Some of these alterations include eliminating points for correct answers and winning hands and awarding a bonus prize for the first contestant to “Catch 21” exactly in the front game. While that particular Game Show Network revival did too much and ruined a perfectly solid format in the process, I believe the 2019 return of Catch 21 fell short and may have done too little.Ĭatch 21 in 2019: Like being dealt a 3 when you’ve doubled down on an Ace, you’ll be disappointed after having high expectationsĬo-produced by Merrill Heatter, who was also one of the creative minds behind Catch 21‘s 1970s predecessor Gambit, this iteration of the series retains its original host Alfonso Ribeiro while making several minor changes to the game play. Despite the blue-collar comedian serving as a respectable host of the 2011 version, the one-season revival was disappointing and unnecessarily dumbed-down, considering the format was already easy and simple enough for anyone to play. Their first revival aired about nine years ago with the 2011 Bill Engvall reboot of Lingo in an attempt to replicate the success of the show’s original five-season run from 2002-2007. This marks the second time in the cable network’s 26-year history that Game Show Network has revived a series from its own library of original programming.
