'Ted Lasso' star wins big on 'Wheel of Fortune' — and more from a busy night of celebrity game shows
Laughs aplenty as several season premieres feature celebrity competitors.
It was a busy night for celebrity-centric game shows Wednesday, with four different ones premiering new seasons on major networks in primetime. And while one particular celeb — Brendan Hunt of Ted Lasso fame — clearly shined the brightest, there is plenty to unpack from the night, including the first-ever episode of David Spade’s Snake Oil.
So here is a look at the big winners, losers and more from a fun-filled evening.
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune
Contestants Hunt, Melissa Villase?or and Joe Buck were spinnin’ the wheel for the celebrity version’s fourth season kick-off. And it didn’t take long for Villase?or to not only confess to having a childhood crush on host Pat Sajak, but to carry out what appeared to be a premeditated plan to switch places with Hunt so she could be closer to Sajak. It was a move worthy of the…
Clip of the Night:
But dominating the gameplay, not only on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune but in comparison to all of the night’s game shows, was Hunt the…
Winner of the Night: He made it to the bonus round of both games played during the episode, getting the final puzzle right both times and ultimately winning $328,200. He was playing for a charity called Steps of Faith Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps amputees who don’t have health insurance get prosthetic limbs.
Sajak asked about the status of Ted Lasso and what Hunt’s plans are next if indeed the show is finished, but the actor didn’t have too much to say about either, joking, “I really should figure out a next thing.”
To which the soon-to-be retired Sajak replied, “You and me both.”
Snake Oil
Premiering on Fox was the new game show Snake Oil, hosted by Spade. It features regular contestants trying to decipher which is real and which is fake between two products, aided by the help of what they call a Celebrity Business Advisor.
One of those celebrities was actor and comedian Rob Riggle who, by no fault of his own, became part of the…
Quip of the Night: When Riggle was announced, he came out on crutches, but an un-sympathetic Spade wasn’t about to let the moment slide without a few comments like, “Take your time, Rob” and “Thanks Rob, show’s over,” before ending with, “I think everyone wants to know where you got your big break.”
“Typical story, I was finishing up a bar fight,” Riggle joked. “No big whoop.”
But it was the night’s other celebrity, Michelle Williams of Destiny’s Child fame, who “advised” her contestant to the first-ever Snake Oil victory. The contestant, Michael, ended up winning $135,000 and was brought to tears while discussing his win.
Celebrity Jeopardy!
A trio of actors — Mark Duplass, Emily Hampshire and Utkarsh Ambudkar — appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy!, where Ambudkar narrowly escaped with a win by a margin of just $4. And he’s fortunate he was able to be in that position, because two different times during the show he gave what were initially deemed to be wrong answers that were later accepted as correct as the show was coming back from commercial breaks.
And while his win was impressive, Hampshire’s performance left a little bit to be desired. In fact, only because there has to be one, she is the…
Loser of the Night: The Schitt’s Creek actor got most of her attempted answers wrong and her money earnings were in the red the entire hour, at one point going as low as -$2,600. But because she was playing for charity they gave her $500 to compete in Final Jeopardy!, where she was the only one to incorrectly answer a question about black holes, wagering away her $500 in the process. But, she was wonderful as Stevie Budd on Schitt’s Creek, and that’s really all that matters.
$100,000 Pyramid
This marks the seventh season for the current incarnation of this long-running game show, once again hosted by Michael Strahan.
In the first game, Tiffany Haddish and Jesse Tyler Ferguson went up against each other while teamed up with regular contestants. In the end, Ferguson and his partner won the $50,000 final with seven seconds to spare.
The episode's second game featured Wayne Brady and Joel Kim Booster. The final $50,000 round came down to Booster and his partner, with Booster correctly guessing all the clues with 16 seconds left, resulting in the $50,000 prize.
Celebrity Jeopardy!, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune and The $100,000 Pyramid air Wednesdays on ABC; Snake Oil airs Wednesdays on Fox.
