All hail Olmec! The CW has picked up a reimagined, adult-sized revival of the ’90s Nickelodeon game show “Legends of the Hidden Temple,” which was first ordered at the now-dead Quibi in December 2019, the broadcast network revealed Tuesday.
The series never made it to air at Quibi, which launched in April 2020 and shut down six months later, and The CW took the opportunity presented by the quick-bite streaming service’s death to revive the revival, an individual with knowledge tells TheWrap.
Per The CW, “This supersized, adult version of ‘Legends of the Hidden Temple’ preserves many of the original Nickelodeon series’ favorite elements, including Olmec – the giant talking Mayan head – the Moat Crossings, The Steps of Knowledge, the Temple Run, and of course, the iconic team names: Purple Parrots, Blue Barracudas, Orange Iguanas, Red Jaguars, Silver Snakes and Green Monkeys. Only this time, the entire show is taken out of the studio into a jungle and scaled up with tougher challenges and much bigger prizes on the line. Every episode is a hero’s journey through a mysterious jungle. Five teams begin the journey, but only one is strong enough and smart enough to enter the ominous Olmec’s Temple, avoid the dreaded Temple Guards, retrieve a lost treasure, and return it to its rightful owner.”
A premiere date and time for the reimagined “Legends of the Hidden Temple” will be announced by The CW at a later date.
The original “Legends of the Hidden Temple” competition show, which was created by David G. Stanley, Scott A. Stone and Stephen R. Brown, aired from 1993-95 on Nickelodeon, with repeats airing continuously for nearly 30 years.
Inspired by the Nintendo game “The Legend of Zelda” and the “Indiana Jones” movie franchise, Nick’s classic “Legends of the Hidden Temple” has itself inspired a movie, mobile games and a board game.
The CW’s “Legends of the Hidden Temple” is produced by Stone & Company Entertainment and Nickelodeon. The series is executive produced by original co-creator Scott A. Stone and Marcus Fox (“Paradise Run”).