Hit Game Show Could Be Saved After Being Effectively Canceled

By John Connor Coulston

UPDATE 11/24: Name Your Price has been revived, according to AustinShow. Original Story: G4 TV's end came for the second time as the network shut down operations recently, ending its well-received (but pricey) revival on television and digital platforms. With the cancellation, the network's biggest hit, Name Your Price, is effectively canceled too. However, given that it drew sizeable online numbers and regularly aired on G4's linear channel, the way could be paved for a possible revival. While there is no definitive word as of press time, host AustinShow has expressed hopes the series will live on.

In the immediate wake of G4's closure leaking via Puck and Deadline, Discord messages surfaced of Austin noting he was unclear if he could retain the IP rights to Name Your Price. However, if he could, he'd rent a U-Haul truck to go get the show's signature orange curtain, podiums and carpet. Later that night, Austin's co-host Will Neff, who also starred on the G4 programs Attack of the Show! and Hey, Donna!, spoke out about the uncertainty of the shows he starred on.

"I know a lot of you guys are worried about what becomes of Name Your Price, what becomes of Donna, what becomes of Attack of the Show!" Neff said. "I really don't know those things. I don't know enough to tell you that you'll never see Donna or Name Your Price again. You might; you might not. Either way, I'm really proud of both of those projects. I'm really proud of Attack of the Show! and in everything we accomplished there."

He went on to praise the collaborative process of working AustinShow, who was also involved with bringing Hey, Donna! to air. "I don't think any of you understand the amount of production that goes into getting all the guests we had every week, getting them all in-house, staffing — not one — but two shows, helping me cast Donna, produce it, host it, write it, hype it. Getting to work the way that I have with AustinShow has been one of the great privileges of my professional career. The situation of Donna is fluid [as is] the situation of Name Your Price, but I guaran-f—ing-tee you, you will see more Will Neff and AustinShow shows. We're gonna make more stuff. We love working together, we make compelling shows, and we have a lot of fun."

On Monday, AustinShow appeared on the Twitter Spaces broadcast titled the "G4 Open Wake," a celebration of the network's reboot organized by The Cream Team, the trio of now-G4-alums Kevin Pereira, Kassem G and Fiona Nova.

"It is obviously extraordinarily sad," Austin said. "I'd say I've worked on a lot of projects personally, and I joined G4 not actually knowing exactly what I was going to make at G4 before I signed on, and Name Your Price became  — and I say this honestly — my favorite show that I've ever worked on, and I became incredibly passionate, more so than I ever actually thought that I would ever, in joining G4. I thought we'd make a really cool show, but I never expected it to become what it became for me personally. What's most sad is I feel like, towards the end here, it really started to develop a pretty good following for it. I think obviously the numbers were strong, but I think more recently in the last four weeks, actually, in fact, it really felt like things were starting to move in the right direction for it, and that's big in part to the fabulous team."

The host — who was previously known by the disavowed screen name RajjPatel — went on to praise numerous G4 staff that helped him pull off the game show. He then addressed the possible revival of the project, saying, "I can't speak to it, in terms of, whether that would be possible or not, but I love Name Your Price. It's my favorite. I would certainly welcome an opportunity to do something  similar or do Name Your Price in the future, should I be given the opportunity to do so, but at this moment, there's not really anything I can say about it,"

It's unclear if AustinShow would produce the show independently or look to partner with another network. (It's worth noting that Austin confirmed to The Washington Post that some guests received financial compensation for their appearances on the show, so it's unclear if some high-profile Twitch and YouTube talent would come back as contestants.) In the meantime, you can watch every episode of Name Your Price on AustinShow's YouTube channel. You can also watch highlights and extended streams via the now-defunct G4 "Incognito Mode" channel. Season 1 of the series features contestants like xQc, Pokimane, Emiru, Andy Milonakis and Ironmouse appearing remotely. Season 2 saw guests in-studio, with personalities like Bella Poarch, Hasan Piker, Mia Malkova, Ludwig, Cyr and Valkyrae appearing.

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