It's a Family Affair as Nickelodeon's Hit Game Show BrainSurge Returns as Family BrainSurge, Beginning Monday, July 18, at 8 P.M. (ET/PT)

LOS ANGELES, July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon makes room for the entire family as Family BrainSurge kicks off on Monday, July 18, with a week of all-new episodes premiering at 8:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on Nick at Nite.  Jeff Sutphen returns to host the third season featuring celebrity guests playing with their families, including Larry King, Vanessa Williams, Joey Fatone, Jennie Garth, Nicole Eggert, Candace Cameron Bure, Anthony Anderson, Terry Crews and WWE Superstars.  Also, several Nick stars from iCarly, Victorious, Bucket & Skinner, Supah Ninjas and House of Anubis partner with regular parent and kid teams.  Produced by 310 Entertainment and Stone & Company, Family BrainSurge will continue to offer viewers even more brain twisters, signature slime and the fun of families playing together while competing for prizes.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110712/NY33913-a )

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110712/NY33913-b )

"We know that our viewers are playing along with BrainSurge at home with their own families," said Marjorie Cohn, Nickelodeon's President, Original Programming and Development.  "So it made perfect sense to invite kids and their parents to play together on the show and reintroduce it as Family BrainSurge in our Nick at Nite programming block—where families are already watching together."

Family BrainSurge features teams of parents and kids who compete in mind-bending challenges, guided by Sutphen, that test their visual, memory and analytical skills with the shared goal of now winning bigger and better prizes, such as trips for the whole family.  If a team gets a BrainFreeze and can't think of the answer, they can choose to use their BrainTrust – a family member in the audience – to help solve the puzzle.  As kids are eliminated they get sucked into the "Face Wall" or slide down the "Brain Drain," if the winning contestant completes the all three levels of "Brain Trip" level they get the ultimate prize: a giant, messy, celebratory sliming for the family!  In addition, with the push of a button, kids at home can play online at familybrainsurge.com and test their mental skills from the comfort of their own homes.

Since its launch in September 2009, BrainSurge has emerged as a huge hit with kids and is basic cable's most-watched program in its time period among kids 2-11 and 6-11.  Delivering an average of 2.8 million total viewers per episode, the second season of BrainSurge has grown by +39% across all key kid demos from its first season. (Source: NMR, Npower (Program Based), 12/28/09-12/26/10 Live+7, A18-49 with K2-11)

In support of Family BrainSurge, families can visit Nick.com to play "The BrainSurge Quiz" to take challenges as seen on the show.  The brain-busting puzzles and memory-melting mazes feature actual show footage and new questions are added each week.  Family BrainSurge will also be promoted by Nickelodeon's mobile video on demand partners via promos, sneak peeks and clips from the series.

Jeff Sutphen has hosted two seasons of BrainSurge as well as the new season of Family BrainSurge.  This summer, he is also hosting ABC's 101 Ways to Leave a Gameshow, which showcases incredible contestant eliminations.  Sutphen has been seen on MTV, E!, VH1, CBS and other channels as well as Nickelodeon's Annual Kids' Choice Awards where he has hosted the LIVE Pre-Show for the past 9 years.  He is currently developing shows with his business partner and wife, Stacy Sutphen, under their newly formed production company Part Time Hero Productions.

Family BrainSurge is from executive producers Clay Newbill for 310 Entertainment (Shark Tank), Scott A. Stone (Legends of the Hidden Temple) for Stone & Company Entertainment and David A. Hurwitz (Fear Factor).  The game show is based on the Tokyo Broadcasting System Television program Brain Survivor.

Nickelodeon has a long legacy of creating groundbreaking, original, hit game shows.  The first game show that aired on the network was Double Dare in 1986, featuring Nick's signatory slime.  Over the next 16 years, Nickelodeon launched many other game shows including hits such as Finders Keepers and Super Sloppy Double Dare ('87), Family Double Dare, ('88), Make the Grade and Think Fast ('89), Wild and Crazy Kids ('90), Get the Picture ('91), GUTS and Nick Arcade ('92), Legends of the Hidden Temple ('93), Global GUTS, ('95), Figure it Out ('97), You're On! and Figure it Out: Family Style ('98), Figure it Out: Wild Style ('99), Double Dare 2000 ('00), and Nick Robot Wars and Scaredy Camp ('02).  Six years later came Family GUTS ('08) and then BrainSurge ('09) -- the new wave of game shows for the first generation of Nickelodeon parents and adults that grew up watching shows like Double Dare and GUTS.

Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon's nighttime programming block, is the home of the modern-day family comedy.  The network features a slate of popular hit family comedies including the Emmy Award-winning series George Lopez and Home Improvement, as well as That 70's Show, Married with Children, My Wife and Kids, Everybody Hates Chris and The Nanny.

Nickelodeon, now in its 32nd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in more than 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 16 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).

For downloadable photos and additional information visit: www.nickpress.com.

SOURCE Nickelodeon