Get ready for some star-studded games of tic-tac-toe, as CBS is airing a brand-new edition of Hollywood Squares. While the game show will feature a new host and new celebrity guests, expect the same basic gameplay where contestants attempt to answer trivia questions with the help of the celebrities to get three in a row.
Hollywood Squares originally premiered in 1986, running until 1989. It came back on air in 1998 and continued until 2004. Both previous iterations of Hollywood Squares aired on NBC, but this latest one is being shown on CBS.
For everything you need to know about the show — from when it airs to the rotating group of celebrity guests — read on below.
Hollywood Squares release date
Hollywood Squares premieres on Thursday, January 9, at 8 pm ET/PT on CBS. The game show will air for an hour, featuring two games and two groups of celebrity guest panelists.
Hollywood Squares will continue to air on Thursdays for the next few weeks until January 29, when the game show moves to Wednesday nights where it will join other CBS game shows The Price Is Right at Night and Raid the Cage season 2; Hollywood Squares will close out the game night at 10 pm ET/PT.
In order to watch Hollywood Squares live, you need access to CBS. CBS is available either through a traditional pay-TV provider, a TV antenna, live TV streaming services (Fubo, Hulu with Live TV and YouTube TV carry CBS) or a Paramount Plus with Showtime subscription, which allows you to live stream CBS. You can watch the show on-demand the day after it airs with any Paramount Plus subscription plan.
Hollywood Squares host
Nate Burleson has been tapped to host Hollywood Squares on CBS.
Burleson is a former NFL player (he played for the Minnesota Vikings, Seattle Seahawks and Detroit Lions), but his post-football career has seen him become a prominent TV figure. Burleson is an Emmy-winning studio analyst who has been with CBS Sports since 2017; he is also the host of Nickelodeon’s weekly NFL Slimetime show and in 2024 was an analyst for Nickelodeon’s kid-centric alternative broadcast for Super Bowl LVIII. Burleson has expanded beyond sports, though, as he has also been a co-host on CBS Mornings since September 2021.
Burleson becomes the fourth-ever host of Hollywood Squares, with previous hosts being Peter Marshall, John Davidson and Tom Bergeron.
Hollywood Squares celebrity guests
Hollywood Squares will feature a rotating group of celebrities making up the nine spots on the big board that players will try to win a tic-tac-toe game on. However, one spot will be consistent, as actress and day-time talk show host Drew Barrymore will serve as the center square.
As far as the other eight spots, on the January 9 episode the celebrity guests are going to include Tyra Banks, Julie Bowen, Whitney Cummings, Tiffany Haddish, Thomas Lennon, Ms. Pat, Jeff Ross and Triumph the Insult Comic Dog in game one. Game two will feature Tichina Arnold, Nicole Byer, Drew Carey, Pete Holmes, Debi Mazar, Bobby Moynihan, JB Smoov and Chelsea Peretti.
Other celebrity guests that are confirmed to appear on Hollywood Squares at some point are Akbar Gbajabiamila, Oliver Hudson, Gabriel Iglesias, Jo Koy, Jay Leno, Justin Long, Kevin Nealon, RuPaul, Andrew Rannells, Kristen Schaal, Sheryl Underwood and Jimmy O. Yang. More will be announced at later dates.
Hollywood Squares format
In essence, Hollywood Squares is a combination of trivia and tic-tac-toe, as contestants attempt to get three in a row on the board by correctly answering questions. The trick is that they are relying on celebrities’ answers and whether or not they believe their answer is correct.
Here is the official synopsis for the game show from CBS:
“Hollywood Squares, starring Drew Barrymore, is a classic game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win money and prizes. The ‘board’ for the game is a vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants. The celebrities are asked questions and the contestants judge the legitimacy of their answers to win the game.”
Hollywood Squares trailer
Get a preview of the game show with the Hollywood Squares trailer directly below:
Hollywood Squares behind the scenes
In addition to serving as the center square and de facto co-host, Drew Barrymore, and her Flower Films Inc. production company, are producing the show alongside Jesse Collins and Jesse Collins Entertainment.
