ABC Sets Premiere Dates For ‘The Bachelor’, ‘American Idol’, ‘To Tell The Truth’ & New Game Shows
ABC has set early-2021 premiere dates for new seasons of its reality hits The Bachelor and American Idol, along with the return of To Tell the Truth and the debuts of three new game shows: Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, The Chase and The Hustler.
Matt James is the new Bachelor in Season 25 of the franchise-launching juggernaut, which returns on Monday, January 4. The fourth season of the ABC version of American Idol will tune up on Valentine’s Day Sunday, February 14, with Luke Bryan, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Ryan Seacrest and Bobby Bones.
‘To Tell the Truth’
ABC
The sixth primetime season of the game show stalwart To Tell the Truth, with Anthony Anderson and Mama Doris, kicks off on Tuesday, January 26.
Three weeks before that, ABC will introduce three new hourlong game shows on Thursday, January 7. Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, is a spinoff that marks the longtime syndie sensation’s primetime debut. It’ll be followed at 9 p.m. by The Chase, which has Jeopardy! GOATs James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter taking turns competing against regular contestants in the U.S. version of the British format. The night will wrap with The Hustler at 10 p.m., hosted by former Late Late Show frontman Craig Ferguson.
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Here are details about the three new series, followed a rundown of ABC’s unscripted lineup for the winter:
CELEBRITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune takes a new spin on the iconic game show Wheel of Fortune with the primetime debut of America’s Game. Hosted by Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune welcomes celebrity contestants to come spin the world’s most famous wheel and solve word puzzles for a chance to win up to one million dollars. All of the money won by the celebrity contestants will go to a charity of their choice.
THE CHASE
The Chase is a heart-racing quiz show where three competitors must pit their wits and face off against the Chaser, a ruthless quiz genius determined to stop them from winning cash prizes. Each hourlong episode is a fast-paced battle of brainpower, where contestants are challenged to think faster than they ever thought possible to answer up to 166 questions across all topics.
Ferguson
ABC
THE HUSTLER
Hosted by Emmy-winning host, actor, writer and comedian Craig Ferguson, The Hustler breaks the game show mold by featuring one player who secretly already knows the answers. Don’t be fooled. Just because they have a leg up doesn’t mean they’ll be taking home the prize. Each episode of The Hustler follows five contestants as they collaborate to answer a series of trivia questions worth $10,000 each, with the goal of building a collective prize pot that increases with each correct answer. The catch? One of the five contestants, the Hustler, already knows the answers but must keep their identity a secret in order to have a shot at winning the grand prize. Throughout each episode, two contestants are anonymously eliminated by the Hustler, leaving three remaining contestants — the Hustler and two others, who must collectively decide who they think the Hustler is. If they are right, they share the prize pot that could be worth over $100,000. If the two contestants are wrong, the Hustler goes home with the full cash reward.
MONDAY, JANUARY 4
8-10 p.m.: The Bachelor (season premiere)
THURSDAY, JANUARY 7
8-9 p.m.: Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (Series premiere)
9-10 p.m.: The Chase (Series premiere)
10-11 p.m.: The Hustler (Series premiere)
TUESDAY, JANUARY 26
8-9 p.m.: To Tell the Truth (Season 6 premiere)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 14
8-10 p.m.: American Idol (Season 4 premiere on ABC)
