Game Changer

Just started binging this, and there are some genuinely really funny episodes. Not generally a huge fan of improv comedy but it's sort of constrained enough that it all sort of fits and is funny.

My biggest issue is that most (or all) of the contestants and the host are ex-collegehumour employees who all clearly know each other fairly well. That's not an issue in and of itself, but when entire episodes are heavily reliant on in-jokes and knowing about the lives of these people ahead of time, they just aren't engaging or funny.

I've legitimately never heard of any contestant so far, and I'm paused on the first episode of season 3. The 'game' of season 3? Guess who the mystery person is. Not a celebrity, not a well known person that the viewer has a chance of knowing. Just some random person who made youtube skits for 10 year olds a while ago.

Who is that for? It's a bunch of in-jokes and details about people who nobody knows. It's like listening to a podcast by a bunch of random strangers talking about what they did in their week, why would anyone care?

So there are some seriously great episodes, but there are definitely some that can either be skipped with literally no loss or can be turned off halfway when it becomes "guess which food that one guy we know likes!"

Genuinely funny! Everyone has good personalities and they click well. The episodes are just the right length, and they also work well for background noise.

The very concept of the show means that there is no shortage of creativity and new ideas in every episode. The comedy is brilliant. Late night shows wish they had people this funny and ideas this hilarious.

You will also gain an appreciation for the different people and their unique personalities, you gain an even deeper appreciation for much of the comedy. The more episodes you watch, the more familiar you become with the eccentric cast. I've shown some episodes to dozens of friends and almost all of them end up completely hooked and begging to watch more episodes.

Sam Reisch is a brilliant host, with a laugh that encourages you to laugh along with him. Not every episode's concept is a winner, but the show as a whole is an absolute game changer for game shows.

Obviously by my rating, I'm a fan. But the entire Dropout streaming service is built on the personalities of their cast (and guests (who are usually personal friends of the cast)). If you like character-based gags and "wacky hijinks", this might be for you.

However, there's a learning curve. You must figure out who your favorite recurring cast members are. One appearance in one episode of something doesn't give a great impression.

As far as this show in particular is concerned, there are really great episodes and then there are episodes I probably won't watch again. But the premise is intriguing enough that I want to keep watching and see if my favorite cast members show up.

Yes, the game show is "scripted" to some extent in that there's always some gimmick that the crew is making sure goes as planned, but contestants are always kept in the dark. And as for the host, this is his passion project. Sam is also the CEO of the company and was insistent that he host this show.

Created and hosted by Sam Reich, Game Changer is the game show that changes every* time you play! Joined by new talent from the College Humor cast to compete for points and try to figure out what the game is that they will be playing. With formats like "make the noise like", "say the raunchiest thing", or even "perform an entire impromptu broadway show", after 6 seasons the show has matured phenomenally to something in that sweet spot between a Who's Line is it Anyway and @Midnight. Reich is always a great host, and the wit and frankly genius of the writing staff keeps pulling me in for more, the games are often so clever. You'll need the dedicated streaming service Dropout to watch, and now with my second time subscribing I can say this show alone is certainly worth at least a month, and there's plenty more from the CH crew on there, not to mention the multiple spin-offs of this show from formats that were overwhelmingly successful. S4E5 "The Official Cast Recording" is probably the one of the most entertaining, impressive, and fun 30 minutes of TV I watched and that's saying something (and makes sense got it owns spin-off). If you haven't seen I would highly recommend, always looking forward to more, great show.