http://www.realitytvmagazine.com:80/blog/2...ity_return.html

February 15, 2007

Identity Returns To NBC Schedule On Fridays Starting March 16

NBC's popular game show "Identity" – hosted for one week before Christmas by Emmy Award-winning comedian-magician Penn Jillette ("Penn & Teller") – will return to the schedule on Friday, March 16 (9-10 p.m. ET) before moving to its regular time slot (Fridays at 8 p.m.) the following week on March 23.

The hour-long "Identity" first premiered as a one-week event launched from December 18-22, 2006 (in much the same fashion as the successful "Deal or No Deal" was introduced in the previous December). The December 18 premiere episode debuted with a 4.4 rating, 11 share in adults 18-49 and 12.3 million total viewers. The premiere tied "Deal or No Deal" lead-in as the week's #1 entertainment telecast in adult 18-49. "Identity" finished #1 in its time period with four of five telecasts that week (including a tie).

The exhilarating "Identity" is the ultimate game of "who's who," where keen perception and instincts can lead to a top prize of $500,000. In each new game, one contestant faces 12 strangers and a list of 12 traits to identify them. The contestant picks a trait -- ranging anywhere from a profession to a shoe size -- and tries to match it with one of the 12 strangers.

The amount of money the contestant accumulates increases with each correctly identified stranger. If all 12 are matched up correctly, the player is rewarded with the grand prize of $500,000. "Identity" also offers viewers at home the chance to play the watch-and-win "Identity Challenge" for a chance at $10,000.

"Identity" is a production of Reveille. Ben Silverman and H.T. Owens ("Nashville Star," "Date My Mom") serve as executive producers along with Andrew Golder ("Win Ben Stein's Money," "Solitary") and Tim Puntillo ("Friend or Foe," "Fight for Fame"). Mark Koops and Chris Grant of Reveille serve as co-executive producers.

Eh - I got bored the first go-around.

So it's replacing 1 vs 100?

I rather enjoyed it. Hopefully they will have something new when it comes back. I found it difficult to keep up with the type of identities there were when looking over the participants. Also, $500,000 without a bonus seems like a small prize when there is the $1,000,000 in Deal or No Deal which requires less perceptional skills or any other skill except guts. The way the show was, I thought it'd be better suited to daytime. But, I'll watch it.