Moment of Truth for Nine

Here’s a title that journalists will have a field day with.

The Nine Network has picked up the rights to the new game show Moment of Truth.

The lie detector-based show in the US is hosted by Mark L. Walberg (not to be confused with screen actor Mark Wahlberg). In the UK the host is Jerry Springer. The format originated in Colombia, where one woman admitted to hiring a hit man to kill her husband.

Couples are hooked up to a polygraph prior to the show to answer a series of questions, later put through the wringer on national TV to verify their responses. The show relies on betrayal, honesty and greed -naturally there is a big cash prize for the couples who are in sync with one another.

The US version has just premiered to an impressive 25m viewers, though the New York Post has called it “a slow paced bore.”

But Nine, which is yet to announce a local host and premiere date, isn’t fazed.

“This should be the easiest game show. They know all the questions, and technically they know all the answers,” says Channel Nine’s Director of Programming, Michael Healy. “But what seems to be easy becomes extremely hard and painful, to answer question after question in a truthful manner in front of your family and friends.”

Press Release:
“Have you ever thought your boyfriend was gay?”
“Do you blame your father for tearing your family apart?”
“Is there a part of your partner’s body that repulses you?”

What if you are asked those questions in front of that girl or those parents or friends?

That is the setup for The Moment of Truth, the smash-hit reality show that premiered in the US last night to a massive audience of over 25 million – the highest debut for a show on any US network in the last year, and the highest rating reality show since the launch of American Idol.

Channel Nine announced today that it has bought the rights to produce a local version of this new hit, The Moment of Truth, and has already commenced production.

The show promises $500,000 cash to contestants who can withstand escalating embarrassment by honestly answering 21 questions, based on earlier off-camera responses they had given while strapped to a polygraph.

“This should be the easiest game show. They know all the questions, and technically they know all the answers,” says Channel Nine’s Director of Programming, Michael Healy. “But what seems to be easy becomes extremely hard and painful, to answer question after question in a truthful manner in front of your family and friends.”

The Moment of Truth, created by Howard Schultz (Extreme Makeover, plastic surgery edition), has already been sold in 26 countries and has aired in the UK, Germany and Colombia, where it made international headlines, and was yanked off air after a woman confessed to hiring a hit man to kill her husband (local producers never told the police).

More details about Nine’s Australian series of The Moment of Truth, including the host and premiere date, will be announced in the coming months.

Kindly link to this website when sourcing or posting in messageboards, thanks!