The strange saga of Ultimate Slip N’ Slide has come to an untimely end. NBC announced on Friday that it decided to pull the project entirely and it will no longer air after there was a giardia outbreak onset. TVLine reports that despite there only being one week left of production of the game show, the network has decided to cancel the project and shelve it for good. The game show — based on Wham-O’s classic backyard waterslide — was supposed to feature the hosting talents of comedians Bobby Moynihan and Ron Funches.
The show’s producers Universal Television Alternative Studio initially halted production back in June when there was a massive diarrhea outbreak among members of the crew. The production was based at a remote ranch in Simi Valley, California, reports What I’m Hearing and The Wrap. Sources told the later outlet that people collapsed on set and were “forced to run into port-o-potties.” On June 2, at least one person tested positive for giardia, a tiny parasite that causes giardiasis, a diarrheal disease. The germ is found on “surfaces or in soil, food, or water that has been contaminated with feces (poop) from infected people or animals,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Production was halted after the positive test so the water used on the elaborate set could be tested by the Los Angeles County and Ventura County Health Departments, and a third-party environmental lab. The water in the well, pond, slide pool, water truck, and restroom sinks tested negative, but water tested in the area tested positive for giardia, Universal said.
The situation got so much coverage that Funches joked that his family didn’t even know he was in comedy “until someone got diarrhea at my water park.” Later, Funches noticed comedian Paul F. Tompkins’ joke about the situation. “So PENultimate Slip-N-Slide then,” Tompkins wrote. “Wow. It be your own people,” Funches replied. “How about we focus on all the people we threw down giant slip n slides who DIDNT GET DIARRHEA.” Thompkins quickly replied, “Ron all I’m saying is, it’s not over yet!”
Ultimate Slip ‘N Slide was supposed to premiere this Sunday on NBC following the Closing Ceremonies of the Summer Olympics. However, it was delayed last month, with the new game show Family Game Fight, hosted by celebrity couple Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, taking over the post-Olympics time slot instead.
