Roush Review: The New ‘Password’ Is … Fun!

Password

Matt's Rating:

With summer comes the onslaught of primetime game shows to fill the network void: some eternally fun (The $100,000 Pyramid), some cloyingly trite (Generation Gap) or reality-show contrived (Claim to Fame), and some too inexplicably silly for words (the giant Jenga-like The Final Straw, which really is).

Words, happily, remain the focus of Password, a true classic with a long broadcast history on multiple networks, dating back to the genre’s 1960s heyday. Jimmy Fallon has been honoring the show with celebrity segments in late night on The Tonight Show for quite some time and now brings it to prime time in a high-energy weekly series. (Two episodes air this week, with a second on Wednesday.) Tuesday’s premiere is dedicated to the late, great Betty White, who was the original show’s most celebrated player, not only because she married the host (Allen Ludden).

Jordin Althaus/NBC

Much of the new Password’s verve comes from irrepressible host Keke Palmer, the breakout star of box-office hit Nope. “It’s so hard sometimes not to play along. I’m so competitive,” she gushes. (We know how she feels. It’s one of the reasons we watch these shows.) I keep hoping Fallon will someday switch places and let her play a round.

But it’s clear that Fallon loves playing Password, paired with a contestant and matching wits with a celebrity guest (a good-natured Jon Hamm in the premiere), each calculating how many clues it will take for their partner to guess the password. When the announcer whispers the next password to the viewer, the studio audience’s reaction tells the players what they’re in for. “You can kind of get a sense,” Hamm observes from the hot seat after one significant groan. “This is like a medium hard.” (He’s right.)

Related

Keke Palmer Says Jimmy Fallon 'Is Our Betty White' in 'Password' Revival

Hugs and good humor, and something called the “Redemption Round,” guarantee an upbeat tone that makes it impossible to watch Password without smiling. Or laughing, which I couldn’t help doing after witnessing guest Heidi Klum (Wednesday’s guest) supply an absolutely outrageous clue for “Peacock.” Betty White would approve.

Password, Season Premiere, Tuesday, August 9, 10/9c, NBC