FOX’s New Game Show 99 To Beat Needs To Make An Obvious Change For Season 2

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I checked out the first episode of FOX’s new game show, *99 To Beat*, and the idea is really engaging. The show starts with 100 contestants all attempting the same challenge simultaneously, and the last-place finisher is eliminated each round. This continues until only one contestant remains, who then wins a million dollars. Sounds like a good time, doesn’t it?

Actually, that’s not what happened. To my surprise – and probably to the surprise of everyone watching – the show introduced a team challenge. The 96 players left were divided into eight teams and had to work together in a relay race, passing water down an assembly line to fill buckets. I thought the twelve players on the losing team would face a final challenge to determine who was eliminated, but instead, the entire losing team was sent home.

The show *99 To Beat* is based on a Belgian game show. I’m not familiar with the original version, but I strongly dislike the idea of eliminating multiple contestants at once. The core of a good competition, in my opinion, is that players should be eliminated based on their individual performance in a challenge, not because of a bad pairing with a teammate who struggles with simple tasks.

Honestly, I think the producers of *99 To Beat* just wanted to move things along faster, and maybe they hoped for some extra drama with couples turning on each other. But that’s not what I’m here for! I don’t believe anyone tuning into a show like this is going to quit watching just because there are a few more episodes. If they were *that* worried about length, they should have started with fewer players – maybe called it *49 To Beat*! The show already has plenty of drama built in, with people being eliminated after each challenge, *especially* when you have family and friends competing against each other.

I’m a huge fan of game shows and reality competitions – I even listen to podcasts about *Survivor* and write rankings for *Top Chef*. I watch pretty much every episode of shows like *Jeopardy*, *The Amazing Race*, *The Floor*, *The Great British Bake Off*, and *MasterChef*, plus a lot more. I thrive on competition and enjoy a show with a unique concept. That makes me the perfect audience for *99 To Beat*, but a key rule of any competition is that the show itself needs to play by its own rules.

Adding unexpected and artificial twists just to create drama rarely works well in reality competitions. *Survivor* fans were furious a few years ago after a particularly frustrating hourglass twist, and *Big Brother* viewers are still upset about a recent competition that eliminated a player without a proper vote. I’m also really frustrated with *99 To Beat* because twelve contestants were eliminated simply due to being randomly assigned to losing teams.

The season preview revealed there will be 50 challenges, meaning we’re likely to see multiple contestants eliminated in a single round several times. I expect this will even happen later in the season, when only around twelve players remain, and it’s going to be frustrating for viewers.

I really want to enjoy watching *99 To Beat*. I’m a fan of simple, silly games – things like weight-guessing challenges or water-filling tasks. Right now, it seems like a fun way to pass the time, and it mostly is. However, the show needs to stop eliminating so many contestants at once. It doesn’t really fit the feel of the show, and it’s going to annoy viewers as they start caring about the people competing.

Ken Jeong and Erin Andrews host the new game show, *99 To Beat*, which premiered on FOX on Sunday nights. Hopefully, it’s successful enough to return for a second season with some improvements.

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2025-09-22 21:38