Supermarket Sweep

Three carts, three minutes, one fake grocery store. Supermarket Sweep is the only game show built entirely around the adrenaline of dashing through aisles, piling turkeys and laundry detergent into your cart, and trying to check out with the highest-priced haul before time runs out.

Created by Al Howard, Supermarket Sweep first aired on ABC from 1965 to 1967 with Bill Malone as host. Its most beloved era was the 1990–1995 Lifetime run (and 2000–2003 PAX revival) with host David Ruprecht, who anchored more than 1,326 episodes and whose catchphrases became cult-classic quotes. ABC revived the show on October 18, 2020 with Leslie Jones as host; that revival ran for two seasons (October 18, 2020 to January 30, 2022) before ABC announced in May 2022 that it would not return. No new episodes have been produced since.

What makes it unique: Supermarket Sweep is the only major U.S. game show in which contestants physically run through a full-size supermarket set, trying to game-theory the ideal cart: high-ticket meats and seafoods, strategic bonus pickups, avoiding overweight bags. The Big Sweep endgame — three minutes of unrestrained grocery shopping — is one of the most visually chaotic endgames in game-show history. The show also helped inspire the streamable grocery-and-logistics genre that later became everything from Guy's Grocery Games to Supermarket Stakeout.

Quick Facts

• Hosts: Bill Malone (ABC 1965–1967); David Ruprecht (Lifetime/PAX 1990–2003); Leslie Jones (ABC 2020–2021)
• Network: ABC (original and 2020 revival); Lifetime (1990–1995); PAX (2000–2003)
• Premiere Year: 1965
• Seasons: Lifetime/PAX David Ruprecht era: 14 seasons (1990–2003); ABC revival: 2 seasons (2020–2022)
• Filming Location: Barker Hangar, Santa Monica (ABC 2020–2022 revival); earlier versions in Los Angeles

Learn more: Wikipedia · Buzzr (classic episodes)