King of the Nerds
King of the Nerds is an American reality competition series co-produced by Electus and 5x5 Media. It was inspired by the Revenge of the Nerds films. The show is hosted by actors and executive producers Robert Carradine and Curtis Armstrong, known for their roles as Lewis Skolnick and Dudley "Booger" Dawson, respectively, in Revenge of the Nerds. The series premiered on January 17, 2013, on TBS. The show features nerds and geeks with diverse backgrounds and interests competing in various challenges for a cash prize of $100,000 and the title of "King of the Nerds". Following a three-season run, the series was cancelled by TBS.
Premise
King of the Nerds follows contestants as they compete in a series of intellectual challenges to win a $100,000 prize. The show uses a progressive elimination format. The contestants are initially separated into two teams. In each episode, the contestants compete in a team challenge called the "Nerd War". The winners of the Nerd War are granted immunity from elimination and typically receive a reward for their victory. Two players from the losing team are then selected to compete in a head-to-head elimination challenge called the "Nerd-Off"; one player is selected by vote from the losing team, while the other is selected by vote from the winning team. The loser of the Nerd-Off is eliminated from the competition. Upon reaching the penultimate episode, the teams are officially disbanded.The series has used different finale formats over its first two seasons. In the first season, the eliminated competitors returned as a jury to vote for the winner of the competition. However, in response to controversy over the use of what fans deem to be a "popularity contest", the winners from the second season onward were determined through challenges rather than a jury vote.
Development and production
The concept for a reality television show based on Revenge of the Nerds was originally pitched by Curtis Armstrong and Robert Carradine in the mid-2000s. However, the idea gained little traction at the time, owing to the then-running reality television program Beauty and the Geek. According to Armstrong, networks felt that having "two nerd shows would be a drag on the market." After roughly six years passed, Armstrong and Carradine decided to pitch the show again, and were met with more immediate responses. After finding ratings success with its syndicated reruns of the recently acquired The Big Bang Theory, TBS green-lit King of the Nerds in March 2012. Designed as a companion series for The Big Bang Theory, the show was the network's first unscripted competition series in seven years. The first season was shot on the campus of Ambassador College in Pasadena, California. To promote the new series, contestant Celeste Anderson appeared on the February 12, 2013, episode of Conan.TBS ordered a second season of King of the Nerds in February 2013. It was filmed at Occidental College in Los Angeles, California, after the production staff were unable to secure the location from the previous year. Season 2 premiered on January 23, 2014. Preliminary casting for a potential third season began in April 2014. In June 2014, TBS formally announced the show's renewal. Filming, once again taking place at Occidental College, began in late July 2014 and concluded in early August. In promotion of the season, TBS partnered with Twitch for a preview screening of the season's first episode and a chat session with hosts Armstrong and Carradine on January 16, 2015, marking Twitch's first live television viewing event. Season 3 premiered on January 23, 2015.
On September 4, 2015, Armstrong announced that the show would not return for a fourth season, tweeting the message: "Dearest Nerds! Deeply sorry to announce that @KingOfNerdsTBS will not be returning for a 4th season. Hard to find words now. #NerdsRule" The show's cancellation has been attributed to Turner Broadcasting System's rebranding project for TBS and the resultant changes to the channel's comedy programming.