Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader

After a well received initial run, Fox ordered an additional 13 episodes of the game show Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? The preliminary airing averaged 23 million viewers per episode, garnering a 9.3 scoring from adults 18 to 49.

Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? is a show produced by Mark Burnett. Hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, the show features average adults as they attempt to answer a series of questions intended for the fifth-grade level. The questions asked are generally taken from textbooks with subject matters surrounding math, U.S. history and social studies. Each correctly answered question will correspond to a monetary prize, which accumulates as the game goes on. In addition to the adult contestants, five actual fifth graders participate on the show, who serve as the “classmates” of the adult contestants.

Much of the appeal of the show, aside from the probability of winning $1,000,000, is how dim-witted most adults are compared to fifth graders. FOX Entertainment President Peter Liguori explained, "Whereas most game shows in an odd way measure how smart you are, our contestants are going to be measured about how dumb they are… It is very funny. When Mark Burnett wound up pitching this show to each network president, in fact, only one network president left the six questions with money, which I think is a real glaring indictment against the intelligence of the people… but it also shows the fun of the show."

With its initial run, Fox ordered only six episodes of  Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? But the viewers’ reception instantly prompted the network to order four more segments stretching the program though April 19, making the show a regular on Thursday nights until May 10. At present, the network is also looking at extending the show beyond the said month.

-Kris, BuddyTV Staff Columnist

Source: TV.com