Overall, Summer 2024 didn’t produce too many noteworthy new game shows. There was the shining new beacon of The 1% Club, though many alternatives like The Quiz With Balls failed to make much of a splash with me. A lot of this could be that the heavyweight shows have returned with their trustworthy formulas to fill the hot nights with a healthy mix of trivia. Once again, credit must be given to Fox for producing the most reliable line-up of the main networks. However, there was a lone debut on ABC that struck up attention in between a bunch of celebrity interpretation of the classics. With two buzzworthy hosts, one had to wonder just what the deal with Lucky 13 was.
Compared to most game shows, it premiered a bit late in the summer. Maybe it was done as a method of standing out as shows inevitably played out their entire seasons. There was also the constant promotional blast in which co-hosts Shaquille O’Neal and Gina Rodriguez proved their chemistry by cracking as many jokes as they could in 30 seconds. Given that O’Neal is renowned for his likable personality going back to the 1990s, it’s an easy show to sell.
The one thing that the marketing didn’t do was tell you anything about Lucky 13 beyond that. What was the gameplay? Zero percent of the early marketing emphasized the actual set or hinted at what audiences could expect. Unlike every other game show I’ve seen, there’s something simultaneously curious and alarming about this approach. Had I not been a big fan of O’Neal before, I don’t entirely know what would’ve encouraged me to stick around. The most I can assume is that its 9 PM airing would benefit from people too lazy to change the channel. No amount of hyperbole of it being the most revolutionary game show of the summer could hook the outsider. It was sold as a cult of personality more than other celebrity-focused hosting like The Quiz With Balls.
As usual, I tend to give a show a few weeks to fully understand its formula. Unfortunately, time constraints meant that I couldn’t release the piece closer to the premiere. However, I think its early air date was both smart and potentially disastrous. With two episodes released prior to The Paris Summer Olympics, I assumed that it was counterprogramming that they hoped would build a word of mouth. It’s safe to say that it worked for me and made the comeback more anticipatory. However, I still think that its downside is that it’s not the best thing since sliced toast.
Lucky 13 is a show hosted by Rodriguez and O’Neal in Las Vegas, NV. It plays into the gambling mentality and taking big risks. Given that craps tables are likely just outside the film studio, it makes sense that the audience would be leaning forward awaiting every small reveal. The intensity of setting plays well with the audience who are as much there to make money as they are to take in spectacle. Thankfully, the co-hosts have an approachable aura about them with Rodriguez leaning into her warm personality. Meanwhile O’Neal is a bit more deadpan and secretive. It works as the odd couple needed to fill in the dead air.
Everything from here may be a bit harder to sell. After one episode, I was concerned that the show revealed too many of its cards and that there wasn’t much of a hook. It borrows the formula from Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? in that it draws everything out to the point that the banal uncertainty becomes tense and sometimes ridiculously overstayed. Given that any given episode features only two contestants, it’s difficult to consider this a stimulating use of your evening. However, if you want to dig into the extent that uncertainty will make you sweat and second guess yourself, then Lucky 13 may be a welcomed addition to your line-up.
From a panel of 13 contestants, every episode begins by selecting one to take to the stage and prepare for a half hour of undermining confidence. As mentioned, the hosts do a great job of welcoming everybody in and cuts some of the tension with supportive banter and jokes. After an initial interview, the rules are introduced and soon the deception starts.
At its core, the mechanics of Lucky 13 are predictable. It starts with Rodriguez reading 13 questions that fall into the true/false formula. Compared to most shows, there is a zero pressure approach that allows the contestant to take their time. However, those who have familiarity with the true/false formula may be aware of the difficulty in wording. Is it possible that one word has been changed and thus offsets the accuracy? For example, a later episode features a question regarding dog “breeds” but the question features “species.” It’s the type of white lie that this show excels at and will quickly make contestants doubt themselves. While they get to talk out their logic, they often hesitantly answer.
By this point, no answers have been provided. Instead, the second part of the first round features a chance for the contestant to catch one’s breath and reconsider their decision making. Thanks to a Pepsi-sponsored segment, they get a second chance to overlook the board and change one answer. For those who are confident, it’s an easy decision. For those who might be less certain, there’s a good chance that there won’t be enough to save the results from infractions.
Once those options are set in stone, Lucky 13 takes a commercial break before returning to do what may be the easiest part to nitpick. Whereas I like game shows that escalate and get more difficult as the episode progresses, Lucky 13 revels in what came before. On the one hand, it is more difficult. However, it’s not because the trivia has gotten harder. Instead the pain of every reveal means that it puts the contestant that much closer to being right or wrong. It’s not a terribly well-paced segment and instead relies on the lingering dread. Fate awaits whatever is on the other side of the answer. If you’re someone who needs snappy pacing, this show may not be for you.
