Bingo Lingo

Lingo is an American television game show currently being produced for GSN . It combines a skill-based word game with a form of Bingo. Versions of Lingo have also existed in other countries.

The first US attempt at airing Lingo was in 1987. It was produced by Ralph Andrews (in association with Bernstein/Hovis Productions) in Canada for syndication in the US. This version of the show has become somewhat controversial, with allegations that the cash-strapped producers did not pay some winning contestants their prizes. Despite the show's checkered run, versions of Lingo were subsequently produced in the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Quebec (see Lingo (Quebec game show)), France, Norway, Sweden, and The Netherlands.

On August 5, 2002, Game Show Network started airing the first episodes of its version of Lingo. The first 20 episodes were recorded in the Netherlands, on the set of its Dutch counterpart; subsequent episodes were produced in the US. Five more seasons, each consisting of 65 episodes, began in December 2002, December 2003, August 2005, April 2006 and April 2007 respectively. GSN held back five unaired Hawaiian-themed episodes from the fourth season, but these episodes aired as part of a New Year's Day marathon on January 1, 2007. Lingo will begin its 6th Season on April 2, 2007 on GSN.