Florida isn’t the only weird state in the U.S. that ‘Late Night’ with Seth Meyers could have used as the topic of their new game show…But “Fake or Florida” does roll off of the tongue a lot better than “Fake or Louisiana” or “Fake or South Dakota.” There’s also the fact that the show depends upon the unending supply of too-bizarre-to-be-true (anywhere else) news from Florida.
To play “Fake or Florida,” contestants are read a bizarre news headline. They must guess whether the headline is a genuine Florida news story or whether it’s false. There are no buzzers to indicate whether they’re right or wrong. Instead, if they guess correctly,a voice yells “BINGO!” If their guess is incorrect, the dulcet tones of the pageant mom of a 4-year-old are heard screeching – “Amber, No!!!”
I am fighting the urge to be a ‘spoiler’ as I am so often tempted to do. However, to give you the flavor of the competition, here is just one headline given to a competitor: “A pastor swore he would eat a live cockroach to bring more people into his mega church.” What do you think?
I won’t give away the answer to this particular story. I will say that the words “Amber,NO!” were seldom heard during this episode of “Fake or Florida.” This game show looks like a winner, built from the headlines of the colorful losers – er, neighbors whom we love so much – at a distance.