Nickelodeon Announces New Series ‘The Crystal Maze’ + Premiere Date

COMEDIAN/WRITER ADAM CONOVER TAPPED TO HOST NICKELODEON’S NEW FAMILY GAME SHOW, ‘THE CRYSTAL MAZE,’ PREMIERING FRIDAY, JAN. 24, AT 7:00 P.M. (ET/PT)

BURBANK, Calif.-Dec. 9, 2019-Comedian/writer Adam Conover is the new host of Nickelodeon’s upcoming family game show, The Crystal Maze, an all-new version of the legendary UK hit series, premiering Friday, Jan. 24, at 7:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The Crystal Maze will feature Conover as the Maze Master, charged with guiding one family team through physical and mental challenges set within an elaborate labyrinth of four giant and immersive themed zones: Aztec, Eastern, Futuristic and Industrial.

Said Conover, “As the Maze Master, the only thing that gives me greater joy than tormenting our adventurers with devious games is handing out giant cash prizes to the lucky few who manage to escape the challenges inside the crystal maze. This show is the ultimate challenge for families, proving that you have to work together if you want to win, and that’s a fact.”

“We are delighted to welcome Adam Conover into the Nickelodeon family as our first Maze Master. His wit, warmth and pizazz are the perfect attributes to guide families through the exhilarating adventure that is The Crystal Maze,” said Rob Bagshaw, Executive Vice President, Nickelodeon Unscripted Content.

The premiere episode of The Crystal Maze will feature a family from Houston, Texas, tackling a range of challenges in the maze for the first time ever for U.S. audiences. This season will feature families from: Scottsdale, Ariz; Lake Forest, Calif; Eastvale, Calif ; St. Augustine, Fla; Windemere, Fla; Chester, Va; Germantown, Tenn; Carollton, Texas; and Wheaton, Ill.

In each episode, the youngest family member takes on the role of team Captain. The successful completion of escape-room style challenges are rewarded with a “time crystal” granting the family five seconds in the centerpiece final zone called the Crystal Dome. The more crystals gathered throughout the game, the more time each family has for a dramatic clock countdown challenge inside the iconic Dome for a chance to win up to $25,000.

A current ratings smash in the UK, The Crystal Maze has been a beloved family and cult favorite since the mid ’90s, with the current global popularity of the escape room phenomena reigniting interest further. The show was recently rebooted to great success with celebrity, charity and family seasons in UK, Australia and beyond.

The Crystal Maze is co-produced by Bunim/Murray Productions (The Real World, The Challenge, Born This Way) and RDF Television (Secret Life of 4 Year Olds, Wife Swap, Shipwrecked) under parent company Banijay Group. Gil Goldschein and Maria Pepin from Bunim/Murray Productions, Neale Simpson from Fizz, part of RDF Television, and Stephen David from Stephen David Entertainment serve as executive producers. Production of The Crystal Maze for Nickelodeon is overseen by Rob Bagshaw, Executive Vice President, Unscripted Content.

About Bunim/Murray Productions:

Bunim/Murray Productions (BMP) is the leading producer of innovative entertainment content. The Emmy Award-winning company is widely credited with creating the reality television genre with its hit series The Real World, which is moving to Facebook after 32 seasons on MTV. BMP continued to innovate with the first reality game show, Road Rules (MTV), in 1995; the first reality sitcom, The Simple Life (E!), in 2003; and the first reality soap opera, Starting Over, in 2003. BMP’s current programming includes Keeping up with the Kardashians, Total Divas and Total Bellas (E!), The Challenge and Lindsay Lohan’s Beach Club (MTV), Born This Way (A&E), Earth Live (National Geographic), The Real World and Ball in the Family (Facebook Watch), Endless Summer and Growing Up is a Drag (Snapchat), Miz and Mrs. (USA Network), and Family or Fiancé (OWN). BMP has also produced They Call Us Monsters (PBS), Valentine Road (HBO), Pedro (MTV) and the Emmy Award-winning Autism: The Musical (HBO) for BMP Films. Based in Glendale, CA, the company was founded in 1987 by Jonathan Murray and the late Mary-Ellis Bunim, who were inducted into the Television Academy’s Hall of Fame in 2012. The company joined Banijay Group in 2010.