Fox Picks Up ‘Boom!,’ A Trivia Show With Explosive Theme

[reaper]

Fox Broadcasting said it had picked up “Boom!” a competitive trivia game show that has already had successful outings in Israel.

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In the game, a squad of four players must defuse eight replica bombs” by answering trivia questions correctly within a strict time limit. A nominated player must defuse one “bomb” per question by cutting through colored wires representing multiple choice answers. If the player answers correctly, the prize money builds and he or she continues playing.

“Never has a ticking clock been so ingeniously placed at the center of a game, and never has a game more inventively borrowed from the language of a thriller,” said Simon Andreae, executive veep, alternative entertainment at Fox Broadcasting, in a statement.

In Israel, ”Boom!” became the highest-rated game show launch ever in that country. According to its producers “Boom!! scored a 41.2% share and 26.7% household rating. Series is produced by Keshet International (Keshet DCP in the U.S.) and Dick Clark Productions.

While the show’s formula may seem new and different, pick up of the program follows a familiar pattern for Fox, which in the past has expressed a yen for innovative reality-competition formats that have previous track records in overseas markets, including “American Idol” and “The X-Factor.” Fox previously announced it would cancel “X Factor.”