The Hustler

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!

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.

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.

With the light sprinkling of odd trivia, random thoughts from Craig, some fascinating interpersonal interaction from the "contestants?" and of course the (sometimes) huge money at the end, I'm hooked.

Craig Ferguson is one of the great entertainers of our time, and he doesn't disappoint in The Hustler. This mystery show features several people with one hustler. As the show progressed, I was constantly left guessing which one was the hustler. It's an excellent idea with an amazing host as well. 10/10