Ultra Password

Ultra Password is an American game show and a remake of the original Password game show. It is the first Password game shown on ABN. Its predecessors have been syndicated and shown on the ABC and CBS networks in the 60's and 70's and has been syndicated for Game Show Network and Buzzr. Unlike its syndicated counterpart, Ultra Password is a live show hosted by J.B. Dallas. The format follows Million Dollar Password. The first half of the game is an elimination format where contestants and celebrities try and guess the password through one-word clues. The person who has the password cannot say it out loud or the word is forfeited. Unlike the original game where each word is 10 points, each correct password is $1,000. Subsequent correct passwords guessed increase up to $5,000. In the second half, the contestants and celebrities switch seats and vie to enter the "Million Dollar Password" round. The values this time for a matched password goes from $5,000 to $25,000. Both rounds each feature a "Blitz" round, a newer version on the original game's Lightning Round where the winning team guesses five passwords each ranging from $1,000 up to $10,000 for each correct password. The winning team with the lead goes into the Million Dollar Password round to play for $1,000,000. 
In the Million Dollar Password round, the winning team has to correctly guess four passwords in thirty seconds. Each correct password is $250,000 and increments up to $1,000,000. In Ultra Password's current run, twelve contestants have reached the one million dollar threshold. 
In Tournament of Champions editions of Ultra Password, the prize for this version for the winning team of the final round is the Bob Stewart Cup, named in honor of the show's original creator. The winning team's names are inscribed on small tabs for each season. 
In Ultra Password College of Champions editions, the prize for the winning team of the final round is the Allen Ludden Cup, named in honor of the show's original host. A $50,000 donation is awarded to the winning team's scholarships. The runner-up team is awarded $25,000 scholarships.
In the Tournament of Stars edition of Ultra Password, pairs of celebrities compete for $1,000,000 plus an additional $1,000,000 to be donated to associated charities (i.e. Children's Miracle Network, Shriners Hospitals, St. Jude's Research Center, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, etc.). The runner-up team splits $250,000 each to be donated to associated charities.
In the ABN GameZone Super Special, based on the one-off Game Show Marathon which aired on CBS in 2006, Ultra Password is the third phase of the five-game series which includes:
* Phase one - Ultra Puzzlers
* Phase two - Brain Quest Ultra
* Phase three - Ultra Password (the Finalist Row segment takes the place of the Million Dollar Password round)
* Phase four - Second Chance (semifinals)
* Phase five - Ultra GUTS (finals)
The winning team from the Ultra Password phase of the ABN GameZone Super Special will move on to compete against three other finalists in the Second Chance phase. Ultra Puzzlers and Brain Quest Ultra serve as the elimination rounds. The prize from the series itself is the ABN TV Cup presented to the winning team following the Ultra GUTS phase. 
During the pandemic period, ABN and Freemantle decided to put all future filming on hold until the pandemic emergency was lifted. All studio personnel, audience members and contestants returned to the Los Angeles studio on October 23, 2022.
The show managed to remain on the air as J.B. Dallas is not an affiliated member of the Writer's Guild of America, which went on strike in Spring 2023 against the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, but a portion of the Ultra Password staff including Joel Stoops, and director Kyle Dallas were affected by the WGA strike. ABN Group helped put together a short-term emergency package to keep Stoops and Dallas, as well as three other WGA members employed with ABN Entertainment. Freemantle Media, which holds the license and Password series library, halted production during the strike, but allowed ABN Entertainment to continue production of Ultra Password under an emergency agreement. The show's announcer stepped down in solidarity for the WGA, so the team scrambled for an announcer during the strike. After the WGA and AMPTP reached a tentative short term agreement in late September 2023, the team found Gary Coggs, a veteran voice-over announcer of many ABN shows since the late 1970's, to provide the VO for the upcoming season.
Category:Television programs established in 2015
Category:Television programmes in the United States
Category:Television programmes produced by ABN Digital Entertainment
Category:ABN Group
Category:FremantleMedia
Category:Game shows