Celebrity Family Feud Premieres June 21 + My Live Taping Experience #CelebrityFamilyFeud

Watching two families spar off against each other in “Family Feud” is one of television’s most popular and enduring game show formats. I personally have been watching the show for as long as I can remember.  My parents worked full time and my caregivers were my grandparents.  They only spoke Spanish and let’s just say they allowed me to watch a lot of TV.  My favorite was game shows and Family Feud as at the top of the list.  My grandmother would watch the show with me although she didn’t understand it.  She’d scrunch up her face in disgust when each of the women were kissed by host Richard Dawson and my 6 year old self would blush in embarrassment! Even now as an adult, I love watching game shows and even the networks that are dedicated to them.

In the new primetime celebrity version “Celebrity Family Feud” will take the fun to another level over the six-episode special series. Steve Harvey, the highly popular multi-hyphenate standup comedian, actor, author, deejay and Emmy Award-winning game show host, will pit celebrities against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey-type question posed to 100 people.

In each episode, two celebrity families and their immediate family members or their extended TV families, will compete against each other to win money for charity. Each team will be made up of a celebrity captain with four relatives or friends playing along. The winning celebrity team will be given a chance to win up to $25,000 to donate to a charity of their choice. Each hour-long episode will contain two games.

This season’s teams are:
Dr. Phil McGraw – the world’s most well-known mental health professional and host and executive producer of television’s #1 daytime talk show, “Dr. Phil.”
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Penny Marshall – Golden Globe nominee, best known as Laverne of the beloved TV show “Laverne & Shirley” and director of “BIG,” “League of their Own,” and “Awakenings.”

 

Karina Smirnoff – American audiences first fell in love with Karina during season three of “Dancing with the Stars.” In Season 13, she won the Mirrorball trophy with J.R. Martinez as her partner. Her “Celebrity Family Feud” team consists of DWTS pro dancers:
o Anna Trebunskaya – she partnered with Jerry Rice in season 2
o Sasha Farber – he partnered with Snooki in season 17
o Witney Carson – season 19 Mirrorball Champion with celebrity partner, Alfonso Ribeiro
o Allison Holker – she partnered with Riker Lynch in season 20 and placed second in the finals
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Sean Lowe – He was “The Bachelor” during the romantic reality show’s 17th season in 2013
o Catherine Guidici, Sean’s wife
o Jason Mesnick – He was the first-ever single dad when he appeared as “The Bachelor” in the 13th season in 2008
o Molly Mesnick, Jason’s wife
o Kaitlyn Bristowe – Currently “The Bachelorette” after winning the vote the men took the first night between her and Britt

 

Kevin McHale – actor and singer best known for his role as Artie Abrams on television’s “Glee” and former member of the R&B boy band NLT
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Fred Willard — iconic comedic actor from “Fernwood Tonight,” “Modern Family” and the film, “Best In Show”

 

American Stars from the NFL
o Antonio Brown – Pittsburgh Steelers/wide receiver
o Nick Mangold – New York Jets/center
o Terrell Suggs – Baltimore Ravens/outside linebacker
o Antonio Gates – San Diego Chargers/tight end
o DeMarcus Ware – Denver Broncos/defensive end
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National Stars from the NFL
o Vernon Davis – San Francisco 49ers/tight end
o Eddie Lacy – Green Bay Packers/running back
o Calais Campbell – Arizona Cardinals/defensive end
o Matt Forte – Chicago Bears/running back
o Thomas Davis – Carolina Panthers/outside linebacker

 

Monica Potter – Critics’ Choice-winning and Golden Globe-nominated actress (“Parenthood,” “Con Air,” “Patch Adams,” and “Saw”)
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Curtis Stone – Australian celebrity chef, author and television personality

 

Mario Lopez – actor, author and host of the entertainment news program “Extra”
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Joey Lawrence – actor and producer, known for “Melissa & Joey” and “Blossom”

 

Katy Mixon— movie and TV actress best known for playing Victoria on “Mike & Molly” and April Buchanan on “East Bound & Down”
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Willie Robertson – he leads family members from the reality show, A&E’s “Duck Dynasty”

 

Rob Gronkowski – NFL tight end for the Super Bowl-winning New England Patriots and actor (2015’s “Entourage”)
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Holly Robinson Peete – actress, author, activist and co-founder of The HollyRod Foundation

 

Niecy Nash –Emmy Award-winning actress/comedienne (“Getting On,” “The Soul Man,” “Reno 911!,” “Clean House”)
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Cheryl Hines – movie and TV actress best known for her Emmy Award-nominated role as Cheryl David on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and 3 seasons on “Suburgatory”

 

Keke Palmer – Award-winning actress (“Akeelah and The Bee,” “Masters of Sex”), singer and dancer, starring in FOX’s new comedy-horror series, “Scream Queens.”
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Bill Engvall – Actor/Comedian

The series premiere (TONIGHT June 21, 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT on ABC) of “Celebrity Family Feud” will feature actor Anthony Anderson’s (“black-ish”) family vs. 7-time Grammy Award-winning artist Toni Braxton and her sisters; and in a separate game, family members from Australian celebrity chef Curtis Stone and actress Monica Potter will spar off against each other to win money for a charity of their choice.

MY ON-SET EXPERIENCE
Being on set was a blast!  The energy was high, people eager to see and chat with Steve Harvey and see the celebrities on stage was exciting.  Bright lights, cameras rolling around to get the best shot and the cheers and claps of the crowd really got everyone going.  Thanks to a very energetic crowd warmer we cheered and clapped to the theme song like we’d been doing it all our lives.

We were thrilled to watch a match between two legends of television and screen. Ed Asner – 7-Time Emmy Award winning (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Lou Grant,” “Up” ) vs. Vicki Lawrence – Emmy Award-winning comedienne best-known for her part in the legendary cast of the “Carol Burnett Show.”  To take it a step beyond, Ed Asner was Santa in “Elf” and Vicki was the lead in “Mama’s Family” two more of my all-time favorites!  Both actors brought their family and were a complete hoot on set!  Let me say that Vicki looks like she hasn’t aged a bit and Ed was a trooper throughout and it was a fun and exciting show to watch!

Prior to arriving to the set, us bloggers sent a some questions in for Steve Harvey. Often during taping breaks, Steve heads over to the audience and chats. Well, he also got a hold of our questions and answered mine live!  I was curious if he’d watched the show with Richard Dawson and got any tips from him before he began.  He answered that yes he watched, but that originally he did NOT want to do the show.  How could he stop himself from teasing a contestant for giving a silly answer, but ultimately he joked (I think) the money changed his mind!

For the short time we were in the studio, Steve chatted with the audience quite a bit and his lectures ran deep.  He spoke of his father and how he was such a huge inspiration to him growing up.  His father’s work ethic (despite his 3rd grade education) was “don’t let anyone work harder that you” along with his mother’s faith shaped the man Steve Harvey is today.  He preached that “imagination is everything” and it’s the way God speaks to you as a “preview of what’s to come.”  He told us to do what we loved, and to nurture the gift that each one of us possesses.  It was incredible listening to Steve, he a host, a comedian, an author, a mentor, and such a inspiration that I teared up on more than one occasion during our visit.

After the taping we got to go on stage and snap photos and it was so cool!  Short of hitting the buzzer, standing at the podium was the neatest feeling, I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face!

Celebrity Family Feud premieres  June 21 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET/PT) on the ABC Television Network.

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Disney sent me on a 3 day all expenses paid adventure but all the opinions are 100% my honest opinion!