As recent history has taught us, revivals and reboots are not just for scripted television. Game shows have gotten in on the action too! Last year, it was announced that Saturday Night Live vet Leslie Jones would host and executive produce a reboot of Supermarket Sweep. At the time, the series did not have a TV home quite yet, and now it does!
After reported interest from Netflix, ABC, Fox, and NBC, it is the Alphabet Network that won Leslie Jones’ Supermarket Sweep! ABC announced it will be the one to broadcast Jones’ upcoming reboot with a premiere date still pending. Hopefully that means Jones will not be away from television for long after leaving Saturday Night Live.
When is Supermarket Sweep going to get started? Production is slated to begin this spring. It is currently set to span ten episodes. Leslie Jones previously opened up about leaving Saturday Night Live. Her new show will also mean leaving NBC for ABC. I have to imagine NBC fought hard to get the Jones-led reboot.
The Game of Thrones enthusiast's Supermarket Sweep coming to ABC is another sign that the game show genre is still going strong on the network. ABC acquiring Leslie Jones’ Supermarket Sweep comes after it recently announced a special return run of the long-running game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, per Deadline.
Jimmy Kimmel will host a series of Millionaire charity specials with celebrity guests. The specials are to celebrate the show’s 20th U.S. anniversary. The series begins Wednesday, April 8. Between Supermarket Sweep and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, ABC is set to get nostalgic!
It has been more than sixteen years since TV viewers got to enjoy an episode of Supermarket Sweep. In 1999, Pax revived the series. It ended in 2003. Now it is heading back to one of the big three networks and with the fantastic Leslie Jones as its host!
For those who may need a refresher on Supermarket Sweep’s premise, you have come to the right place. Leslie Jones will host as three teams comprised of two people square off. They will all work to leverage their grocery shopping knowledge in a bid to win considerable cash prizes. Competitive grocery shopping at its finest!
In recent years, ABC revived The Gong Show with Mike Myers in-character as Tommy Maitland and worked to keep the game show genre alive with other shows as well. The Alphabet Network getting on-board with Leslie Jones’ Supermarket Sweep reboot makes perfect sense. Hopefully, Disney+ will make episodes available to stream after they air! That would be another draw to the still-new streamer.
Supermarket Sweep does not have a premiere date on ABC yet, so stay tuned. Jimmy Kimmel’s celebrity-starring charity run of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire will start on Wednesday, April 8, on ABC. While you wait to get swept up in the supermarket excitement of Leslie Jones' reboot, check out this winter’s premieres.
