‘Match Game’ Is Returning With a New Host — Here’s Everything We Know
Match Game is coming back for a new season for the first time in four years, and with its return comes a new host. The game show was revived in 2016, after its original run in 1962. Alec Baldwin hosted the 2016 version, which ran until 2021 and was canceled in 2022. The most recent season was shot during the Covid-19 pandemic, with nine episodes between May and October 2020, and then the final two airing on July 21 and July 28, 2021.
Read on to find out who is hosting now and why Baldwin is not returning.
Who is hosting Match Game 2025?
Martin Short will be expanding his relationship with Disney and hosting the game show. He also works for the company with his show Only Murders in the Building, which airs on Hulu, a division of the Disney company. Short will also serve as an executive producer on the show.
What is Match Game about?
Match Game is a game show where each week four contestants try to win $25,000. They do this by trying to match celebrities’ answers in a game of fill-in-the-blank. The format has been revived several times since its inception.
Where and when can you watch Match Game?
The new season will premiere as part of ABC’s summer 2025 schedule, starting on Wednesday, July 23, at 9/8c on ABC.
Has Martin Short hosted before?
Yes! Martin Short hosted a daytime talk show in 1999, and has guest-hosted for Jimmy Kimmel Live! numerous times.
Why is Alex Baldwin no longer hosting?
The end of the last season of Match Game came in the midst of Baldwin’s accidental fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the film Rust in October 2021. However, the cancellation of the show wasn’t due to that incident. It hasn’t been in production since 2020, due to Covid-19. The 2021 episodes were filmed during that time as well.
Baldwin went to trial for the shooting and he was charged with involuntary manslaughter. The charges were dismissed in July 2024 when Judge Mary Marlowe Sommer agreed with his defense team that prosecutors in the case improperly handled evidence and dismissed the charges against him and thus, the judge had to grant their motion for mistrial.
Match Game, season premiere, July 23, 9/8c, ABC
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