Hosted by The Masked Singer presenter, Joel Dommett, the ITV game show In With A Shout flew onto our screens in April 2023. Since its premiere, it has left viewers divided – with some claiming to have switched off in the first five minutes, yet others praising the new lease of life breathed into well-used game show formats.
The Reinvention of Game Shows
Over the years, game shows have constantly been reinvigorated and reinvented, with everyone trying to come up with a new and innovative concept for the next big game show. However, even classic game show formats have spawned various other types of media, such as the online casino game, Live Crazy Time, of which the gameplay follows a vintage game show vibe. Hosted by a live host kitted out in classic showman-esque clothes and a pencil tache, hitting the big red button spins the giant wheel. What started its life as a prize wheel game in many travelling carnivals and circus shows, this is a highly common prop in game shows of old and new – think Fox’s Spin the Wheel, BBC’s The Wheel, and Wheel of Fortune (both the American and British iterations), to name a few.
However, as game shows have continued to develop, the wheels have become less about giving out random prizes, and are more so used as a narrative device to dictate who is in with a chance at answering the next quiz question. This does not guarantee a prize – the contestant must instead answer the question correctly. For many viewers at home, this can bring a new layer of excitement, but also frustration, leading to a trope of game shows making viewers physically shout the answers at the TV. As you may have already guessed, this is the unique and fresh perspective that In With A Shout takes advantage of.
How Does it Work?
In With A Shout sees two families per episode – three people on each team – pitted against one another for a chance to win £20,000. In order to do so, contestants must literally shout at TV screens, with each contestant getting to play one round each. Each contestant must choose one of the categories from the ten TV screens in the room. Then, they are shown a series of clips lasting just four seconds each. It is the contestant’s job to identify what is being shown in the clip and shout out the answer correctly within those four seconds. Every correct answer recorded means one step higher on the money ladder. At the end, the family who has built up the most money will move forward to the final round for the opportunity to win four times their original prize pot. If they complete the final round, they win the money – but if they don’t, then they go home with nothing. Although an innovative and unique concept, In With A Shout has audiences divided. Many have taken to Twitter to complain about how loud and confusing the show is – whilst others are disappointed that it is merely people shouting at TV screens. On the other hand, some have praised the show for its fresh take on game shows, saying it has potential, even if it might not have fully realised it yet. As the news in February that The Wheel, The Weakest Link, and Blankety Blank have all been renewed by the BBC for new seasons, nothing has been revealed yet about whether ITV will take In With A Shout forward for a second series