Published: October 07, 2008

'Trivial Pursuit: America Plays' Gives Half a Million Dollars Away

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Viewers Go Straight to the Bank Thanks to New Nationally-Syndicated Game Show Hosted by Christopher Knight

Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, the new nationally syndicated game show hosted by Christopher Knight, is dishing out the cash…and not just to the in-studio players! To date, "the American Team," people who submitted questions to the show, have won an unprecedented $500,000!

Trivial Pursuit: America Plays puts viewers on the front lines in each and every episode. Based on the very popular Hasbro board game, this half-hour strip is the only show on television that features questions exclusively from viewers, giving them the opportunity to both play-and win-from the comfort of their own living room! America submits all the questions for this innovative format via the show's website, www.tpamericaplays.com. America's "Team Captain," a person chosen at random to represent the viewer at home, joins via satellite to cheer on those who submitted questions and acts as a virtual competitor to the in-studio players. For every question the in-studio constants answer correctly, the winnings go into the "Studio Bank," but if the contestants are stumped, "America's Bank" gets the cash! At the end of the third round, if "America's Bank" has more than the "Studio Bank," then all the viewers who submitted the questions that day take home the spoils.

"It's such a great, unusual twist to the game show genre," adds Lonnie Burstein, Executive Vice President, Debmar-Mercury. "The in-studio contestants have the opportunity to win lots of money, while the viewers at home who contribute all of the questions are the ones in the power position. They decide exactly what questions they think will stump the players…and both have the chance take home the bank."

"Hosting a game show has been such an amazing experience," comments Christopher Knight. "I knew this role would be fun, but never did I imagine that I would become basically a bank teller! It's amazing how anyone, in-studio or someone watching on their couch, can take home big bucks!"

Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, executive produced by Wheeler-Sussman Productions and distributed by Debmar-Mercury, premiered in national syndication on September 22. Check your local listings.

About Debmar-Mercury

Debmar-Mercury is a worldwide production and distribution media company specializing in syndication, cable, network, VOD/Pay-Per-View and Pay TV. The company distributes two major first-run strips with September 2008 syndication debuts: Tyler Perry's House of Payne, which premiered on TBS in June 2007 to record-breaking ratings, and will have a concurrent, four-year national syndication run on premier broadcast groups, including the FOX Television Stations; and Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, in partnership with Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), which Debmar-Mercury will distribute worldwide to coincide with the 25th anniversary of one of the most popular board games ever. Other new additions to the rapidly growing Debmar-Mercury programming slate include The Wendy Williams Show, co-produced in association with Fox Television Stations; broadcast distribution of Discovery Channel's most popular series, American Chopper and The Deadliest Catch; plus continuing staples such as the groundbreaking sitcom South Park; the long-running game show strip Family Feud; The Surreal Life family of celebrity-based reality shows; USA Network's The Dead Zone; entertaining series for educational/informational time periods, and an extensive movie library featuring titles from Revolution Studios and Lionsgate. Debmar-Mercury is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lionsgate (NYSE: LGF), the premier independent filmed entertainment studio.

About Hasbro, Inc.

Hasbro, Inc. is a worldwide leader in children's and family leisure time products and services with a rich portfolio of brands and entertainment properties that provides some of the highest quality and most recognizable play and recreational experiences in the world. As a brand-driven, consumer-focused global company, Hasbro brings to market a range of toys, games and licensed products from traditional to high-tech and digital under such power brand names as TRANSFORMERS, PLAYSKOOL, TONKA, MILTON BRADLEY, PARKER BROTHERS, TIGER, CRANIUM and WIZARDS OF THE COAST. Come see how we inspire play through our brands at www.hasbro.com ©2008 Hasbro, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

About Wheeler-Sussman Productions

Established in 1995 by Burt Wheeler and Sharon Sussman after their first breakout show MTV's Singled Out, the company has developed formats for nearly every major syndicator including Twentieth Television, Telepictures, Universal, Sony, Debmar Mercury and Buena Vista, and has worked with many major cable networks including VH-1, Comedy Central, ABC Family, AMC, Lifetime and MTV. In addition to the new syndicated game show, Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, Wheeler/Sussman recently completed production of a primetime game show for Planet Green hosted by Tom Green, as well as a syndicated court series, Judge Alex, beginning its fifth season. Other recent series include Ex-treme Dating, an innovative syndicated relationship strip, Live Like a Star, a syndicated lifestyle strip and 100 episodes of Lifetime Television's My Workout. Wheeler/Sussman has also produced several reality shows including The Last Resort for ABC Family, Reunion Tour for VH-1 and most recently a Court TV series, Street Hunters. Wheeler/Sussman also produced a number of comedy programs including three seasons of the nationally syndicated Peer Pressure and FOX Family Channel's Outrageous!.

Press Contacts: Lindsay Gallagher/ Shannon Sturcken

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