Hallmark Channel favorite and The Wonder Years star Danica McKellar will be one of three judges on the new FOX reality competition series Domino Masters. It is set to debut during the 2021-22 TV season. FOX recently unveiled its fall 2021 schedule, and the series was not on the line-up. The network noted that it will premiere in mid-season, but no specific date has been announced yet.
Domino Masters will put domino aficionados into teams, who will compete in domino toppling and chain reaction matches. Along with The Wonder Years' Danica, rounding out the three-judge are former NFL football player and Super Bowl champ Vernon Davis and professional chain reaction/domino competitor Steven Price. And Eric Stonestreet, of Modern Family fame, will host.
The Wonder Years alum wrote, “I’m thrilled to be ing as a judge on @foxtv’s brand-new reality competition show, @dominomastersfox! The competition will feature enormous domino setups and Rube Goldberg-like chain reaction machines like you might have seen on YouTube or TikTok–it’s math/physics in motion to create these dazzling displays that take up on an exciting journey and even tell a story!”
According to Fox Entertainment’s Rob Wade, who is president of alternative entertainment and specials, the show is a great opportunity to introduce the world of dominos to new pairs of eyes. In a press release back when the series was first announced, he said, “Over the past year, fans of dominoes and chain reaction games took their creativity and ion to social media platforms, with outrageous and extraordinary displays, reimaging these classic games and introducing them to a whole new audience.” He further stated that these masters of dominoes are artists who will create the most incredibly inventive domino topples.
While it may seem as if The Wonder Years' Danica is an unlikely host for a show such as Domino Masters, the math and physics elements in the program are part of her wheelhouse. A summa cum laude graduate of UCLA, Danica received a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics in 1998. Her prolific prowess in math is well-documented. Danica, along with fellow student Brady Winn and professor Lincoln Chayes, co-authored a lauded scientific paper, widely known as the Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem. She has also authored many math books, including one entitled Math Doesn’t Suck, which was a New York Times bestseller. More than 2 million copies of her McKellar Math books have sold worldwide.
Many of Danica’s fellow Hallmark Channel stars sent congratulatory shout-outs to her after she posted her announcement as a judge for the 10-episode reality show. Some of the well-wishers posting on Danica’s Instagram included Allison Sweeney, Candace Cameron Bure and Kellie Martin. The Wonder Years star Danica's transition over to the reality world with Domino Masters, in addition to her continued acting success, seems like a well-calculated move to introduce her to new audiences. But fans shouldn't be surprised. She did the math.
Source: Danica McKellar/Instagram