USA Network game for 'Strip' skein

Gamer takes old party tricks

By JOHN DEMPSEY

NEW YORK — USA Network, which has found great success with the no-holds-barred wrestling on Monday night’s "WWF Raw," is about to push the limits of the gameshow format with the half-hour "Strip Poker" Monday-Friday at 11 p.m.

Series, produced by sister company USA Broadcasting, premieres Tuesday. "Strip Poker" is already on the air — and will continue simultaneous with its USA Network run — on three TV stations owned by USA: WAMI Miami, WHOT Atlanta and KSTR Dallas.

Taped at the Renmar Studios in Los Angeles, series, hosted by comedian Graham Elwood and TV personality Jennifer Cole, features two male and two female contestants who compete to answer tongue-in-cheek questions related to pop culture.

"Our theme is the battle of the sexes," said Barbara Weintraub, co-executive producer of "Strip Poker" with John Axelson.

Bob West, senior VP of program acquisitions and scheduling for USA Network, said "Strip Poker" may be the only gameshow in which the audience will be rooting for the losers: Incorrect answers require the contestant to shed an article of clothing.

Working on a tight schedule of six shows a day for as many as four days a week, Axelson and Weintraub have taped a total of 195 half-hours, some of which are now in post-production.

Axelson said " ‘Strip Poker’ will be provocative, focusing on young women as they peel down to their lingerie and young men to their skivvies. "But if the MPAA were giving us a rating," he said, "we’d probably get a PG-13, not an R."