Hippin' and hoppin'

Hollywood Squares never dies. It just goes hip hop.

VH1 will bring back Hip Hop Squares starting March 13. It's the pop music answer to the Peter Marshall chestnut. The new version hipped and hopped through a couple seasons on MTV2 back in 2012. I thought the show was okay, mainly because it stuck pretty close to the original format. But when Hip Hop Squares expired after twenty eps, I figured it was done and dusted, as the Brits say.

Then came news a few months ago that another channel in the MTV universe - and what a universe it is - would revive the revival. DeRay Davis will host the new series, replacing Peter Rosenberg, who I though did just fine. I also thought Davis was adequate at best on GSN's oinker Mind of a Man, but what do I know?

I'm not sure if the move of Hip Hop Squares from MTV2 to VH1 is a promotion, demotion or neither. Viacom is making noises about downplaying minor networks in favor of biggies like MTV. No matter how you look at it, VH1 will string the show across the week of March 13-17, then settle it into a regular Monday night slot.

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