Hollywood Squares (2025) All Episodes Discussion

[shapeshifter]

Here's a thread to discuss any and all episodes of the 2025 reboot of Hollywood Squares.

6 hours ago, opus said:

New episode tomorrow (Sun. 1/19) after the football game. Scheduled for 10 ET but if recording always assume overrun in such situations.

The Futon Critic is showing:

• date      (day)    time       networ  episode title

  2/26/25 (We.)  10:00 PM  CBS   TBA

  2/19/25 (We.)  10:00 PM  CBS    TBA

  2/12/25 (We.)  10:00 PM  CBS    TBA

  2/5/25 (We.)  10:00 PM   CBS     TBA

  1/29/25 (We.)  10:00 PM CBS    (#115/102) It's a Hot Gentleman's Sweater / They Always Choose Me, Boo!

  1/23/25 (Th.). 8:00 PM    CBS    (#109/101) It's a Kiss Party / Sixty for Swifty

  1/23/25 (Th.). 8:00 PM    CBS    (#119/117) Didn't Work If Nelly Didn't Laugh / The Price Was Wrong Drew

  1/19/25 (Su.). 10:00 PM    CBS   (#109/101) Sixty for Swifty/It's a Kiss Party

  1/16/25 (Th.). 8:00 PM      CBS   (#110/116) It's a Dysfunctional Family Show/The Mayor of the Sun

Edited January 19 by shapeshifter

[chitowngirl]

I was surprised at how little game there actually was. First episode they only got through one game and the second they were in the middle of two. I know there’s the bonus round, but do they really need to chit chat with EVERY celebrity?

[iMonrey]

It's essentially just a simple trivia game, so the game itself is not particularly interesting IMO. II think the show relies heavily on the celebrities being entertaining which is why they book so many comics and so much of the first show I saw was spent on them giving each other a hard time and interacting with each other. I also got a kick out of them ribbing the host about his yellow suit.

[opus]

Has that ever been the bonus game format before? I think in one of the versions (maybe Tom Bergeron) you played to try to get the correct keys to a car.

[surfgirl]

I'm not sure any reboot of this show will ever top it at the height of it's popularity back in the day.

ETA: I watched tonight, it was abysmally bad. The OG cast were so smart, witty, Gaston their feet, and au courant with the zeitgeist of the time. None of these squares are at that level and I found most on the vapid side, alas.

Edited January 20 by surfgirl

[iMonrey]

I thought it was OK. It does make me wonder how much the celebs get paid for this and what else might motivate them. Tyra Banks? I was so glad when they dumped her ass as host of Dancing With The Stars. And I think the celebs know about as many correct answers as the celebs in the original version. In both cases I suspect they are fed the correct answers. If they just made up wild crap the contestant would be able to tell they were wrong.

I also admit to a mild case of schadenfreude when a celeb I don't like never gets called on (i.e. Kevin Nealon). 

[KeithJ]

How did they find so many players that don’t seem to know any strategy of tic tac toe?

[JAYJAY1979]

The center square should be reserved for someone that is quick witted and funny.  Drew Barrymore is none of those things.  

Another example of lowering standards in society.  Paul Lynde, Joan Rivers, Whoopi Goldberg, and Martin Mull were perfect for center square unlike Barrymore.

[Browncoat]

I had no idea Triumph the "comic" dog was even still a thing.  I don't know why it ever was a thing.

[shapeshifter]

2 hours ago, Browncoat said:

I had no idea Triumph the "comic" dog was even still a thing.  I don't know why it ever was a thing.

Well, we still have Muppets. 

[Browncoat]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

Well, we still have Muppets. 

Yes, but Muppets are awesome.

[roughing it]

On 1/21/2025 at 10:37 AM, JAYJAY1979 said:

The center square should be reserved for someone that is quick witted and funny.  Drew Barrymore is none of those things.

Drew is the executive producer.

[JAYJAY1979]

19 minutes ago, roughing it said:

Drew is the executive producer.

She isn't a good one then.

[SnarkShark]

Center Square should NEVER not be a comedian (yes, Paul Lynde counted).

It's not just about the most airtime.  It's about the person getting that maximum airtime landing a joke every time.

