West Des Moines couple to appear on new episode of 'Family Feud' game show
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When West Des Moines couple Sara and Daryl Saunders applied to be on the game show "Family Feud" toward the beginning of the pandemic, their family had limited expectations.
"We were quarantined together, and (Sara) said, 'Let’s do something different. Let’s branch out a little bit and see if we can get on a game show,'" Daryl said. "We went through the process, and of course friends and family kind of doubted it, like 'That's not going to happen.' After a few interviews and emails and phone calls, it became a reality for our entire family."
About a year later, the family found themselves on an all-expenses-paid trip to Atlanta to film on the set of "Family Feud."
Sara Saunders and her husband Daryl, Sara's brothers Jason and Andrew Mielke and Sara's father, Bruce Mielke, participated on the show. Sara's mother, Nancy Mielke, was involved behind the scenes from the Mielke's home in Forest City.
"She was our design artist, our fashion designer," Daryl said. "She made sure we looked good on television."
Though the family had watched the game show on television many times before, Sara said it is more difficult than anticipated once on the stage.
"It’s just so different when you’re on the stage," Sara said. "We’d watched the show at home and we’d be like, 'Why didn’t they get that? That was so easy.' But now I totally get why some people say some crazy things up there. It’s just a primal instinct to answer."
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According to Daryl, the pressure of being on the stage and time constraints made answering host Steve Harvey's questions tougher than it may appear to television audiences.
"Being under those bright lights and having Steve Harvey kind of look you in the eye, it puts things in perspective a little bit," Daryl said. "You only get a few seconds to answer questions, so you don’t have a lot of time to process the questions. So when you hear funny answers and out-of-this-world responses, we totally get that now."
Off the stage, Daryl said the "Family Feud" host and comedian Harvey is "just a genuine, normal human being. He is just a genuine, down-to-earth legend. He’s very warm," Daryl said. "It was a pleasure just being around him and having normal conversations with him."
When the cameras stopped rolling, Harvey continued joking with the families and the audience — one of the highlights of the experience, according to Sara.
"It was crazy because in between, when it’s not on camera, he’s just entertaining the audience and family members," Sara said. "The production team said that a lot of other major TV hosts will just go in the back room or something, but he was out there the entire time."
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Sara said the "Family Feud" filming experience was a bright spot during an otherwise uncertain time.
"We had a blast with the production team," Sara said. "They were extremely warm and making sure we were comfortable at all times and really upbeat, so it was really fun. During COVID, there’s a lot of times of uncertainty, and it was nice to have a time when we could just laugh and have fun with the family."
Though the family cannot reveal the outcome of the show, Daryl said, "I think everyone did great and everyone contributed as much as they could."
"I’d say the best part for me, it was just an honor to represent the Des Moines area and represent the Mielke family themselves," Daryl said. "Meeting all the production crew and Steve Harvey and having an opportunity to be on national television, I mean the whole entire experience was awesome to me."
The "Family Feud" episode will air at 4 p.m. May 20 on FOX.
Grace Altenhofen is a news reporter for the Des Moines Register. She can be reached at galtenhofen@registermedia.com or on Twitter @gracealtenhofen.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa family to appear on 'Family Feud' game show on May 20
