By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Are you smarter than a dead person? That’s the question asked by BETTER LUCK THAN CHUCK, a new horror game show that tests fright fans’ knowledge of the genre. The pilot of the six-episode series, which is currently out for sale, will have its world premiere this Friday, May 2 at 8 p.m. as part of the Late Night Competition at SeriesFest 2025, taking place at Denver’s Sie FilmCenter (2510 East Colfax Avenue). The PR description: “Many years ago, The Widow poisoned her husband Charlie and has kept his slowly decomposing body in their basement ever since. Norman Bates would be so proud! Using a touch of her witchy magic, The Widow brought him back to life, but poor Charlie is only conscious–unable to physically move from the couch where he sits day after day, forced to indulge in his wife’s favorite hobby: watching horror movies!
“Charlie isn’t as excited to have defeated death as one may think, and has a bone to pick with his wife. As a result, the two bicker like, well…an old married couple as a litany of horror geniuses battle for prizes, fame, and the series’ epic grand prize. Witty, colorful, and endlessly entertaining, BETTER LUCK THAN CHUCK is the terrifying trivia game show for the die-hard horror fan in all of us!”
Produced by Tony Wash, Meredith Tummillo, Sarah Sharp and Robert Patrick Stern, BETTER LUCK THAN CHUCK stars Alexis Allotta as The Widow and Adam Michaels as Charlie, alongside rotating trios of horror experts from all walks of life. The pilot contestants are Washington-based independent filmmaker Jesse James Hennessy, University of Michigan PhD candidate Kristin Leer and Sirius XM radio host Jose Mangin. The prizes they’re competing for are provided by sponsors including Fright Rags, Severin Films, Trick or Treat Studios, Terror Vision Records and Video, Cavity Colors, Terror Films, Chattanooga Film Festival, Burning Witches Records, Panic Fest, Springheel’d Jack Coffee, Adam’s Art Box and Dark Soles Shoes, with Bloody Disgusting serving as official media partner. The first-season grand prize is a vacation package to Universal Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios Hollywood or Universal Orlando Resort.
