Joel McHale Teases ‘Dangerous’ Contestants for ‘Card Sharks’ Season 3 (Exclusive)

Card Sharks is back for another round on ABC tonight and host Joel McHale is taking the beloved game show’s moniker quite literally, teasing that a “dangerous” batch of contestants are coming up on the show’s third season. In an exclusive with PopCulture.com last month ahead of his other Wednesday night series Crime Scene Kitchen‘s premiere, McHale joked how Card Sharks was upping the stakes with some very sharp contestants.

“This season, we’re going to use actual sharks as contestants,” McHale said, adding how it’s going to be “dangerous” for everyone involved. “We put three feet of saltwater in the studio and now they’re competing and turning cards over. It’s exciting.” Of course, the comedian is 100% joking and real humans will be playing all their aces this year on the summer smash-hit game show, airing Wednesday night at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.

With the game show giving away more money than any other on primetime TV, McHale previously shared with PopCulture that they handed out so much during its second season and Season 3 is no different. “I’m assuming ABC is worried about it,” he said. “I know there was a call or two going, ‘What the hell is going on over there?’ Because we did give away so much but believe me, it made me very happy.”

Despite McHale constantly teasing he has “no heart” and all that is left is a “little set of ball bearings that spin around,” the 49-year-old is excited for tonight’s premiere as part of ABC’s summer games lineup, including Press Your Luck with host Elizabeth Banks and $100,000 Pyramid.

But while Card Sharks will continue down its path of giving away lots of money to its contestants, there’s still one prime element missing that McHale is still pretty bummed about. “We shot these a while ago, so it’s still no audience,” he said. “If Card Sharks comes back [for Season 4] then I’m sure it’ll be one of those things where you show a vaccination card and then we can all be in the same room.”

In addition to Card Sharks, fans can call this summer the Summer of Joel, as he is not only hosting the ABC game show and will be seen next in Stargirl on The CW, but he is also hosting the baking competition, Crime Scene Kitchen every Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET on FOX. Revealing how the show is a mix of both “highly trained bakers” and “a bunch of self-taught” geniuses, McHale admits audiences will be “amazed at how close they got to some of the recipes” for the mystery baking show.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of baking shows out there, but I think this one’s unique because you don’t know what you’re going to make and you go into this kitchen and there’s some evidence left behind of something that’s been baked there,” McHale told PopCulture.com. “You got two minutes to search for it and then they’re like, ‘All right, you have four hours. Come up with it.’”

Card Sharks airs Wednesday nights at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. For more on Joel McHale and all your favorite stars and shows, stay tuned for the latest on PopCulture.com!