Every generation thinks it knows better than the one before 鈥� and contestants will try to prove it on CTV鈥檚 new quiz show debuting Monday.
Hosted by Canadian comedian and actress Lilly Singh, 鈥淏attle of the Generations鈥� pits four people representing a different generation 鈥� baby boomer, generation X, millennial and gen Z 鈥� against each other as they answer trivia questions about their own era and those of their rivals in a bid to win up to $25,000.
鈥淗osting a game show is one of the coolest things you can do 鈥� I think it鈥檚 an immediate instant flex,鈥� Singh said in a recent interview.聽
鈥淣ot only do you get to play around with the contestants, but you actually get to make a difference in people鈥檚 lives. The contestants come on the show and they鈥檙e nervous and excited 鈥� and they really want to win this money. You鈥檙e this small piece of someone鈥檚 journey. It鈥檚 really special.鈥�
Singh said she enjoyed taking on a new hosting challenge after her NBC late-night show "A Little Late with Lilly Singh" ended in 2021.
鈥淚t鈥檚 better," she quips.聽
"All jokes aside, the late-night format is a little more rigid 鈥� there was a certain expectation of what it鈥檚 supposed to look and sound like, whereas with the game show, its only purpose is to have fun,鈥� she said.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e trying to engage people and trying to get them to play along with you. Not to mention that so much of my career has been based on intergenerational comedy, so this was so on brand for me to be able to poke fun at all the generations 鈥� mine included.鈥�
Raised by immigrant parents in Scarborough, Ont., Singh rose to fame as a YouTuber dubbed 鈥淪uperwoman.鈥� She quickly garnered a large global social media following for videos that spoofed her Indo-Canadian family, particularly her mother and father.聽
Since then, Singh has become one of the world鈥檚 most influential online personalities, amassing an audience of nearly 40 million followers across her social media channels. She鈥檚 parlayed that popularity into the wider entertainment world 鈥� becoming the first woman of colour to host a daily late-night show on a major broadcast network, writing the New York Times鈥� bestselling book "How to Be a Bawse," and starting her own production company.
In the first episode of 鈥淏attle of the Generations,鈥� the show offers up a healthy dose of nostalgia as the contestants 鈥� Zoe, 23, a McMaster University student from Richmond Hill, Ont.; Harold, 38, a fisher from Haida Gwaii, B.C.; Marci, 52, a writer and podcaster from Toronto; and Jimmy, 63, a Bostonian now living in Calgary 鈥� battle through several rounds of pop-culture trivia before they arrive at the final round, dubbed 鈥淭he Vault.鈥� A neon graphic of a money safe displays the total winnings of all four players that the top scorer can 鈥渦nlock鈥� by correctly answering three questions from one generational category.
Singh said that while the competition can get heated as the contestants sail through questions about Taylor Swift albums or draw a blank when trying to remember 鈥�90s TV shows, she was often surprised by their camaraderie on and off set 鈥� and also by how each generation knew more about one another than might have been expected.
鈥淚 went in with my own biases like everyone else will when they watch the show 鈥� and then you鈥檒l meet a boomer who is a pro at TikTok,鈥� Singh said, noting she did her own practice runs of the trivia questions in the lead-up to hosting the show.
鈥淚 feel pretty confident when it comes to internet and pop-culture trends. But I had a moment on the show where there was some question about slang that gen Z immediately knew 鈥� and I had never heard of it,鈥� she said with a laugh.
鈥淎nd then the millennial, the gen-Xer and the boomer all looked at me, because they knew the answer. So there are some moments where my hair instantly turns grey because I鈥檝e just discovered that I鈥檓 way older than I thought I was.鈥�
Singh, who is also an executive producer on the show, has plenty on her plate beyond "Battle of the Generations." Her production company Unicorn Island recently signed production deals with Blink49 Studios and CTV parent company Bell Media, as well as one with Universal Television Alternative Studio.聽
She鈥檚 also a judge on Citytv's "Canada's Got Talent," is collaborating on a new Netflix comedy series with 鈥淏lack-ish鈥� creator Kenya Barris and is set to star in the upcoming Disney Plus comedy series 鈥淭he Muppets Mayhem.鈥�
鈥淭he Muppets series was a blast to do 鈥� it鈥檚 pretty great to be able to say that your co-workers are all Muppets,鈥� Singh said. 鈥淎nd Unicorn Island has a slate of amazing things coming up, including an animated series for kids that teaches them about mindfulness."
But first, Singh is hoping Canadian viewers of all ages tune in to 鈥淏attle of the Generations,鈥� which will run for 20 episodes in its first season.聽
鈥淚 really believe in content that you can watch together as a family, because as people get progressively busy and the world gets more divided, those opportunities are few and far between,鈥� Singh said.
鈥淢y goal is that on Mondays at 9 p.m., everyone's going to be watching CTV and yelling at their screens.鈥澛�
鈥擳abassum Siddiqui is a writer and editor based in Toronto.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2023.
Tabassum Siddiqui, The Canadian Press
