Dropout’s ‘Game Changer’ Remains Emmy Eligible Despite Finale Delay, Season 7 Writers’ Room Set to Open (EXCLUSIVE)
The two-part season finale of Dropout’s hit game series “Game Changer,” originally scheduled to premiere on May 20, has been delayed “to allow for more time in the edit.”
On Monday, Sam Reich, host and Dropout CEO, announced on social media: “Scheduling Update: we’re pushing the 2-part Game Changer season finale to allow for more time in the edit. It’s one of the most complicated episodes we’ve ever done (you’ll see why). Part 1 will now launch on Dropout on June 3rd, and Part 2 on June 17th.”
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Despite the delay, the sixth season, which featured seven episodes, surpasses the six-episode minimum requirement for submission for the outstanding game show category. According to current Emmy rules, the two-part finale will compete as part of the upcoming seventh season when it airs during the next eligibility window. This is consistent with other competition and game shows with multiple seasons competing as one, such as Netflix’s “Is It Cake,” vying for outstanding reality competition program, with a combined second season, aired in June 2023, and its third season in March 2024.
In addition to the game show category, “Game Changer” has also submitted for outstanding host (Reich) and picture editing for variety programming for 2024 Emmys consideration.
As part of an upcoming interview, Reich exclusively tells Variety that the writers’ room for the upcoming season, which includes Reich, Paul Robalino, Chloe Badner (also the show’s production designer) and Ryan Creamer, is set to open in the next few weeks.
“We’re headed in with a lot of ammunition,” Reich says. “Every season of ‘Game Changer,’ it’s like we’re backing ourselves further into a corner where it’s getting harder to be original. The advantage is that we get to know the show better and have more resources to produce the show as time goes on.”
Shooting for the next season is planned to begin by the end of the summer, with Season 7 expected to premiere sometime in the fall. But don’t fret, Dropout fans; it doesn’t seem like they’re anywhere nearing the end of the innovative series, with Reich exclaiming: “I will continue to do this show until someone or something stops me.”
The standout series from the indie streamer, formerly known as College Humor, doesn’t follow the traditional game show format. Each episode introduces a new game, with the twist that the three comedian contestants are clueless about the rules until the game begins.
On Friday, May 17, Dropout will air the inaugural season finale of its outstanding short-form series contender, “Very Important People.” Host Vic Michaelis will feature “Game Changer” executive producer and “Dimension 20” host Brennan Lee Mulligan transforming into “Augbert,” a seemingly caveman-looking figure based on the image released.
As part of the overall strategy for the digital company, they’re slowly dipping their toes into the awards space, hoping to expand more with their content over the next year. New series like “Smartypants,” the hilarious “PowerPoint” presentation Q&A featuring host Rekha Shankar, airing bi-weekly, will be eligible for the 2025 Emmy calendar.
Reich and Mulligan serve as executive producers for the multi-cam show alongside David Kerns, Kyle Rohrbach, Chloe Badner, Justin Cyrul and Paul Robalino.
Read: All Primetime Emmy predictions in every category on Variety’s Awards Circuit.
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