[Ms Lark]

For months I wondered who in their infinite lack of wisdom would put Drew Barrymore in the center square? Center has to be sharp, fast, quick-witted, and very funny. Drew is none of these. WTF?

Then I found out it was it is no more than an obvious vanity project. Explains everything. I don't think it will thrive, although she still has that dreadful talk show. Who knows? I sure as hell don't care for it, even with the "real comedians."

Drew needs to stick to B-level rom-coms and that ilk.

[ams1001]

I find the apparent need to include an adjective each time they pick a star annoying.

This Jordan chick is terrible at this.

[SoMuchTV]

I generally like Bobby Moynihan, but I thought that wasn’t so cool of him to act so confident on the prize square (or whatever it’s called) and lead the contestant to agreeing with him. On the other hand, maybe he was confident but just wrong. My original guess was what turned out to be the correct answer, but he was so confident (having been in a related movie) that he might have swayed me too!

[iMonrey]

On 1/23/2025 at 5:14 AM, Ms Lark said:

Then I found out it was it is no more than an obvious vanity project. Explains everything. I don't think it will thrive, although she still has that dreadful talk show. Who knows? I sure as hell don't care for it, even with the "real comedians."

Drew needs to stick to B-level rom-coms and that ilk.

I think Drew has aged out of romcoms at this point. I actually don't dislike her, in general, but she's a lot on this show. And I hate how she has to run down and hug the winner after every game. Talk about making it all about herself as much as possible. 

Now, Drew Carey would be a great center square, although I guess he's got better things to do. I'm surprised he's been on this show as much as he has.

Pete Holmes is pretty hit or miss. He's a lot, too.

[Ms Lark]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I think Drew has aged out of romcoms at this point.

I debated correcting it to romcom moms or momcoms! I think she probably still sees herself as a dingbat ingenue, though.

[seacliffsal]

I've been impressed with some of the guest stars they have gotten so far.  Maybe one of them should be the center square?  Drew is just too much for me-she has to yell/scream every time any square is chosen.  Her need for attention is A LOT.  I think she must be exhausting to be around.  Even though I enjoy elements of the show and a lot of the guest stars, I probably won't be able to watch for much longer just because of Drew (everyone HAS to say nice things about her and she reacts to every single thing...).

[Soapy Goddess]

19 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

I've been impressed with some of the guest stars they have gotten so far.  Maybe one of them should be the center square?  Drew is just too much for me-she has to yell/scream every time any square is chosen.  Her need for attention is A LOT.  I think she must be exhausting to be around.  Even though I enjoy elements of the show and a lot of the guest stars, I probably won't be able to watch for much longer just because of Drew (everyone HAS to say nice things about her and she reacts to every single thing...).

Agree wholeheartedly. That's why I DVR this show and fast-forwarded any/all questions addressed to Drew. 

And if she's really the Exec. Producer, she's lousy at it because she should realize that the OG squares always had a comedian as center square.

[Diana Berry]

I’ve never understood if the celebs know the answer or not esp on the non true or  false? If they are given the answers when do they decide to give the wrong answer? Isn’t that unfair to just pick and choose when to be right or wrong ? 

[opus]

1 hour ago, Diana Berry said:

I’ve never understood if the celebs know the answer or not esp on the non true or  false? If they are given the answers when do they decide to give the wrong answer? Isn’t that unfair to just pick and choose when to be right or wrong ? 

That confuses me too. No offense to Rita Moreno, but I find it hard to believe she knew off the top of her head that sea otters have the densest fur of any mammal.

[chessiegal]

On 1/22/2025 at 6:23 PM, roughing it said:

Drew is the executive producer.

I watched a rerun today. As they ran the credits at the end, Drew was one of many executive producers - I think there were at least six if not more.

[iMonrey]

Oh dear Lord please don't put Luenell on this show. Jon Lovett has her on his podcast sometimes and she is barely even coherent. I don't think she's been sober in years. Also, just typing the name "JB Smoove" makes me cringe. 

The first female contestant said her wife had been quizzing her on tic tac toe. How? How do you quiz someone on tic tic toe? 

[chessiegal]

5 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

How do you quiz someone on tic tic toe? 

Considering some contestants don't understand when they need to block, I'd say just explaining the game could count as quizzing.

