Few TV networks have embraced the elimination model for game shows as much as Fox. Going down their line-up of recent hits, it’s easy to see the common denominator. The Floor, 99 to Beat, and The 1% Club all hang on the novelty of dwindling down to a sole winner who is deemed better than everybody else. It makes sense then that their latest endeavor, Nation’s Dumbest, posited that one of these 12 celebrities would be considered less intelligent than the rest of the proverbial country. Sure, it comes with a comedic bent that is fitting for similar reality show-based entertainment like the Emmy-winning Traitors, but there’s still a sense of grandeur and self-importance thrown into a structure that’s relatively banal.
If the show has one enticing feature, it’s the hook of being the one game show nobody wants to win. There’s a humiliation to being seen as less intelligent than your peers. This may explain why the stunt casting covers an array of personalities from Gen-Z celebrities like Jojo Siwa and Chase Hudson to more well-regarded figures like Dr. Drew Pinsky and politician Alan Yang. In the middle are people like Steve-O from Jackass and rapper Ice-T to add an odd mix of characters. It’s the type of situation where the show’s entertainment is as much in the results as in seeing your favorite famous person succeed or fail. Given how promos went, it was perceived as funnier to land on a pressure moment that fell in the latter.
Standing at the center of the circus ring is actor Jack Whitehall. It’s a thankless task, but he is a charming moderator for the chaos around him. He carries himself with a sense of collectiveness and an ability to observe the situation with a sense of superiority and small, quippy banter. He’s the type of host a show with this goofy of a premise needs. He sounds intelligent without being superior. He’s on their level, providing advice where necessary and, during moments of distress, knows how to diffuse tension with a calm demeanor. This isn’t Anne Robinson on The Weakest Link. It’s something much more palpable, of care and remorse for the contestants as they alter their course game by game.
Whereas most game shows meant to humiliate celebrities might be keen on taking them to oddball locations, the entirety of Nation’s Dumbest took place within a school building – including exterior shots that only help to make the whole thing feel like a warped high school sitcom. The setting helps to level everyone and even makes any air of superiority more comedic. Nobody seems too cool for this school. As a result, everything becomes lighthearted and makes their talking head segments both more neutered. Everyone’s request to go home seems like the cry of a teenager stuck in detention, doing everything to find the backdoor open when nobody’s looking.
Every episode fits into a simple transactional formula over four rounds. Their achievement comes in the form of a star that will either move them up or down the leaderboard. The first is a logic test. Done individually, it finds the contestant attempting to solve puzzles within a time limit. These are often tasks that require creative ingenuity, like stacking two basketballs on top of each other or swinging pendulums to knock over a stool.
As can be guessed, this is the warm-up to everything else and allows the editing department to have the most fun with the progression of events. Like most reality shows, it tampers with the order of the outcome by prolonging certain answers while emphasizing moments of frustration and setbacks. They do so in hopes of making certain figures seem more incompetent, like they will not win the game. It’s a trick that’s best appreciated over time as the audience becomes aware of certain personality traits. Some people genuinely do fold under pressure, but there are those who are smarter than the camera allows them to look. Those are where the “a-ha” moments lie for every round, but especially here.
The second is a logic test round where everyone is put in a classroom and forced to answer general education questions. Because this covers a wide array of ages, it allows for the easy bait clips of younger or older people not knowing common terminology or ideas that seem evident to the opposite group. This usually comes at the expense of the younger contestants, including Chase, who self-describes as a high school dropout who made TikTok videos to help support his family. In spite of his endearing personality, he seems the most at odds with the academic sequences and provides the most setbacks. Still, during the mid-section of the season when it’s still anybody’s game, it’s fun to watch how the different personalities befriend each other and become their own support groups.
The third round is designed as a group project where everyone participates in a physical challenge. It’s the cleverest section of Nation’s Dumbest, and where the most humor comes from that’s not just educational gaffes. Like with the logic test, something is amusing about seeing these people left to instinct and not knowing if they’re better than things appear. While doing things like putting faces to American currency or spelling tests, they’re constantly on edge and fearing that everything will fall apart at any minute. It’s easy to buy into the energy of these moments, especially if the audience member is unsure of the solution themselves.
Something to consider at this point is that the show’s set-up appears heavily scripted in ways that a keen eye can telegraph where everything is going. While there are usually two targets per episode that Nation’s Dumbest will zoom in on, the viewer can determine who is going home by who gets the most air time.
The premise is set up very early in the episode, often before the logic test really takes off. Even if everyone gets to talk about their desire to not win the show, there will be one whose story seems more fleshed out that week. For example, the week that Dr. Drew went home, there was heavy emphasis on his family and featured phone calls during sentimental exchanges. While the rounds from there might be less favorable, there is always a sense of momentum and build from the previous week that makes their tiny triumphs seem more meaningful. Even as late as the final three contestant Anthony Michael Hall featured a sympathetic story of him improving which, based on his former clumsiness, was quite the arc.
The only example that disproved this was Carmen Electra. Despite putting in effort early on, she would eventually be expelled after being uncooperative. It’s unclear if this was a plant to add drama, but it would make sense as she often refused to participate in games due to stress. That, and with the average TV series running 10 episodes nowadays, it always seemed confusing to have 12 contestants – unless the final episode would’ve been a three-way contest. Even so, it didn’t seem like they were prepared for that scenario.
The final round features everybody taking a quiz where they write their answers on a chalkboard. The stars accumulated would determine how much of a buffer they had from losing. If you were incorrect, you lost a star and, upon earning zero, would have to “return to the classroom” where you would proceed to offer commentary on whoever was left. Like before, there’s some humor to be derived from wrong answers. However, by this point, there’s been enough pathos to make certain blows all the more devastating.
Nowhere is this more evident than in the growing awareness that Chase would more than likely win Nation’s Dumbest. He was always at odds with the information portions and would possess too much of a setback to ever win the final round. His opponent, Hilaria Baldwin, came across as a tad more versatile and seemed to improve week to week. Even so, audiences could see the narrative building that she wouldn’t win by how often she mentioned her struggles with ADHD. While it’s true that Chase’s story had more meat on its bones as it went along, he never overcame appearing like the young fool who was just out of his league. No amount of confidence could sway the results. Though, in fairness, the finale brought enough drama to seed some doubt.
Nation’s Dumbest works because it understands the basic functions of a game show. Audiences want to see obstacles they could achieve while also humbling celebrities. The formula may be old hat by this point, but it does enough right to maintain suspense and provides enough originality to never feel like it’s just repeating itself. In terms of entertainment, it delivers enough to call for a good time while maintaining an appetizing serialization. It’s pure novelty that relies on your threshold for flippancy, but it’s not striving to be more than what the title says and, even so, does so with enough sympathy to never be seen as cruel.
Odds are this is a formula that could go on every summer with a different cast and have a similar effect. Is it Fox’s best game show? Not necessarily. Then again, it’s got a hook that separates it from the others. The variety of competitions is also appealing and would raise the stakes for a potential second season. More than anything, this is really good filler that removes the pretentious elements while maintaining a sincerity that is refreshing. Nobody is sabotaging this game. If anything, it’s a push to be smarter and more agile. It’s a perfect way to improve upon oneself. It may reveal how little some people know about etymology, but at least it comes with warmth and humor.
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