However, I am a big fan of the initial conceit of the second round. With the information projected on a screen, the contestant gets to test their level of confidence. The 13 questions are broken into sections of three with the 13th question being in its own quadrant. This is because those who can ace the test will go home with a million dollars. However, the difficulty of this means that very few people actually decide to go with this option.
Instead they often choose from the other sections. For example, if you believe that you correctly guessed 5 correct, you will select the section marked 4-6. With each level of accuracy also comes the chance to win more money. However, the contestant must only get the amount right within that section or else they’ll lose. If they win, they’ll get the money listed for that section. Even then there’s a chance to acquire more with what they call a “Lucky Number.” In this scenario, the contestant’s number would be 5. Provided that they land on it, they’ll get the promised amount plus a bonus based on the information given.
It's from here where the show maybe suffers to capture the same appeal that it did in the earlier round. As someone who is more invested in fast-paced questioning, Lucky 13 is not a very promising show. Those wanting to get to the trivia will have to wait until usually the half-hour mark to see more. From here, the show truly leans into its Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? comparisons and makes everybody recognize just how difficult a true/false formula can be. Given that there’s no definitive spike in challenge between the 13 questions, the fear often strikes sporadically over the next portion.
The positive side of this is that the contestant doesn’t necessarily need to get them all right to win. They simply need to fall within their section. It’s a nice change of pace from the typical need for game show contestants to be perfect or at least have a high success rate. While a million dollars is the ideal prize, most will settle for less. The appeal of this section is seeing how closely they can hit a bullseye. It’s also here that the real Las Vegas mentality sets in and the gambles start to play out one by one.
In order to win in this scenario, the contestant will need to get 4-6 correct and 7-9 wrong. The projection shows this journey as Rodriguez reads out the answers. In this moment there is a chance for the contestant to provide some banter and leave everybody with one last bit of doubt. Every mundane reveal becomes meaningful as answers are revealed. From there, the questions on screen will light up as blue (correct) or red (wrong). Everything will slowly move towards the section in question.
Given that no two games have been identical so far, the eventual shift towards the final bullseye is where the show begins to pick up again. During this time, O’Neal will press a button that usually comes with an offer for the contestant. The amount is often a little under what the ideal target is and offers the contestant a chance to walk away with a nice chunk of change. Given that this is Las Vegas, there’s more intent on playing things out and living with what’s there. Even then, it’s a good way for contestants to not go home emptyhanded if their instincts failed.
Given that most lucky numbers to me have felt arbitrary, I am fascinated by those who are capable of landing on it. There’s often something more exciting about watching everything come down to that final decision. Even if that’s not the case, predicting the section that the answers will fall in is a strategy that I haven’t quite yet mastered and thus am impressed by anyone who does. Even then, it’s a conclusion that only results from every answer being revealed. While luck could be going your way one question, having an answer that is one too many correct or wrong becomes painful and ties into the thrill of game shows. To be just that little bit off from victory is always heartbreaking, and it’s what Lucky 13 does very well.
As mentioned, every hour-long episode usually features two contestants. The cycle is repeated and then the credits roll. Like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? at times, you can determine how well a contestant will do based on the time structures of an episode. If there’s five minutes to credits and there’s three questions to read, you are likely in for trouble.
For a show that is not that difficult on paper, I think it has a special magic. I would personally rank it in the second-tier of game shows that are just shy of finding a perfect formula. I do believe this is the type of premise that could run in Las Vegas for years without any problem. Its reliance on spontaneous contestant selection means that anyone could be stopped on The Strip and get a chance to win. It’s part of the allure of the city anyway, and it plays well there. I would hope in this hypothetical that they find somebody as charming as O’Neal and Rodriguez, though I also hope these two stick around for awhile because good hosts will carry this show much further. If the middle half is too dull, there’s a good chance that its dead air will be too noticeable and spectators will be checking their phones.
In a summer of new game shows, it’s not necessarily my favorite or a must see. The 1% Club is arguably the only one that has broken that barrier for me. Even then, I am a sucker for something that surprises and challenges expectations. Lucky 13 may not seem like it does, but after a handful of episodes, I have begun to see the charm of its formula. It’s not always stimulating or intense, but there’s enough there for a more laidback alternative. It’ll never be at the top of my list, but do expect me to put it on whenever I have an hour to kill one night.
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