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It was disappointing when ABC canceled its Match Game revival before the pandemic, so when it returned in 2025 with Martin Short as the host, there was a lot of chatter and excitement. Then silence!
ABC announced its fall 2026 schedule, and Match Game was nowhere to be found. It led to concerns that one of the best game shows on the network had been canceled, but fear not! Matt Webb Mitvoch got word from the network, and there’s some hopeful news.
‘Match Game’ Just Doesn’t Have a Spot on the Schedule Yet
A reader of Mitvoch’s Inside Line reached out with concerns that Match Game had been canceled. They noted how charming Short was as a host and hoped that it wasn’t yet another cancellation by the network. While ABC didn’t cancel much from the 2025–2026 schedule, there were always fears that not everything would make it through.
However, Mitvoch shared that while Match Game wasn’t on the fall schedule, it wasn’t all bad news. The alphabet network just didn’t have a space, but there are plans to bring it back in the future. At least, that’s the consensus reading between the lines. If there was bad news to share, Mitvoch would have mentioned it.
He specifically stated: “I am assured that Match Game, which last aired in September, has ‘definitely not’ been cancelled; ABC simply has not been able to get it back on the schedule just yet.”
What Is ‘Match Game’ on ABC?
The series is a revival of the 1960s NBC game show. After cancellation on that network, it moved to CBS, where it faced some significant changes in the 1970s, but it didn’t remain there forever. After it was canceled in 1982, it moved back to NBC, and then in 1990 it ran on ABC during the daytime.
It was only in 2016 that it returned to a primetime slot, with Alec Baldwin hosting the show. However, it was canceled in 2019; the networks changed up their programming considerably the following season when the world shut down due to the pandemic, and it led to Match Game being canceled until 2025, when ABC brought it back.
It became part of the summer programming in 2025, running from July to September. While there hasn’t been an official renewal, it is happening. Of course, with Short as the host, filming is dictated by his Only Murders in the Building schedule, which is currently filming Season 6 in London, UK.