A Legends of the Hidden Temple revival will be making its way to The CW with adults joining the competition instead of children. The news is sure to bring excitement to an entire generation of young adults who grew up watching the beloved original series back in the 1990s. The real question is whether the magic can be rebooted as well, especially with adults competing now.
Nickelodeon aired the original Legends of the Hidden Temple from 1993-1995. Hallmarks of the show included the talking head 0f the Mayan statue, Olmec, and the iconic names of the original teams, Purple Parrots, Orange Iguanas, Blue Barracudas, Green Monkeys, Silver Snakes and Red Jaguars. The creators of the game show, David G. Stanley, Scott A. Stone, and Stephen R. Brown, were inspired by various cultural icons while creating the series, including Indiana Jones and Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda franchise.
Variety reported that The CW has ordered the revived Legends of the Hidden Temple series this week, seeing its potential as an adult game show. The reboot is sticking to many of the original show's elements, though instead of being shot in a studio they are heading into a "mysterious jungle" where the challenges are going to be more difficult, but worth bigger rewards. They have confirmed the return of Olmec the talking Mayan statue, redesigned versions of all of the challenges from the original, and keeping the names of the teams from the Nickelodeon series.
The new series follows a number of recent expansions to the Legends of the Hidden Temple franchise, including Halloween costumes, a Target exclusive board game (which sold out very quickly), the full original series now streaming on Paramount+, and a movie that was released on Nickelodeon in November of 2016. The CW series will be produced by Stone & Company Entertainment and Nickelodeon. Stone and Marcus J. Fox, both currently producers on another reality game show, Paradise Run, are also credited as Executive Producers for the new Legends of the Hidden Temple.
The CW knows there a lot of millennials with nostalgia for series like this, and it is not that surprising to see a reboot happen. Whether or not it will work as a modern game show, especially with adults, is the real question. Part of the charm of the original was the simple design of the sets and the kids learning teamwork as they worked their way through the challenges. Will it feel the same seeing adults fighting amongst themselves as they are racing through a real jungle? Putting more money into set design and making the prizes bigger does not necessarily elevate the show to something adults would want to participate in, let alone watch. Hopefully they will have updated enough of the show's challenges and format to make it feel unique to itself, and not just a flashy imitation of a nostalgic series from the past.
Source: Variety