Lilly Singh takes on role of quiz master in new CTV show ‘Battle of the Generations’

Every generation thinks it knows better than the one before – and contestants will try to prove it on CTV’s new quiz show debuting Monday.

Hosted by Canadian comedian and actress Lilly Singh, “Battle of the Generations” pits four people representing a different generation – baby boomer, generation X, millennial and gen Z – against each other as they answer trivia questions about their own era and those of their rivals in a bid to win up to $25,000.

“Hosting a game show is one of the coolest things you can do – I think it’s an immediate instant flex,” Singh said in a recent interview.

“Not only do you get to play around with the contestants, but you actually get to make a difference in people’s lives. The contestants come on the show and they’re nervous and excited – and they really want to win this money. You’re this small piece of someone’s journey. It’s really special.”

Singh said she enjoyed taking on a new hosting challenge after her NBC late-night show “A Little Late with Lilly Singh” ended in 2021.

“It’s better,“ she quips.

“All jokes aside, the late-night format is a little more rigid – there was a certain expectation of what it’s supposed to look and sound like, whereas with the game show, its only purpose is to have fun,” she said.

“You’re trying to engage people and trying to get them to play along with you. Not to mention that so much of my career has been based on intergenerational comedy, so this was so on brand for me to be able to poke fun at all the generations – mine included.”

Raised by immigrant parents in Scarborough, Ont., Singh rose to fame as a YouTuber dubbed “Superwoman.” She quickly garnered a large global social media following for videos that spoofed her Indo-Canadian family, particularly her mother and father.

Since then, Singh has become one of the world’s most influential online personalities, amassing an audience of nearly 40 million followers across her social media channels. She’s parlayed that popularity into the wider entertainment world – becoming the first woman of colour to host a daily late-night show on a major broadcast network, writing the New York Times’ bestselling book “How to Be a Bawse,” and starting her own production company.

In the first episode of “Battle of the Generations,” the show offers up a healthy dose of nostalgia as the contestants – Zoe, 23, a McMaster University student from Richmond Hill, Ont.; Harold, 38, a fisher from Haida Gwaii, B.C.; Marci, 52, a writer and podcaster from Toronto; and Jimmy, 63, a Bostonian now living in Calgary – battle through several rounds of pop-culture trivia before they arrive at the final round, dubbed “The Vault.” A neon graphic of a money safe displays the total winnings of all four players that the top scorer can “unlock” by correctly answering three questions from one generational category.

Singh said that while the competition can get heated as the contestants sail through questions about Taylor Swift albums or draw a blank when trying to remember ’90s TV shows, she was often surprised by their camaraderie on and off set – and also by how each generation knew more about one another than might have been expected.

“I went in with my own biases like everyone else will when they watch the show – and then you’ll meet a boomer who is a pro at TikTok,” Singh said, noting she did her own practice runs of the trivia questions in the lead-up to hosting the show.

“I feel pretty confident when it comes to internet and pop-culture trends. But I had a moment on the show where there was some question about slang that gen Z immediately knew – and I had never heard of it,” she said with a laugh.

“And then the millennial, the gen-Xer and the boomer all looked at me, because they knew the answer. So there are some moments where my hair instantly turns grey because I’ve just discovered that I’m way older than I thought I was.”

Singh, who is also an executive producer on the show, has plenty on her plate beyond “Battle of the Generations.” Her production company Unicorn Island recently signed production deals with Blink49 Studios and CTV parent company Bell Media, as well as one with Universal Television Alternative Studio.

She’s also a judge on Citytv’s “Canada’s Got Talent,” is collaborating on a new Netflix comedy series with “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris and is set to star in the upcoming Disney Plus comedy series “The Muppets Mayhem.”

“The Muppets series was a blast to do – it’s pretty great to be able to say that your co-workers are all Muppets,” Singh said. “And Unicorn Island has a slate of amazing things coming up, including an animated series for kids that teaches them about mindfulness.“

But first, Singh is hoping Canadian viewers of all ages tune in to “Battle of the Generations,” which will run for 20 episodes in its first season.

“I really believe in content that you can watch together as a family, because as people get progressively busy and the world gets more divided, those opportunities are few and far between,” Singh said.

“My goal is that on Mondays at 9 p.m., everyone’s going to be watching CTV and yelling at their screens.”

—Tabassum Siddiqui is a writer and editor based in Toronto.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2023.

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