Next Round: Become a Game Show Contestant!

Jeff Foxworthy's American Bible Challenge

At a recent open audition at a suburban Dallas shopping mall for the new Jeff Foxworthy quiz show "American Bible Challenge," this team made it through the first rounds of applications, screeners and interviews. Staff members were close-lipped about what they were looking for -- but after several hours, it became obvious that the producers want the show to be fun.

This trio calls their team "The Pool Boys." Grandpa, 65, is a corporate executive who gives out CDs of himself singing Gospel. Dad, 33, is a heart surgeon. And 8-year-old John Mark is a homeschooled third grader. But there was a problem -- the show has a rule: no contestants under the age of 12.

Staff members from the Game Show Network went into a huddle. What if little John Mark could pass the multi-page written exam on Bible trivia?

Jeff Foxworthy's American Bible Challenge

For that matter -- why is the Game Show Network taking a big risk with a prime-time show based on the Bible? The corporate bigwigs at GSN and their corporate parent, Sony, had asked themselves: Why not a game show built around the bestselling book of all time? More copies of the Bible are in print than any other written work. According to the New York Times, more than 40,000 Bibles are sold daily. Even more are given away daily by such groups as Gideons International and the American Bible Society. The Bible’s continuing sales numbers exceed those of even the most popular novels. Harry Potter, Twilight, Hunger Games – none even come close. So, why wouldn’t a game show based on the Holy Scripture be a big success? GSN and Sony are willing to take a chance -- believing that the Holy Bible’s universal appeal and eternal promise just might give them the next The Price Is Right.

Jeff Foxworthy's American Bible Challenge

But is there enough interest in the Bible today to create a game show around it?

“We knew in Los Angeles when we did our first casting call that we had a hit on our hands,” says Game Show Network executive David Schiff. “So many teenagers and 20-somethings showed up -- which was not at all what we’d expected. Some of them had jailhouse tattoos, others spray-on tans. We had retirees and professionals and little kids – all possible demographics.

“We’ve heard moms and dads say “There is so little that we can do as a shared experience as a family these days” – there’s nothing on TV that the family can watch together. This is the first show in a very long time that will transcend generations – ages 8 to 80 watching together and shouting the answer at the screen."