Weakest Link

In 2001, The Weakest Link made its debut in the UK and was hosted by the brutally honest Anne Robinson, who was later known as the Queen of Mean. After its success, it later launched in the US with the Queen of Mean herself as the host. Despite the heavy promotion and early high ratings, it later got canned after a year.

In 2020, NBC revived the show with a new host that has some Anne Robinson vibes while also being herself at the same time: Jane Lynch.

So, if you enjoy the original Weakest Link, then take a shot of this version.

Trivia shows are great since you can play along with the contestants. Get your answers right and you et more money!

Except on this show...

I absolutely HATE the fact that the strongest link in each round can be voted off. A person can get EVERY ANSWER RIGHT and still be voted off! The show would be improved 1000% if they made the one rule change of protecting the strongest link in each round. It would still allow someone to slip up and get voted out at any time, but reward those who excel. This should happen.

Jane Lynch is just snarky enough to make it fun without destroying the contestants. There is enough strategy so there is some thinking beyond answering the questions. There is good diversity in the contestants and just enough tough questions to be credible. Other than the fatal flaw discussed above, the show is very accessible.

Out of all of the terrible remakes of classic game shows that have been coming out (Millionaire, Supermarket Sweep, Name That Tune) and even new ones that are just awful (The Hustler), this is the only one (besides maybe Match Game) that I not only enjoy, but also look forward to each new episode. Even the new The Chase is not as compelling as its predecessors.

Love Jane Lynch as the host. Only real complaints I have are that some jokes fall flat, and I wish the question rounds were longer.

EDIT: I take back what I said about jokes falling flat. I think they perfectly add to the host's character of "I don't care if you think I'm funny, i really don't want to be here."

Show concept is great but the actual weakest link should be removed or the strongest should have power of "Vito" as when there is a tie which is decided by strongest link. Watching the smartest get eliminated with the most fortunate winning is unfulfilling and silly. The popular choice would be to see the smartest not the luckiest win. Without Jane Lynch hosting I wouldn't watch at all.

Similarly to Wheel of Fortune, a fan of game shows soon learns what 70% of a show to skip. Bringing the whole WL show down to one player who probably had little right to get all the money takes away all my interest in who votes how. If the players would coordinate at all they would realize that the most money comes from banking more often when the (early) chains' money jumps are unchanging, and delaying banking in later, longer chains with their super payoffs. Until that happens, the host's endless admonitions about how much potential money was lost are repetitive fluff. Other than that, good trivia questions being answered quickly is very entertaining.