Release Date, Cast, Episodes, Recap

Game shows have always been one of the most popular forms of television programs since the invention of the medium. Shows like ‘Wheel Of Fortune’, ‘Jeopardy!’. and ‘Family Feud’ are extremely popular shows and have also left a deep impact on American popular culture. One such popular game show, ‘Card Sharks’, first aired in 1978 on NBC Daytime with Jim Perry as the host.

The show ran for three years till 1981, when it got canceled. CBS Daytime revived the series in 1986, and again aired three original seasons before canceling it. The show then lived on for two small periods of time through Daytime Syndication, during 1986-1987, and 2001-2002. ABC’s revival of the series sounds pretty exciting, especially for fans who have followed the show over the years. Freemantle is the producer of the series with Scott St. John serving as executive producer and showrunner. The other executive producers are Jack Martin and Jennifer Mullin.

Card Sharks Cast: Who is in it?

The cast of ‘Card Sharks’ varies, as different people come in to play on every episode. But the one member of the cast who remains constant is the host. For ABC’s revival of the popular series, Joel McHale serves as the presenter. We can see McHale in films like ‘Spy Kids: All the Time in the World’ (2011) and ‘Ted’ (2012). He began his career on television as a comedian and a member of the cast of a local sketch comedy TV series from Seattle called ‘Almost Live!’. McHale’s first stint as a host was in 2004 when he started hosting the show ‘The Soup’ and carried on with the series for a decade. It was ‘The Soup’ that put McHale’s name on the map.

Regarding his casting as the host of ‘Card Sharks’, McHale said, “I’m very excited to be hosting ‘Card Sharks’. Game winners can win 10s of thousands of dollars and in an updated twist — losers will be fed to a pen of adult Tiger Sharks.” Besides McHale, the people who come in to play the game every episode are the most important faces that we see in front of the camera. There is a lot of money at stake in ‘Card Sharks’. The excitement of winning or the fear of losing that they go through are the highlights of the series.

Card Sharks Plot: What is it about?

The gameplay of the show not only involves cards but also a question-answer session based on survey-based questions quite similar to those on ‘Family Feud’. Here, two contestants start the series. One of them is a returning champion, and in case both players are newcomers, someone becomes a designated champion. Each of the contestants has to take seven cards each from a deck of 52. The champion takes 5 red cards from the top of the deck while the challenger takes five blue/black cards from the bottom of the same deck. Then, the champion is asked a survey-based question. Whether he is right or the opponent gets it correctly determines who gets to start the game.

The one who answers the question correctly is shown the topmost card of his individual deck. He can decide either to keep the card or take a replacement from his deck. Then, he has to guess whether the next card in his deck is higher or lower than the previous one. If he guesses correctly, he can keep doing this until he arrives at the wrong answer. As soon as one guess is made incorrectly, the contestant’s previously played cards are also discarded. If someone manages to guess the entire deck correctly, he or she is given $10,000 to use in a special round called Money Card. The control of the series then moves on to the opponent. The entire match is decided on who gets to win 2 out of 3 rounds. Winning each round gives one $100. The rules have not always remained the same, but have seen variations over the years.