Were you a fan of "Supermarket Sweep" back in the day? A reboot of the classic game show is currently in the works and Leslie Jones it set to host and executive produce.
The comedian first shared the news in September after confirming that she was leaving "Saturday Night Live" after five seasons to pursue other projects. The competitive grocery shopping show that originally aired on ABC from 1965 to 1967 (and was later revived on other networks during the 1990s), will officially be going back to ABC, Deadline reported Wednesday.
“I’ve always dreamed of being on 'Supermarket Sweep',” Jones said in a statement. “Seriously, I tried out for the show years ago; and after getting turned away, I knew I’d have to take matters into my own hands. Being able to bring the iconic game show back to life on ABC is my ultimate redemption story!”
Though ABC has yet to announce when the show will be back on TV, fans have already been excited about the reboot for months.
They're champing at the bit to become contestants.
And some are already plotting how they'll win.
For those who didn't grow up glued to game shows, "Supermarket Sweep," which was originally created by Al Howard, features a host asking contestants a series of trivia questions to compete for time. The teams then have to race around a fully stocked grocery store with shopping carts to collect high-dollar goods within their allotted time. The team with the most amount of valuable items in their cart wins.
After its two-year stint in the late 1960s, "Supermarket Sweep" was picked up by Lifetime, where it aired for five years (1990-1995), and then moved to Pax, where it aired from 1999-2003. The show has been off the air in the U.S. for nearly two decades, but there have also been international versions of the series with one currently airing in the U.K.
For anyone who needs a refresher on the rules, a season from 1991 is currently available to stream on Amazon Prime.
Before being recommended for the "SNL" job by Chris Rock in 2014, Jones appeared on BET, HBO's “Def Comedy Jam” and recorded her own Showtime special. "SNL" led to bigger roles for Jones, including the 2016 reboot of “Ghostbusters” with fellow "SNL" cast mate Kate McKinnon. She's also received several Emmy nominations and made TIME's list of the "100 Most Influential People" in 2017. In 2018, Jones was also applauded on social media for her hilarious live-tweets covering the Winter Olympics on NBC.
The new "Supermarket Sweep," which is produced by Freemantle, will start production on 10 episodes this spring.
Competitive grocery shoppers better get ready. A Jones-led game show is going to be fierce.
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story was originally published on Sept. 6, 2019. It has been updated to reflect new information.
