On the set of the newest revival of the classic game show Hollywood Squares, which we sat in on at CBS Television City in L.A. last August, someone shared a joke so raunchy that center square Drew Barrymore, who executive produces, put her hands over her mouth in mock shock, and host Nate Burleson was speechless. The culprit was comedian Drew Carey, who hosts The Price is Right.
We won’t share his one-liner, which is about as likely as a streaker to make it onto the air, but the studio audience was in hysterics. And let’s face it, Squares (which originally aired from 1966 to 1980, with previous reboots running from 1986-1989 and 1998-2004) has always been racy. The zingers are perfect foils to the format, based on the wholesome game of “Tic-Tac-Toe.” Here, it’s played on a 3×3 board of nine cubes, each occupied by a celebrity. Burleson asks them questions and contestants judge the stars’ answers for accuracy to nab squares. (See the celebs scheduled to appear right here.)
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“I think we’re going to push the envelope here, which I like. I’m a naughty, irreverent, rebellious person. I always have been too. I want the gosh-darn goodness. I want people to be happy. I want them to be safe and protected and fought for. But I am not a goody two shoes,” Barrymore told us, with the same warmth and enthusiasm she displays on her talker, The Drew Barrymore Show. She was cozied up on a sofa with Burleson backstage in the celebrity lounge, a fancy green room boasting a full bar, buffet, and a massive TV where stars on deck can watch tapings. As we spoke, celebs including EGOT-winning legend Rita Moreno trickled in.
“You’re not above walking to the edge and testing the dangerous side,” agreed a smiling Burleson, who co-hosts CBS Mornings and The NFL Today. He is stepping into the shoes of previous Squares emcees Peter Marshall, John Davidson, and Tom Bergeron. Burleson shared that Bergeron sent “a very sweet message” of congratulations. “There is this sense of pressure that you feel as a host. When I walk onto the stage and I say my big hello to Drew, there’s this invisible bridge that I create in my mind that I know I can walk over and give her a hug at any moment. So, if the show goes off the rails, I’m finding Drew.”
Sonja Flemming/CBS
But Burleson knows that going off the rails is one thing people expect from the beloved classic. “It crosses over generations,” the onetime NFL wide receiver explained. “You’re sitting at home, you see celebs and stars and people that you have admired for years, cracking jokes, going right up to the edge and making you laugh until your stomach hurts. At the same time, you’re yelling at the screen because the contestants don’t know the answer or you’re mad that they went up top instead of going down low on their tic-tac-toe strategy. It gives you that chance to have all of these feels.”
Some of the biggest laughs come from the all-important center square which has been occupied by legends like king of the double-entendre Paul Lynde in the ’60s, and comedian Joan Rivers in the ’80s. Barrymore infuses it with her own goofy spirit. “I’ve run around a few times,” she shared. “Then other people start running around. Sometimes you’ll try giving someone a kiss. Sometimes I’ll pull out a hair extension. You never know what it’s going to be. That gets kind of a thread going for other people.”
Barrymore first got the idea for rebooting Squares four years ago on Zoom during the coronavirus pandemic. Seeing everyone in little boxes reminded her of the series she watched in childhood. “This show is personal for me because it made me so happy when I was a kid. I sought it out. All through growing up, Paul Lynde and Whoopi [Goldberg], and the style of the show and the jokes, they keep coming back around. The show has a very timeless feeling. I kept pushing for it. It was something I felt would be good in the world. When is it a bad time to go to a party and laugh and see people win things?”
Sonja Flemming/CBS
Squares is still the kind of thing Barrymore would watch on her day off. The actress revealed that when she gets some downtime, “I have to get my batteries back up to full. Obviously, [I spend] a lot of time with the kids. I’m a single lady with four cats and I like to be alone with my cats. [I asked my therapist], ‘If I have a day off and I’m just on the couch watching TV and eating, is that a waste of a day?’ And he was like, ‘Maybe you just need to hear the word ‘permission.’ I wrote it down on a card and I put it up. I really enjoy the remote control in one hand, nachos in the other, watching the Food Network.”
And then you could sense that “invisible bridge” between them as Burleson riffed, “Yep, or a movie you’ve seen a thousand times. You want something familiar.” Barrymore nodded and said, “Familiar and cozy, just like this show! There is this connection that we have with the spirit of those that have hosted, been center squares or stars on the show. Their spirit is in the studio. You walk in immediately, you feel it. We are here to pay homage to those that have come before us and take this show into the future. And I’m really enjoying when Triumph, the Insult Comic Dog takes me down.”
Hollywood Squares premieres Thursday, January 9 on CBS, and will move to Wednesdays beginning January 29.
Hollywood Squares, Series Premiere, Thursday, January 9, 8/7c, CBS
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