Created by Mark Burnett Country of origin United States Running time 60 minutes | Presented by Kevin Pollak Executive producer(s) Mark Burnett Original network Fox | |
Our Little Genius is a game show produced for the Fox network that was pulled before making it to air, hosted by Kevin Pollak. The program was slated to premiere on Fox on January 13, 2010, at 9:15 PM Eastern following American Idol with a special 45-minute episode, with further episodes being 60 minutes. However, the show was postponed and eventually canceled before any aired due to two separate issues related to the show's integrity.
Contents
According to Fox, child prodigies would answer trivia questions to win money for their families; their parents would be able to appeal to experts for help.
Cast and crew
The show's producers were (in alphabetical order): Noah Bonnett, Mark Burnett, Lauren Franson, Ron Muccianti, Dave Schapiro, Tod Schellinger, John Stevens, Jenny Tyson and Chris Wagner. Music was produced by David Vanacore. Film editors: Robert M. Malachowski Jr. and Hudson Smith. Casting Department: Jennifer Cron and Joshua Robinson.
Removal from schedule
On January 7, 2010, one week before its scheduled premiere, the show's creator, Mark Burnett, announced that he'd asked Fox to postpone it due to concerns about its integrity. Burnett said that issues with how information was relayed to contestants were serious enough that he felt compelled to reshoot the episodes. Fox supported Burnett's decision, and added that all contestants would keep their winnings.
The New York Times reported that some contestants may have known what questions were going to be asked (though not the answers) rather than just the topics to be covered. The Los Angeles Times reported that Burnett's main concern was that contestants somehow got more information than they should have prior to taping.
Because of the abrupt pulling of the series, American Idol aired for 90 minutes that night, with a repeat showing of the "Once Upon a Time in Springfield" episode of The Simpsons following at 9:30 PM.
Allegations of cheating
The New York Times reported that a member of the production team gave a prospective contestant and his parents specific answers to at least four questions. If the show were found to be deliberately rigged, it would mark the first known instance of such a deception in America since the quiz show scandals of the late 1950s. Rigging a game show is a felony under the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. ยง 509), which was added to the law in 1960 in the wake of the scandals. The Federal Communications Commission has opened an inquiry.