Fox pulls first two episodes of 'Our Little Genius' over 'integrity' issue

Fox has pulled the first two episodes of new game show Our Little Genius because of information given to contestants before the show’s production, the network has announced. Our Little Genius executive producer Mark Burnett said in a statement: “I recently discovered that there was an issue with how some information was relayed to contestants during the pre-production of ‘Our Little Genius.’ As a result, I am not comfortable delivering the episodes without re-shooting them. I believe my series must always be beyond reproach, so I have requested that Fox not air these episodes.”

The show, which is a competition between smart 6- to 12-year olds, had been scheduled to debut on Jan. 13 after a special episode of American Idol. Instead, Fox will broadcast an encore of The Simpsons’ 450th episode. And on Jan. 19, Fox will air an encore of the drama pilot Human Target.

Fox released the following statement: “Mark Burnett is one of the pre-eminent producers of unscripted programming on television. Even though we were incredibly pleased with the quality of ‘Our Little Genius,’ we respect and appreciate his due diligence and the decision to pull these episodes. We agree there can be no question about the integrity of our shows. While these episodes will not air, the families who participated in the show will receive their winnings, and we are grateful for their participation.”

An insider says that Fox may air the reshot series, although that isn’t definite at this time.