As we reported earlier today, “Saturday Night” Live standout Leslie Jones is leaving NBC’s late-night sketch comedy program after five seasons to pursue a slew of film and TV projects.
Deadline can reveal that one of these projects is “Supermarket Sweep,” a reboot of the classic TV game show, which Jones will be hosting and executive producing. I hear the revival, from Fremantle, has been generating a lot of interest, with multiple networks bidding on it, both traditional broadcasters and streamers. I hear the list includes ABC, NBC, Fox and Netflix.
ABC has a potent lineup of classic game show revivals where “Supermarket Sweep” with actress-comedian Jones would fit in nicely, including “Match Game,” hosted by fellow “SNL”-er Alec Baldwin, and a couple hosted by actor-comedians, including “Celebrity Family Feud” with Steve Harvey and “To Tell the Truth” hosted by Anthony Anderson. Jones will soon appear on ABC’s “$100,000 Pyramid” revival, facing against Rosie O’Donnell.
Meanwhile, NBC would likely want to keep in the fold Jones who became a household name with her stint on “SNL” and her work for the network covering the two most recent Olympic games. Netflix also is already in business with Jones on a comedy special.
I hear Jones was a big “Supermarket Sweep” fan growing up and has been a driver behind the revival of the classic show, created by Al Howard.
In “Supermarket Sweep,” contestants race around a supermarket with their shopping cart, collecting as high a dollar value in groceries that they can grab within a specified time limit. The team that has the most valuable items in their shopping cart at the end of the race wins.
The original “Supermarket Sweep” aired on ABC from 1965-1967, followed by revivals on Lifetime (1990-1995) and PAX (1999-2003).
Jones has been a student of pop culture, with her “Game of Thrones” and Olympics commentary drawing a legion of fans.
Other projects on Jones’ plate include her first standup comedy special Netflix, which was recently announced, and multiple features, including a role in the “Coming To America” sequel.
Jones, who originally joined “SNL” as a writer, quickly established herself with a couple of buzzy “Weekend Update” appearances, leading to her joining the cast in fall 2014. Her list of memorable impersonations includes Whoopi Goldberg. She also has taken on a slew of hot-button topics in her “Weekend Update” commentaries, most recently on the new anti-abortion legislation in some states. Her work on SNL has garnered Jones three Emmy nominations.
In addition to a US reboot with Jones, Fremantle is prepping a UK revival of Supermarket Sweep for IT2 with Rylan Clark-Neal as host.
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