABC Cancels Four Game Shows Including Alec Baldwin-Hosted Series

Four of ABC's veteran game shows are reportedly not coming back for this summer. According to a new report from Variety, the network's iterations of Match Game, Card Sharks, Celebrity Dating Game, and The Hustler are deemed "unlikely" to be returning. Meanwhile, three of ABC's other game shows — Celebrity Family Feud, Press Your Luck, and The $100,00 Pyramid — are believed to be returning. This comes in anticipation of the network's summer programming, which has heavily relied on game shows over recent years.

The network's iteration of Match Game aired for five seasons since 2016, and was hosted by actor Alec Baldwin. According to Variety's reporting, the cancellation of Match Game is unrelated to Baldwin's accidental shooting incident which killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust last year. Match Game has not been in production since 2020, with its most recent episodes being filmed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABC's Card Sharks revival was hosted by Joel McHale, and featured players trying to win a cash prize by wagering on the cards that are about to be flipped over. The recent iteration of the series has aired 21 episodes since the summer of 2019.

Celebrity Dating Game first premiered in 2021, and applied the Dating Game format to celebrity contestants, as they quiz potential suitors and the civilians try to guess the stars behind the wall. The series was hosted by Zooey Deschanel and Michael Bolton.

The Hustler, which was hosted by Craig Ferguson, saw contestants collaborate to answer questions and put money in a pot – but it turns out one of them is a mole who knows the answers and is trying to hide their identity and win the prize. A total of 19 episodes aired since January of 2021.

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