[iMonrey]

I had to do some YouTube surfing but I did learn that the show is using the original Hollywood Squares theme music from the 1960s. I like that. The latest iterations of Match Game and Pyramid did the same. Typically reboots of old properties want to update the music and the sets and make them more modern, but I appreciate the classic treatment.

[Soapy Goddess]

This show sucks. I sat through several episodes, but Drew's over-the-top antics  make it cringeworthy. 

[shapeshifter]

1 hour ago, Soapy Goddess said:

This show sucks. I sat through several episodes, but Drew's over-the-top antics  make it cringeworthy. 

Brett Sommers was even more obnoxious on the old Match Game — which was a bug, not a positive feature of the show, and host Gene Rayburn regularly made embarrassing comments about contestants and told long-winded, irrelevant anecdotes. Just because annoying personalities like theirs exist in thousands of still-viewed reruns does not mean they should be emulated. The reruns survive in spite of them, not because of them.

Edited February 2 by shapeshifter

[tom quatratta]

I'm surprised at how many contestants have no idea how to play Tic Tac Toe!

[iMonrey]

13 hours ago, tom quatratta said:

I'm surprised at how many contestants have no idea how to play Tic Tac Toe!

I know right? What kind of dumbass doesn't know how to play Tic Tac Toe? Both of the male contestants in the latest 2 episodes repeatedly chose squares that had no way of making three in a row with the other X they had on the board, or failed to block the opponents's two squares. It's like the show deliberately goes out scouting for morons.

And I swear to God, the entire celebrity panel is coked out of their minds to be that enthusiastic and loud about being on a game show. Every last one of them is dialed up to 11.

[shapeshifter]

22 hours ago, tom quatratta said:

I'm surprised at how many contestants have no idea how to play Tic Tac Toe!

It probably doesn't help that this isn't the same rules as regular Tic-Tac-Toe.

1. If you don't definitively know the answer to the trivia question, your opponent gets the square. So starting with the middle isn't always the advantage that it is in regular Tic-Tac-Toe.
    
2. They have the rule that if you get the trivia answer wrong, but your opponent would win by getting that square, then nobody gets the square. 
   
   Nobody gets more annoyed than I do when they screw up by not choosing to block since this rule covers their butt, but it is totally understandable that they might only be thinking of the first non-standard rule.

Combined with the glitz and glamour of being in a TV studio with celebrities yelling out jokes, well, I can get why they screw up. 

Also: Isn't Tic-Tac-Toe more of a 20th century game?

 

Edited February 7 by shapeshifter

[seacliffsal]

It's a bit scary to me that Drew is always looking directly at the camera-it's like she's looking directly at me... In this episode, Pete stood at the edge of the structure and people acted concerned for him and she was 'scared' for him but instead of looking at him, yep, she was looking directly at the camera.

[KeithJ]

I have to call foul (pun intended) on the strikeouts in a game question.  Yes, the record is 21 but nobody ever talks about that because it was done in a 16 inning game. The record is considered to be 20 and has been accomplished by four players. It was multiple choice so if you knew 20 you probably would have just said 21 but I don’t think it was a great question.

Edited February 7 by KeithJ

[SnarkShark]

On 1/27/2025 at 11:24 PM, Diana Berry said:

I’ve never understood if the celebs know the answer or not esp on the non true or  false? If they are given the answers when do they decide to give the wrong answer? Isn’t that unfair to just pick and choose when to be right or wrong ? 

I believe they're actually told whether to give the correct answer or not.  And the jokes are written for them beforehand too, although if they're comedians they collaborate on them.  There's definitely footage of Bruce Villanch (a former writer on a previous version of the show... the Whoopi Goldberg one) out there somewhere talking about this.  I can't find a clip but remember one.

[iMonrey]

I've yet to see anyone lose the $25K bonus. Not saying it's rigged or anything, but it's quite a coincidence. I also want to know how they orchestrate the order in which the celebs pull their cards. Maybe they all do it at once but it's edited to look like one at a time. 

Another contestant who had to be taught how to play tic tac toe. {headsmack}

[chessiegal]

I thought I remember one episode where they didn't win the $25K. Considering this show involves real money, the FCC would have them off the air if there was any "rigging".