In 2012, as part of a network-wide ‘Mash-Up Night’ to celebrate its 30th birthday, the UK’s Channel 4 decided to combine some of their most popular tv shows together. While some of the results left a lot to be desired (like newsreaders giving a house a makeover), one combination stood out.
A mixture of the mid-afternoon game show Countdown and the late-night panel show 8 out of 10 Cats, the aptly named 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown became a ratings hit. No one predicted the juxtaposition of a simple word game with wisecracking comedians would strike such a nerve with the public, but viewers ate it up. As a result, the spin-off became a fully-fledged series and is now even more popular than either one of its parent shows (it’s just finished its 20th season!).
So, with the apparent popularity of this mash-up, one must wonder: what other shows would be better mixed together? With the opportunity for some crazy and wildly entertaining results, it’s worth at least a look – here are some tv show mashups that need to happen.
When they’re not busy island-hopping during a pandemic, the Kardashian family are usually serving fiery drama in their eponymous TV show – with a conveyor belt of new confrontations, new twists, and new love interests every season, it’s no wonder viewers struggle to ‘keep up’. But, with the show set to end next year, perhaps it’s time to play around with its formula.
Indeed, if one of the Kardashian/Jenner clan are going to have a new boyfriend each season, why not turn it into a competition, a la The Bachelorette? Have a selection of studs battle it out to marry into this new American dynasty, with Kim or Khloe or whoever eliminating the least appealing lothario each week. There’s also almost precedence for shows like this working, with Paris Hilton looking for a new best friend in 2008’s My New BFF – that show was cringey, but a hit, so it’s likely this one will be as well.
Anyone who’s watched even a single episode of the eternally delightful RuPaul’s Drag Race will understand that part of the show’s joy is how the queens are comically boisterous. Loud, extravagant, vocal – watch how they freak out after finding a single spider in the workroom:
Now, imagine how they would react if they were covered in thousands of spiders in a competition to win $50,000? That’s right: Drag Fear Factor. If RPDR has shown anything, it’s that contemporary drag queens are some of the most charismatic and easy-to-scare figures on current TV, so putting them on Fear Factor is a must.
A poet once said that getting married can be one of the most difficult things a person ever does… but running a successful restaurant seems harder. And what’s even harder than that? Running a restaurant with a person you’ve only just met but already married – double whammy!
Married at First Sight proves that audiences love to watch dysfunctional couples try to work it out, and Kitchen Nightmares proves that audiences also love to watch an angry British man yell at dysfunction. Why not cut out the middleman and force the recently married couple to open a restaurant together? Twice the dysfunction, so twice the entertainment in one show.
Catfish is all about discovering that real-life people are usually a worse version of the online persona they project to the world. They won’t be as handsome, or as well-dressed, or as successful… well, not yet. What if, once Nev discovers this less-attractive liar, he calls up the Fab Five from Queer Eye and they set about giving the Catfish a makeover, so they match how they look online?
Picture it – once they find the Catfish, Tan brings him shopping, Jonathon gives him a haircut, and Karamo gives him a heart-to-heart to come to terms with why they lie online. Catfish often leaves the viewer feeling dejected at the world, but Queer Eye leaves them feeling optimistic – combined together, the show would probably be perfect.
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