Game shows, beloved in U.S., look overseas

Earlier this year, a studio audience gathered to watch the taping of a pilot for "Wordle," a new game show based on the wildly popular New York Times puzzle.

- STEPHEN BATTAGLIO

"THE FLOOR" host Rob Lowe has spoken bluntly about the cost savings realized by filming in Bray, Ireland.

Fox

The warm-up comic who came out before the start of the show explained to the crowd how "Wordle" emcee Savannah Guthrie is the co-host of the "Today" show with an impressive resume that included interviewing presidents. He also advised them on how there may be unfamiliar spellings of the words used in the game.

While Guthrie needs no introduction in the U.S., it was required at “Wordle,” which was shot at dock10, a TV production facility in Manchester, England. Production company Universal Television Alternative Studio and NBC had a contingent of executives, producers and question writers on hand. But the director and technical crew for the production were all Manchester locals, as was the audience. The contestants were flown in from the U.S.

If “Wordle” gets added to the NBC schedule next year, it will be produced in the United Kingdom — either in Manchester or in Ireland. But the move won’t break ground. A growing number of U.S. game show makers - long based in Los Angeles and New York - have headed across the ocean to take advantage of generous tax credits that can bring down the cost of production at a time when TV networks contend with shrinking audiences and profit margins.

Fox currently has four prime-time game shows produced overseas, including “The Floor,” “99 to Beat,” “Celebrity Name That Tune” and “Beat Shazam.” (The network's “The Masked Singer,” and “Celebrity Weakest Link” are made on the Fox lot in Century City.)

The latest season of Fremantle North America’s classic Goodson-Todman format “Match Game” was produced in Montreal for ABC with a local crew to take advantage of Canada’s production tax credit. Past seasons were taped in New York.