Television rarely lets a good format stay buried. Networks keep going back to the 1970s because the rules of those shows were simple enough to explain in a few seconds. A familiar title also gets noticed in a crowded schedule.
The six shows below all started in that decade and later came back with new hosts, updated sets and sometimes tweaked rules. Some returns were short, some were more successful, and each one shows what survived the trip.
Match Game
The title is older than the 1970s, but the version people remember began in 1973. It returned on CBS that year with an expanded panel, larger cash payouts and an emphasis on humor. That format became the template. The 1973 format was used, with changes, for every later revival.
The most visible modern return came on ABC in 2016, when Alec Baldwin hosted Match Game in primetime. That run totaled 65 episodes between 2016 and 2021. The same listing also shows a short 2025 edition of eight episodes, so the format is still being tried.
The $100,000 Pyramid
This one began as The $10,000 Pyramid in 1973, with Dick Clark as host. The core idea stayed the same for decades. A contestant and a celebrity partner race to get through word categories using only clues. The prizes went up several times before the original run ended in 1988.
The show later returned in a larger form. Michael Strahan hosts The $100,000 Pyramid, ABC’s revival of the 1973 format. It’s a good example of a quiet format that works best when only the name and the money change.
Card Sharks
Card Sharks reached television in 1978. It debuted on NBC and ran several versions into the early 2000s. Contestants guess survey answers to take control of a row of oversized cards, then bet on whether the next card is higher or lower.
ABC brought it back in 2019 with comedian Joel McHale as host. That version dropped the best two out of three structure, so only one game is played per match, and the winner gets a starting stake for the Money Cards. It was a modest run of 21 episodes on ABC.
The Gong Show
The Gong Show arrived in 1976 and treated failure as entertainment. Amateur performers faced three celebrity judges, and any judge could hit a giant gong to end an act early. Chuck Barris was the man behind it.
Decades on, ABC revived it for summer primetime. The 2017 version premiered on June 22 with Mike Myers hosting in prosthetics as British comedian Tommy Maitland. The format depends on the judges and the acts, so a new host in character was a clear way to refresh it.
The Joker’s Wild
Here the gimmick was the set. The Joker’s Wild debuted on CBS in 1972 and used a slot machine style mechanism to choose question categories. Contestants pulled a lever, watched the wheels spin, and answered trivia on whatever came up.
The format came back on cable in 2017. Snoop Dogg took on hosting duties for a revival on TBS. A casino look suited a rapper turned TV host, and the slot machine made the show easy to recognize.
Family Feud
Family Feud premiered on ABC in 1976 with Richard Dawson as host. Two families guess the most popular answers from a survey, which keeps the rules easy for any viewer to follow. The show has been brought back repeatedly since the 1980s.
Its latest chapter includes primetime spin offs. Steve Harvey fronts ABC’s Celebrity Family Feud, which helped move a daytime staple into the evening slot. Few 1970s formats have managed so many returns with so little change to the basic game.
