Former NFL greats Michael Strahan and Peyton Manning head back to primetime on ABC with game shows

BySandy Kenyon OTRC logo
Monday, July 11, 2022
Former NFL greats head back to primetime on ABC with game shows
Former Quarterback Peyton Manning is one of those in charge of a wacky new game show called 'The Final Straw' and Michael Strahan returns for another season of 'The 100 Thousand Do

NEW YORK -- Two former NFL greats are heading back to primetime on ABC on Sunday night.

Former Quarterback Peyton Manning is one of those in charge of a wacky new game show called "The Final Straw" and Michael Strahan returns for another season of "The 100 Thousand Dollar Pyramid."

Strahan is following in the footsteps of the late Dick Clark, who hosted the show back in the 1970s.

"I think that this game survives because I'm a conduit to excitement of wordplay. I'm a conduit to the excitement of watching a celebrity team up with a contestant and figure out how to mind-meld to win some life-changing money," Strahan said.

Strahan says he doesn't know the words - and only knows the categories like everyone at home watching.

"I don't know the words, so as they're playing, I'm playing along with them, so my facial expressions and my excitement when they get it or they don't is genuine and real," he said.

The format may date back decades, but the newest game show to join ABC's summer line-up is called "The Final Straw."

Contestants win by removing items from a gigantic stack, without tipping it over.

"Now if the stack falls, that team is eliminated, and the last team standing will compete against the mega stack," said Executive Producer Peyton Manning.

Janelle James is the host. She is a comic based in Brooklyn, who took her career to the next level as the principal of "Abbott Elementary," but this is a very different kind of job.

"It's a family-friendly show, but it is chaos in a game show form, and the prize money is - I can't even say it without laughing, because it's a quarter of a million dollars," James said.

The prize may be a quarter of a million, but getting there is really tough.

"Something about huge things falling over that makes people want to watch," added James.