Game Changer (game Show)

''Game Changer'' is an American comedy panel game show on Dropout created and hosted by Sam Reich which started in 2019. The show follows players, typically three comedians, who participate in a new game every episode, with the players usually kept unaware of the premise and rules of the game beforehand. According to ''Polygon'', the show "combines improv comedy, puzzle solving, fierce competition, and a prankster ethos." Episodes of ''Game Changer'' have led to four spinoff shows on Dropout: ''Dirty Laundry'', '' Make Some Noise'', ''Play It By Ear'', and the upcoming ''Crowd Control''. The show is currently in its seventh season.

Premise

The show is based on one central theme: the players start the game knowing nothing about it. While some episodes may deviate from this theme, most episodes follow this format. Most episodes follow three contestants playing against each other by following prompts and tasks put out by the host of the show, Sam Reich. It also sometimes parodies other shows like ''Survivor'' and ''The Bachelor''.

Occasionally, special guests will participate in the game. The very first episode featured the participants' significant others, and the inclusion of guests outside of the Dropout/CollegeHumor community began with the virtually filmed third season, which featured guests such as Tony Hawk, Michael Winslow, and Giancarlo Esposito. Other guests have included Jewel, Ty Mitchell, Bob the Drag Queen, Howie Mandel, Victor Yerrid, Sarah Natochenny, Eric Wareheim and Paul F. Tompkins.

Production

''Game Changer'' was created as an original show for the streaming service Dropout, in response to internal pressure to create more inexpensive, unscripted content compared to CollegeHumor's previous output. Early in development, the show was titled ''What the What'' and based loosely on the party game "Scissors". The show was announced on August29, 2019 and released on September20, 2019.

After CollegeHumor was sold by IAC and restructured in 2020, the company temporarily halted production of all shows. ''Game Changer'', which was affected by this, released their already-completed second season in January. The third season of the show was recorded via video conference to comply with lockdown restrictions in California during the COVID-19 pandemic; the show returned to being recorded in the studio for its fourth season. Originally, nine episodes were announced as being a part of the fifth season ahead of the season premiere in November 2022, with a 10th episode being a cut-for-time special. However, in March 2023, a special 4-part season finale titled "Game Changer: Battle Royale" was announced, with the mini-series being a sequel to season4's ''Survivor''-style season finale. Beginning with the fifth season, behind-the-scenes videos are uploaded for each episode the week after their release. Seasons 4 and 5 each concluded with "cut for time" specials featuring moments that were cut from the episodes; these moments were later integrated into the behind-the-scenes videos from season 6 onward.

During the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, production on the sixth season of ''Game Changer'' as well as most Dropout programming shut down, as the show fell "under SAG's Electronic Media contract". In July 2023, Sam Reich stated that as Dropout is not "associated with the AMPTP, it's possible we may be able to reach an interim agreement with SAG that allows us to continue to produce content during the strike. But we'll only do that, obviously, if we get the blessing of the union and the buy-in of our performers. If not, we have enough content in the can to last us a little past the end of the year". In August 2023, Reich announced that all Dropout shows had resumed production, as it was determined that their "New Media Agreement for Non-Dramatic Programming" was actually a non-struck SAG-AFTRA contract.

''Game Changer'' editor Sam Geer, who also directed season6's episodes, was promoted to executive producer in 2024. The set was expanded for the filming of season7. Reich commented that one of the production limitations of the previous set was the stage curtain entrance so this set expansion featured a new "grand entrance" to "wheel the most elaborate stuff out onto that stage". Reich stated, "the open play space and the distance between the cameras and us are so massive that to be on the stage this season, it felt a little bit like there weren't cameras in the room.... I think that contributed to a bit of just how free we felt as performers". This season also featured off-set filming and two episodes with studio audiences.

Spin Offs

Episodes of ''Game Changer'' have become the basis for a number of shows on Dropout. In 2022, Dropout produced three spin-offs based on previous episodes: ''Dirty Laundry'', a pannel game based on guessing each other's secret facts which is based on the season3 episode "Never Have I Ever"; '' Make Some Noise'', a short form improv show based on the recurring episodes of the same name from the first 4 seasons ; and ''Play it by Ear'', a musical imrpov based on the season4 episode "The Official Cast Recording". A fourth spin-off, based on the stand-up crowd work Season7 episode "Crowd Control", is set to premiere later in 2025.

Episodes

Season 1 (2019)

Season 2 (2020)

Season 3 (2020–2021)

Season3 was filmed remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Season 4 (2021–2022)

Season 5 (2022–2023)

Season 6 (2024)

Season 7 (2025)

Reception

Margaret Lyons, for ''The New York Times'', wrote, "if you've watched a lot of arena comedy specials recently, and you want something at the far other end of the spectrum, or if you've had more than one discussion about whether long-form improv could ever be effective on television, watch this". ''Polygon'''s Susana Polo called the show "one of the funniest, nicest, cleverest pieces of TV you can put your eyeballs on right now".

Emmanuel Ronquillo of ''Collider'' opined that ''Game Changer'' is a blend of "all the fun of a game show, all the humor of a comedy show, and all the excitement of live improvisation" where "each new premise and set of rules are satisfyingly executed". He commented that the show pushes "beyond the traditional limitations of a game show" due to the "flexibility" of its design. He also viewed the show's contestants as "some of the most improv savvy, comically talented, and endearingly competitive players you'll see on any contest show".

References

External links

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{{Dropout

Dropout (media company)
2010s American comedy game shows
2020s American comedy game shows
American comedy web series
2019 web series debuts
Improvisational television series