Pyramid

Pyramid is the collective name of a series of American television game shows that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted on March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series. Most later series featured a full title format matching the original series, with the title reflecting an increasing top prize. The game features two contestants, each paired with a celebrity. Contestants attempt to guess a series of words or phrases based on descriptions given to them by their teammates. The title refers to the show’s pyramid-shaped gameboard, featuring six categories arranged in a triangular fashion. The various Pyramid series has won a total of nine Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Game Show, second only to Jeopardy!, which has won 13.

Dick Clark is the host most commonly associated with the show, having hosted the network daytime version from 1973 to 1980 (which moved from CBS to ABC in 1974 and increased its namesake top prize from $10,000 to $20,000 in 1976) and its revival from 1982 to 1988 on CBS (The (New) $25,000 Pyramid). Clark also hosted two weeknight syndicated versions, The $50,000 Pyramid in 1981 and The $100,000 Pyramid from 1985 to 1988 (concurrent with the daytime show).

Bill Cullen hosted the first weekly nighttime version of The $25,000 Pyramid from 1974 to 1979. John Davidson hosted a revival of The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991, and Donny Osmond hosted a version simply titled Pyramid from 2002 to 2004; both were five-nights-a-week affairs. GSN’s The Pyramid, hosted by Mike Richards, who now is an executive at format owner Sony Pictures Television, aired a single forty-episode season in 2012.

The current revival of The $100,000 Pyramid debuted June 26, 2016, on ABC with Michael Strahan as host, and has aired on Sunday nights during the summer months since, completing its fourth season in September 2019. On November 20, 2019, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on May 26, 2021.