Genre Reality competition Country of origin United States No. of seasons 2 | Presented by Leland Melvin Original language(s) English No. of episodes 20 | |
Child Genius is an American reality competition series produced by Shed Media along with A&E Networks in cooperation, with American Mensa. It is based on a UK program by the same name.
Contents
The show features 20 children between the ages of 8 to 12 from across the country, all competing for a $100,000 college fund and the title of Child Genius 2014. Each week the remaining competitors go head in to head in various mental challenges testing their knowledge of: Math, Spelling, Geography, Memory, the Human Body, U.S. Presidents, Vocabulary, Current Events, Zoology, Astronomy and Space, Inventions, Literature and the Arts, Earth Science and Logic. The competition is moderated by former NASA astronaut Leland Melvin, with additional judging provided by North American MENSA representative, Matt Stern, and Jeopardy! champion, Pam Mueller. Challenges took place at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, California, California
The series premiered on January 6, 2015, on Lifetime.
The second season premiered on January 7, 2016. This season's cast only consisted of 12 geniuses between the ages of 9 and 12. Additionally, Lisa Van Gemert (who was featured during Season 1 for asides) became the new representative for American MENSA, and Dr. Timothy Gunn replaced Pam Mueller as question validator.
Competitor Progress
Competitor Progress
Reception
Child Genius was relatively well received by critics despite some opinions that it was a "odd fit for the network."
For its premiere of January 6, 2015, the program garnered 0.41% of people 18–49.
The second season premiere failed to repeat the ratings achieving only 0.19%.