Forty years after Nickelodeon first doused kids in green slime, Double Dare is getting one last live send-off, and the 300 tickets to see it in person are already gone. Marc Summers, the show's original host, is reuniting with cast members in Philadelphia on October 4 for what he has called the final live Double Dare reunion, and fans who missed out on a seat can still watch it unfold through a pay-per-view stream.
The event, billed as Marc Summers & Friends: 40 Year Double Dare Reunion, will be filmed before a live audience at City Winery Philadelphia, according to reporting from WCCB Charlotte, whose Adam Wurtzel spoke with Summers about the milestone. All 300 available tickets for the in-person show sold out shortly after going on sale, according to Icon Vs. Icon. Joining Summers on stage will be original stage assistant Robin Marrella, known to longtime fans as Robin Russo, and longtime announcer John Harvey, the same outlet reports.
Why Philadelphia Is Ground Zero for the Reunion
The choice of venue is not incidental. Double Dare originally debuted on Nickelodeon on October 6, 1986, and was taped at WHYY-TV's public television studios in Philadelphia. The show produced 65 episodes, and announcer John Harvey was a longtime Philadelphia radio personality. According to WHYY's institutional history, by April 1983 the organization's television and radio production, broadcasting and other Philadelphia activities were headquartered on Independence Mall. According to WHYY, Philadelphia's earlier children's-television tradition included “Captain Noah's Magical Ark,” an hour-long show that broadcast live every weekday morning for 27 years and was hosted by Merbreier.
Summers first confirmed the finality of the upcoming show in July on Philadelphia radio, telling listeners of 93.3 WMMR's Preston & Steve Show, alongside Harvey, that the Philadelphia performance would be the last live Double Dare reunion, according to WMMR. That announcement, paired with the rapid sellout, is part of what pushed organizers to open up the pay-per-view option so fans well outside Philadelphia can tune in too.
How to Stream the Reunion From Anywhere
The $25 pay-per-view preorder includes the full reunion broadcast along with an exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette titled Get Set: The Making of Marc Summers & Friends, the same report from Icon Vs. Icon notes. The stream will be available from October 31 through December 31, giving fans a two-month window to catch the show after it films live before the Philadelphia audience. The digital broadcast will be hosted on the Eventive platform, per the outlet's reporting.
A Career Built on Slime, and What Came After It
Double Dare's original run lasted from 1986 to 1993 and produced 482 episodes, making it the longest-running game show in Nickelodeon's history, according to Wikipedia. The franchise later spun off into Super Sloppy Double Dare and Family Double Dare, along with subsequent network reboots.
According to the Federal Communications Commission, the Children's Television Act became law in 1990 and imposed commercial limitations tied to children's informational needs. The Federal Communications Commission says its children's-television rules require TV stations to air at least 156 hours annually of core programs, including at least 26 hours per quarter of regularly scheduled programming.
Summers hosted the notoriously messy competition while privately coping with undiagnosed obsessive-compulsive disorder, a condition he publicly discussed in the 1990s, including on The Oprah Winfrey Show, according to a Daily Blast Live interview. After his time on Double Dare, Summers went on to work with Food Network for 20 years and executive produced hits including Dinner: Impossible and Restaurant: Impossible. More recently, he starred in the Off-Broadway autobiographical play The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers at New World Stages in New York City, running from February to June 2024, according to TodayTix. The production, written by Tony nominee Alex Brightman, featured interactive gameplay staged on a replica of the original set.
Now, four decades after the slime first started flying in a rented Philadelphia television studio, Summers is closing that chapter for good, at least on stage. For anyone who grew up racing through obstacle courses and diving into giant vats of gunk on Saturday mornings, the October 4 taping marks the last chance to see the moment happen live, whether in the room at City Winery Philadelphia or watching from home through the pay-per-view stream.
