The Short Pump-based Bruce family are contestants on the game show “Family Feud.” (Photo courtesy “Family Feud”)
If you’ve seen the long-running game show “Family Feud,” you know the competing families have just a few seconds to guess what a “survey says” about a particular topic. Getting the chance to compete on the show isn’t a quick process. Two years after their successful video conference audition, the Bruce family, Susan Bruce and her children, Molly Bruce, David Bruce, Devynne Webb and C.F. Bruce, will appear on the show this week. Richmond magazine spoke with the Short Pump family about their experience with the game show and why it continues to be popular, and these are their good answers.
Richmond magazine: What made you want to apply to be on “Family Feud”?
Molly: I remember watching “Family Feud” one evening and thinking about how funny it would be if my family and I were on the show. I thought we would be pretty good at playing “Family Feud.” I applied, not thinking that we would get a slot on the show, and when we did it was unreal. It was so much fun!
RM: How did you make it onto the show?
David: Molly is the one that initiated all of this. In November 2020, she applied to “Family Feud” on behalf of all of us. Two days after she applied, she got an email back from “Family Feud” asking to set up an interview with our family and the “Family Feud” audition team over Zoom. C.F. also had made us all nametags for the virtual interview, like the ones they have on the show, and the audition team really seemed to love that. A few weeks after that virtual interview, we received another email from “Family Feud” that said, “Congratulations! You’ve been selected as a potential contestant for ‘Family Feud.’ ” A whole year passed, and we didn’t hear back from “Family Feud” until January 2022, when they informed us that our family was still in the active file to be contestants on the show. We confirmed a date with them to compete on set in Atlanta in June of 2022.
RM: What was your family’s goal going into the show?
Susan: Not to totally embarrass myself. I was going to be OK as long as we had a good time and made good memories, but it would have been nice to win at least one game.
C.F.: My goal was also to win at least one game, and I think everything after that is just settling in and enjoying the ride.
David: My goal was to win all five. I wanted to bring home the car.
RM: Is your family good at collaborating?
Susan: Definitely.
David: Collaboration is key, especially when you’re trying to steal from the other families. To add onto that, my siblings and I all have a very unique and close relationship with each other, which contributes to us being able to be a successful and cohesive unit on “Family Feud.”
C.F.: During the game, we were always talking with each other and figuring out what our first, second, third, and even fourth or fifth guesses would be. We also all have slightly different thinking styles, which gave us a huge advantage on “Family Feud.”
RM: Can you talk about the emotions you felt while competing?
Devynne: I was having the time of my life. Steve Harvey makes everyone feel very comfortable, and I was surprised with how relaxed I felt onstage, despite my rushing adrenaline and beating heart while I was trying to think of the next answer.
RM: What were your takeaways after meeting host Steve Harvey?
C.F.: He was just as funny, if not funnier, than I expected. What stood out to me was how personable he was with the contestants and the crowd during the commercial breaks.
Susan: When I was interacting with him I remember thinking to myself, “Oh wait, I’m not on a comedy show, I’m on ‘Family Feud,’ I have to pay attention.”
RM: How long has your family lived in Richmond?
Susan: I’ve been here since 1984. All the children were born and raised here, and they all moved away once they started going to college.
David: While we all live in different cities around the country; we all try to get back to Richmond to celebrate the holidays together. Most of us have spent 18 years or more in Richmond, so we definitely consider the city our home.
RM: Why do you think “Family Feud” has endured for almost 50 years?
David: It’s such a simple but challenging game. It’s really easy when you’re sitting at home, watching it from your own living room, but it’s a lot harder when you’re actually competing on the show and trying to interact with Steve and think of answers to the questions at hand. The executive producer would also encourage us by telling us that “Family Feud” is a child’s game and that the answers are very basic, and I think that the simplicity of the game, along with the surrounding jokes and content, is one of the factors that has allowed the game to endure for so long.
The Bruce family’s “Family Feud” episodes air Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, Jan. 23-25, at 6 p.m. on Fox Richmond (WRLH).
