The classic game show I've Got a Secret returns with an all-queer panel.

By Ramy Eletreby

I'm just going to make an assumption and say that whoever is reading this is sick of reality shows. After seven years of being booted off islands, kicked off stages, firing apprentices, and losing thousands of dollars because the other guy had a full house, game shows have become tedious and unimaginative. The majority of these shows are based on how subjectively talented, conniving, manipulative, vindictive, and greedy one can be. With the exceptions of long-running classics like Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune, and The Price is Right, game shows no longer really rely on the simple charm of humor and whimsy. But, thanks to GSN (the Game Show Network), the classic game show ideology is making its way back to television beginning with a huge shout-out to the Golden Age. Airing weeknights at 11:30 p.m. beginning April 17, GSN is bringing back I've Got a Secret, one of the longest running and most top-rated game shows in television history. The all-new I've Got a Secret has all the makings of an instant late-night hit. The show simultaneously pays homage to the classic panel game show model by preserving its retro energy while also ushering it into contemporary society by featuring an all-LGBT panel. With four chatty, clever, (and often inappropriate) panelists on board engaging in hysterical banter, it's up to host Bil Dwyer (GSN's Extreme Dodgeball) to run this circus of a show. All decked out in the swankiest fashions and haute couture, Broadway actor/dancer Jermaine Taylor, stand-up comedienne Suzanne Westenhoefer, pop-culture aficionado Frank DeCaro, and ex-Major League Baseball star Billy Bean come together to create a dynamic panel, one with a powerful mixture of wit, naughtiness, and camp.

The original I've Got a Secret premiered in 1952 and ran for 15 years. With Gary Moore, and later Steve Allen, as host, it became top-rated in its second year and stayed there for five seasons, reaching its peak during the 1957-58 season when it was ranked fifth. Original panelists included Bill Cullen, Henry Morgan, Betsy Palmer, Faye Emerson, and Jayne Meadows. As in the original, during each half-hour show, the guest whispers their secret to the host while it is also shown to the live studio-audience and home viewer. Each panelist then has 40 seconds to ask the guest yes or no questions to figure out their secret. Should the guest stump the whole panel, they walk away with cash and prizes. During the original version, guests won $20 for every panelist they stumped ($80 if the entire panel couldn't guess the secret). In today's reincarnation of the show, should the guest stump the panel, they win $1,000 and dinner for two in Beverly Hills. How times have changed!

The openly gay panelists see a great deal of significance in providing such a unique twist to a classic show on a free cable channel. "At a time when the dominant image of homosexuality in pop culture is two straight guys playing closeted sheep herders in a doomed relationship, it's significant to see three real-life homos and one genuine lesbian having a fabulous time on television," says DeCaro, who has written for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Late Show with David Letterman. "[I've Got a Secret] dares to mix the old with the new," explains Taylor. "A show that ran for over a decade has an ingredient that serves well every time. Whatever the ingredient is, our producers have it and added even more to the mix resulting in a delicious project." One thing is for sure: Just because the panelists are openly gay does not mean that the show is geared towards gay people. "The panel is gay. The host is straight. The contestants are cuckoo. The show isn't really LGBT-geared, it's just damn funny," adds DeCaro. "Mainstream audiences will realize quickly that watching the show is like being invited to the best cocktail party ever." Each of the panelists is quick to point out that the fact that they are gay is just a reality about who they are as people and entertainers. Their sexual identities in no way become the focus of the show. "I expect that at first many folks won't notice the panel is openly gay," says Westenhoefer. "It will sorta 'sink in' and I think most people will be amused and find that it adds something different and unexpected to the same old game show panel."

Indeed, once the show gets underway and the contestants start revealing their secrets, which are often mind-boggling, the panel's sexuality is the last thing on anybody's mind. "The structure depends completely on what the guest's secret is...so no two shows will ever be the same," says Bean. These secrets account for some of the most off-the-wall and hilarious content on television right now. The secrets often involve some sort of unique talent, achievement, or physical characteristic. From the handsome young man who can break pencils with his ass cheeks to the set of identical twins who married another set of identical twins to the oldest male stripper, the secrets range anywhere from revealing, embarrassing, awkward, fun, cute, playful, disturbing, to downright creepy. One woman claims that her 14-inch waist is the smallest waist in the world, which will forever be embedded in the minds of Bean, Westenhoefer, and DeCaro as being one of the creepiest things they've ever seen. "She had worn special corsets to get it that way," says Westenhoefer. "The ick factor for me was off the charts! She was such a lovely woman...but I was kind of afraid of her." As in the original '50s show, celebrities will often appear as a contestant with their very own revealing secrets up their sleeve. In the premiere episode, Adam West (TV's original Batman), revealed that he had the Batman symbol engraved on one of his molars. Other celebrities set to appear are Phyllis Diller, Tom Green, George Wendt, and several more.

As for the camaraderie among the host and panel, no five people seem to come together more graciously. At a mixer on the set of I've Got a Secret a few weeks ago, one of the GSN show producers jokingly said that it took eight years of interviews and tests to find the right host and the perfect panel. Excusing the exaggeration, it does seem like these people were made to work together. "Our executive producers went crazy putting together this cast and it paid off. We genuinely adore each other and have as much fun with each other off camera as we do on," explains DeCaro.

"I think it would be fair to say we feel like brothers and sisters," says Bean.

"At different times we can be different things. Anything from dormitory mates to siblings," adds Taylor

"I think the producers picked us because we had camaraderie. We are all just different enough to enjoy each other, and we are all gay and you know how gay people stick together," tells Westenhoefer. "Plus, everyone is very nice to Billy because he was a big time baseball player and for all we know he is all 'roided' up and ready to snap at any minute."

I've Got a Secret runs weeknights at 11:30 p.m. PT on GSN (check local listings). For more information, see www.gsn.com.