Child geniuses to vie for jackpot on Fox game show

By James Hibberd

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Fox has ordered a new game show from producer Mark Burnett that puts child geniuses to the test.

In "Our Little Genius," ultra-smart kids ages 6-12 will get a chance to prove their expertise for a shot at hundreds of thousands of dollars.

"It's shining a bright warm light on kids (who), due to their genius, get ridiculed by their peer group. Here we give them a chance to shine," Burnett said.

The young contestants will answer a series of questions on subjects in which they're well versed. Their parents will watch from an isolated area and can opt to end the contest at any time and walk away with however much money their child has earned. Parents also get to observe a panel of grown-up experts trying to answer each question before their child is asked, giving them a sense of the question's difficulty.

Like its precursor, "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?," the new series will premiere after "American Idol." The show will be paired with "Idol" for at least four episodes sometime next year.

With "5th Grader" in syndication after shooting 167 episodes for Fox and "Our Little Genius" on deck, the former series seems less than likely to return to the network.

The host and premiere date for "Genius" will be announced at a later date.

(Editing by SheriLinden at Reuters)