"The Greatest Average American" Review: Game Show offers a fun vibe

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The new ABC game show The Greatest Average American pits three contestants against each other. In the show, the players battle against each other as they try to determine how the average American thinks and knows. Hosted by comedian Nate Bargatze (who hosted a Netflix comedy special with the same name), the show adds a bit of comedic flair to an interesting concept.

Bargatze leads the show with a strong self-deprecating sense of humor that has him sometime riff on the questions themselves. In the first episode, for instance, the contestants have to guess what percentage of Americans knows whose face is on the nickel. After the picture pops up onscreen, he notes, “I didn’t know who it was and they showed the picture.” He later adds, “I’m building suspense. I just learned that word yesterday.”

In each hourlong episode, there are two sets of contestants. During the first round, each of the contestants guess how Americans would answer certain questions. The second round puts Bargatze at center stage and asks the two remaining contestants to guess how successful Bargatze will be at a specific challenge. In the third round, the final contestant guesses how the studio audience will answer specific questions.

The games themselves are interesting enough but what makes the show truly unique is the playfulness of some of the concepts. In addition to Bargatze as the host, there’s a comedic announcer named Greg Warren and fellow comedian Julian McCullough also throws in a few jokes during the episodes. The connection between the three comedians doesn’t always work (they are physically separated on the stage) but some of the jokes land, which brings the show a fun vibe (one can imagine the three comedians joking about their everyday lives in the same way).

The concept of the show is a solid one and the prize money follows the concept through. If a person wins the final round, they win $67,920, the average American salary.

In the pantheon of game shows (and there are plenty to choose from), this new one is clearly better than average offering up something that other game shows don’t: a playful vibe and comedians who are willing to poke fun at themselves. If the show gets time to grow, one hopes that there will be time to tighten up some of the rounds and add a few more laughs. In the meantime, this is a fun new show that has the building blocks to become something even better down the line.