ABC
Former “Dancing With the Stars” host Tom Bergeron returns to TV on Friday, December 23 for an episode of “The Wheel” that promises to be a ton of fun. The episode, titled “Fish n’ Chips & Gold Medal Flips,” airs at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on NBC.
Here’s what you need to know:
Bergeron is Reuniting with 2 ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Alumni
British comedian Michael McIntyre is the creator and host of the U.K. version of “The Wheel.” NBC decided the show would be great for U.S. audiences and commissioned McIntyre to host a 10-episode run stateside, with the episodes airing Monday through Friday in the two weeks surrounding Christmas 2022.
The show features six celebrity panelists advising the contestants and that is where Bergeron comes in — he will be seated in a chair on a giant, light-up spinning wheel providing advise and support to the contestants as they try to win $100,000.
The NBC press release reads:
The series showcases a colossal spinning wheel of celebrity guests who help everyday contestants win life-changing money. Created and hosted by renowned British comedian Michael McIntyre, each hourlong episode follows six celebrity guests spinning, advising and supporting charismatic contestants as they endeavor to be the last one standing. As the contestants vie for the chance to win over $100,000, the celebrities lend their expertise in a variety of hilarious and outrageous categories from candy and comedians to poker and politics. The series features suspenseful high-stakes trivia, laugh-out-loud moments and more than 50 all-star guests seated on a spectacular 42-foot-wide spinning wheel.
The game provides three contestants an opportunity to battle it out through general knowledge questions where the objective is to keep your spot at the center of the wheel. The contestants themselves are randomly picked from a smaller wheel underneath centerstage. Right answers keep you there, wrong answers throw you out. Only the contestant at the center of the wheel at the end of the game has a chance to take home a life-changing sum of money, so they must do their best to stay there. The contestants are not on their own. There are seven celebrity experts on the wheel, ready to help answer the questions. With a mixture of real people, larger-than life celebrity experts and a massive rotating wheel under the host’s command… the fun and challenges are unlimited.
The celebrities participating in the 10-episode run include Christina Ricci, Chris Kattan, Kym Whitley, Curtis Stone, Jackie Tohn, Tony Hawk, Clay Aiken, Chrissy Metz, Loni Love, Brie Bella, Taye Diggs, Andy Richter, Margaret Cho, Kate Flannery, Tom Bergeron, Shawn Johnson, Terrell Owens, Debbie Gibson, Amber Riley, and many more. In fact, Bergeron is reuniting with “Dancing With the Stars” season 8 champ Shawn Johnson and season 25 contestant singer Debbie Gibson on his episode, alongside three other celebrities: actress Kyla Pratt, former NFL wide receiver Victor Cruz, and “Below Deck” star Captain Lee Rosbach.
Bergeron’s episode airs “Christmas Eve Eve,” as he posted on Instagram, writing, “Had a great time taping ‘The Wheel.’ The host, Michael McIntyre, is a hoot. My episode airs the eve of Christmas Eve (yup, December 23rd 🤔) on @nbc.”
Fans Are Super Excited For Bergeron’s Episode
On his two Instagram posts touting his episode of “The Wheel,” Bergeron’s fans are very excited about his return to TV.
“I can’t wait for this!” wrote one fan.
Another added, “Great! I’ll be tuning in to see how you do!”
A third wrote, “I just wanted to say I’ve been a fan of yours since I was a tween back in the early ’80s and you were a DJ at WHEB! Been feeling very nostalgic lately, remembering the songs you performed (‘Marty Feldman Eyes’ and “‘Georgeann Shufflebarger’) and that hilarious spoof of ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ with ‘Bunny Bill’ (who could only communicate by saying ‘BOING BOING BOING’)! Anyway, just wanted to thank you for bringing some light and humor into my otherwise miserable life at that time. God bless you!,” to which Bergeron replied, “You’re very welcome. Thanks!”
“Would’ve been better if you were the host,” added another fan.
Speaking of hosting, one fan wondered what has become of Bergeron’s possible new game show at NBC, a reboot of the classic “Tic Tac Dough.”
“Any word yet on your ‘Tic Tac Dough’ reboot, @tombergeron?” wrote the fan.
In September 2021, Deadline revealed that the game show Bergeron teased on the late Bob Saget’s podcast was a reboot of “Tic Tac Dough,” which originally ran on NBC in the 1950s and later had a revival on CBS in the 1970s and 1980s.
Bergeron told Saget that he had such a good time filming the pilot for “Tic Tac Dough,” saying, “The nicest thing for me … was to get back on a stage and know that it was still fun, that I could still break up the crew. It’s important to me that the environment be good for everybody, that everybody’s having a good time. We shot on a Monday and Tuesday back in June and the best response I got [was when] one of the young production assistants came up to me and she said, ‘Everybody’s having such a good time. And it’s a Monday!’ and I thought, ‘That’s the best. That’s the best right there.’”
There has been no word since the fall of 2021 about the “Tic Tac Dough” reboot, however, so fans have been left wondering if Bergeron will return full-time to TV hosting.
“The Wheel” episode featuring Bergeron, Johnson and more airs Friday, December 23 at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on NBC.