Craig Robinson on 'Caraoke Showdown' Courtesy of Spike TV
The game show, hosted by Craig Robinson, is described as 'Cash Cab' meets karaoke.
Spike TV is ready to sing.
The Viacom-owned cable network is taking a page out of James Corden's popular "Carpool Karaoke" segment and moving forward with game show Caraoke Showdown, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Described as Cash Cab meets karaoke, the 10-episode series is hosted by The Office grad Craig Robinson. It will tape in L.A. and New York this summer for a 2017 premiere.
The series finds Robinson in the driver's seat, picking up unsuspecting contestants who quickly realize they are on a karaoke-inspired game show. During various rounds of game play, contestants must belt out their favorite tunes, finish the lyrics or act out songs for cash with some surprises along the way.
Howie Mandel will executive produce alongside Alice Dickens-Koblin, Peter Herschko and Brian Veskosky, with the series produced by CORE Media Group. Spike exec vp original series Sharon Levy and senior vp originals Chachi Senior and will oversee Caraoke Showdown, with Tori Socha overseeing for Spike.
The news comes five months after the game show was first put in development and days after corporate sibling CBS scored an Emmy nomination for James Corden's The Late Late Show — thanks in part to his wildly popular viral videos of celebrities riding — and singing — along with Corden. (His most recent outing — with first lady Michelle Obama — already has more than 31.4 million views after only five days.)
Spike initially ordered Caraoke Showdown as a one-off special with plans to go straight-to-series if it proved successful. The cabler has continued to mine pop culture for game show programming following the breakout success of its Emmy-nominated entry Lip Sync Battle, which started as a segment on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon and landed at Spike after NBC passed on the spinoff. Spike has already announced plans for other incarnations of the franchise, including a kids spinoff at both the network and sibling Nickelodeon. It's also the latest game show Spike has ordered this year alone and joins That Awkward Game Show hosted by Jeff Dye and Christina Aguilera-produced Tracks.
TV series based on late-night sketches continue to be in high demand. ABC went straight to series with game show Who Knows? exec produced by Jimmy Kimmel and based on the late-night host's segment of the same name.
Watch a clip for Caraoke Showdown, below.
Spike TV James Corden Lip Sync Battle
