The Federal Communications Commission is looking to see if producers of the Fox game show Our Little Genius leaked some answers to potential contestants, reports The New York Times. Through the Freedom of Information Act, the FCC released a letter to the paper that was sent to the commission in December by a parent of a potential contestant; in it, the parent alleges that a production staff member reviewed possible topics with the child and provided answers to at least four questions several days before an episode was to be shot, according to the Times. Fox pulled the first two episodes of Genius from the schedule on Jan. 7—less than a week before its premiere—and released this statement from the show’s executive producer Mark Burnett: “I recently discovered that there was an issue with how some information was relayed to contestants during the pre-production of Our Little Genius. As a result, I am not comfortable delivering the episodes without re-shooting them. I believe my series must always be beyond reproach, so I have requested that Fox not air these episodes.” Genius, which never aired, showcased six- to 12-year-olds answering questions to win money. When contacted by EW.com, a Fox spokesperson had no comment.
Feb 20
2010
02:37 PM ET
Report: FCC examining never-aired Fox game show 'Our Little Genius'
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Fox is such a crappy company. Stupid shows like this makes me vomit.
reality shows and kids dont mix.
Fire them all. Fakes.
I don’t get it. The show didn’t air, so how is it an issue? I can see where it would be a gigantic scandal had Fox aired the show, but seeing as they didn’t, I don’t understand how the FCC can get involved.
It says they were competing for money so I can see how it would be a problem if any money was awarded. It doesn’t say that that contestant won any money though, I wonder.
Money (presumably for future college) is the reason these kids participate. The FCC monitors all such contest shows where money is awarded (see the film The Quiz Show).
My thoughts exactly. Looks like the FCC has little to do but plenty of money to burn.
Preventing fraud…. protecting the naive and children from exploitation?!? Clearly, the FCC has something to do, and reason to do it.
see? bad things happen to networks that cancel shows like “arrested development.”