Our Little Genius
Our Little Genius is a unaired game show produced for the Fox network that was pulled before making it to air, hosted by Kevin Pollak.[1] The program was slated to premiere on Fox on January 13, 2010, at 9:15 PM Eastern following American Idol with a special 45-minute episode, with further episodes being 60 minutes.[2] However, the show was postponed on request by its creator and eventually canceled before any of its eight episodes aired due to two separate issues related to the show's integrity. Veteran reality show producer Mark Burnett ("Survivor") produces this game show in which children aged 6-12 try to answer increasingly difficult questions in their areas of expertise. The children's parents can stop the game at any time and walk away with the winnings to that point. But if the adults are gutsy enough to let their little ones answer enough questions, the tykes could win hundreds of thousands of dollars for their families.
| Our Little Genius | |
|---|---|
 Our Little Genius logo. | |
| Created by | Mark Burnett |
| Presented by | Kevin Pollak |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 8 (all unaired) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers | Mark Burnett Barry Poznick John Stevens |
| Production location | Los Angeles Center Studios |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production companies | Mark Burnett Productions Zoo Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | Fox |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) |
| Original release | January 13, 2010 (Canceled before airing: see below) |
| External links | |
| Website | |
According to Fox, child prodigies would answer trivia questions to win money for their families; their parents would be able to appeal to experts for help.[2]
Cast and crew
The show's producers were (in alphabetical order): Noah Bonnett, Mark Burnett, Lauren Franson, Ron Muccianti, Dave Schapiro, Tod Schellinger, John Stevens, Jenny Tyson and Chris Wagner. Music was produced by David Vanacore. The film editors were Robert M. Malachowski Jr. and Hudson Smith. The casting department was Jennifer Cron and Joshua Robinson.
Removal from schedule
On January 7, 2010, one week before its scheduled premiere, the show's creator, Mark Burnett, announced that he had asked Fox to postpone the release of the show due to concerns about its integrity. Burnett said that issues with how information was relayed to contestants were serious enough that he felt compelled to reshoot the episodes. Fox supported Burnett's decision, and added that all contestants would keep their winnings.[3]
The New York Times reported that some contestants may have known what questions were going to be asked (though not the answers) rather than just the topics to be covered.[3] The Los Angeles Times reported that Burnett's main concern was that contestants somehow got more information than they should have prior to taping.[4]
Due to the abrupt pulling of the series, American Idol aired for 90 minutes that night, with a repeat showing of the "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" episode of The Simpsons following at 9:30 PM.[5][6]
Allegations of cheating
The New York Times reported that a member of the production team gave a prospective contestant and his parents specific answers to at least four questions. If the show were found to be deliberately rigged, it would mark the first known instance of such a deception in America since the quiz show scandals of the late 1950s. Rigging a game show is a felony under the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. ยง 509), which was added to the law in 1960 in the wake of the scandals. The Federal Communications Commission has opened an inquiry.[7]
References
- Hibberd, James (December 3, 2009). "Kevin Pollak turns "Genius"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
- Rocchio, Christopher (November 25, 2009). "FOX to debut Mark Burnett's "Our Little Genius" game show January 13". Reality TV World. Retrieved December 17, 2009.
- Wyatt, Edward. Integrity Concerns Force Fox to Postpone Child Quiz Show. The New York Times, 2010-01-08.
- Fernandez, Maria Elena. Fox pulls 'Our Little Genius' before it premieres. Los Angeles Times, 2010-01-07.
- Gorman, Bill (7 January 2010). "Fox's Our Little Genius Pulled From Schedule, Will It Return?". Tvbythenumbers.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2010. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
- Schneider, Michael (January 7, 2010). "FOX Pulls "Our Little Genius"". Variety. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
- Wyatt, Edward F.C.C. Opens an Inquiry for a Game Show on FOX. The New York Times, 2010-02-20.