The Hustler

Let me start by admitting that I am a huge Craig Ferguson fan. I used to say that Letterman was the king of late-night, but that was until Craig came along. Although Craig's not the sole reason I like this show, I can't think of anyone else who could pull this show off in such an entertaining way. Its a great premise for a show... brings back memories of To Tell the Truth. I love the set, the way Craig roams the stage and plants ideas, and the fact that the Hustler knows the answers and picks who leaves the early rounds. Well done in my opinion and I hope it gets renewed!

When this started, although liking Ferguson, I found it initially slow going but as each episode proceeds, I was finding myself more and more invested in working out who the hustler was. In fact, it was confirming or, frustrating and infuriating all in a good way, as each question offered snippets into who the hustler was but also led to doubts, at times, if my choice was still correct - would a person looking or aged like that do or think that? Ahh! Each episode definitely follows the growing pattern of hold and investment with you, as you get to know and hear more about the contestants and see how much money and how many questions and answers they'll either push or let go. The format including the clause, that two of the last three need to be in consensus of who the hustler is at the end is really clever too. The final back n' forth between the contestants is great fun and tension building to have you shouting at the screen - it's them,!! Ferguson is ideal for this, as he uses his quick witted smarts to keep it fun and doesn't sit on the fence like many gameshow hosts but offers up his theories of who he thinks could be misleading the others.

The show is humorous yet tense in the right amount and it's getting better with every episode.

An eye opener to how much ordinary people are capable of fooling everyone. I won't believe anyone anymore.

Love this show. Watched all 3 episodes so far and can't get enough. I wish it was on 5 nights a week. Craig Ferguson is perfect as host! It's light, funny, and 60 minutes of intrigue. They've also done a great job of having enough of a diverse cast, it's far from obvious who "The Hustler" is.

Craig Ferguson is awesome. I've been waiting for him to come back to tv and host something. This show is unique. I've personally never seen another game show like this one. It's set up kind of like a murder mystery. It's obvious that's the vibe they're going for, even completing the look of the show with secret doors behind the bookcase (how the contestants who get voted off leave the stage). Five contestants work together to answer trivia questions and bank $10,000 for correct answers. One of the five players actually already knows all of the answers. They are the "hustler" trying not to reveal this secret. Throughout gameplay, facts are given about the hustler's personal life, meant to serve as clues for which of the contestants is the hustler. It's a lot of fun trying to guess who the hustler is. The people playing are actually quite good at faking it because I've not successfully guessed yet who the hustler was. It's always exciting in the end to find out who it was. There are two contestants left at the end of the game, along with the hustler and if the two can successfully agree on who the hustler is, they split the money between them. If the hustler ends up fooling one or both of them and they don't agree, the hustler has successfully "hustled" the other players and leaves with all of the money. The game gets pretty intense in the final round because of the accusations and everyone trying to convince the other two that they are not the hustler. It's a lot of fun to watch. Don't knock it til you watch it!