RightNetwork strikes again, this time with an original, entertaining and informative political talk show. “Politics and Poker” combines a round-table discussion with the laid-back atmosphere of a friendly card game, and it’s a combo sure to draw an audience.
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According to the show’s tagline, “Politics and Poker” will give viewers the opportunity to “get inside the minds of some of today’s most relevant actors, comedians, politicians, and pundits as each week we invite guests to play cards and talk shop. The poker winnings may go to charity, but the banter is a battle for the hearts and minds of America.”
Each show focuses on a five-man card game, where each player gets to pick the type of poker and the topic of discussion for the round they deal. And it supports charities. The winner of each game wins a thousand dollars for the charity of their choice. See who won when you watch the first episode for yourself.
The pilot episode stars singer/songwriter Lloyd Marcus, commentator Bill Whittle, actor Nick Searcy and writer Joe Reinkemeyer as guests. Actor/entertainer Tom Wilson hosts the show, keeping things light but moving, and with a new slew of cultural commentators each week (and a ditsy TV wife to help with commercial transitions) it’s a solid addition to political debate.
“We talk politics, we play poker,” Wilson says, introducing the episode. “If you don’t like either of those things get out now.”
Now, these are not the politically established, so the show feels more like a coffee shop conversation than to your typical CNN or FOX News talk show. Today, voices for and against reason are abundant, and generally not very profound. This show stands out by delivering straight-forward talk presented in an inoffensive, unobtrusive, open and honest atmosphere, that gives five uniquely positioned commentators from the entertainment and political worlds the opportunity to open up and share their thoughts in a clean public forum.
Shows need a few episodes to find themselves, and I think after a few more this one will settle into a good rhythm. Right now it’s a few good (if occasionally nervous) laughs with some good insight. The show has a lot of potential.
Aside from that, my only thought is that I hope they bring Adam Baldwin on the show as soon as possible.