The Discovery Channel hasn’t debuted new episodes of “Cash Cab” since 2012, but that is now planned to change later this year.
The Hollywood Reporter just exclusively reported that Discovery is working on new episodes that will feature guest hosts from “the worlds of comedy, film and TV” as the drivers. Original host and driver Ben Bailey will apparently not be returning. The network has yet to announce a main host for the show.
Comedian David Steinberg (who has directed episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and produced various comedy specials) will executive produce.
For those unfamiliar with the original series, “Cash Cab” is a game show from 2005 where passengers in a taxi try to answer trivia questions before they reach their destination. Contestants could earn hundreds of dollars by answering these prompts correctly.
The original show had a bit of controversy when former contestants came forward to reveal the premise was faked. Rather than the cash cab randomly picking up unsuspecting passengers as the show implies, producers would cast contestants beforehand. The money exchange between the contestants and host at the end of their rides was also apparently staged, as the show would mail the contestants checks afterward.
These are certainly not egregious falsehoods, but the magic of hoping you could be picked up by the cash cab at any moment in New York was gone.
At least a couple of the original producers from All3 Media’s Lion USA, Tony Tackaberry and Allison Corn, are back to executive produce again.
It remains unclear if the new “Cash Cab” will be formatted similarly to the original or if there will be changes to the game show’s model.