The series was renamed America Goes Bananaz in preparation for a move to then-upcoming youth-oriented national network Nickelodeon; all episodes aired from January 19, 1979, onward used this title.

Notable guest stars included Arnold Schwarzenegger,[5] Chuck Jones, Todd Rundgren,[5] the Sanford-Townsend Band,[5] Andy Kaufman,[6] and Bob Zmuda.

[10] Discussions focusing on mature subjects, such as drugs and birth control, were also regularly shown in an effort to interest and educate a teenage target audience.

[11] Guest speaker John Steinberg, a "consumer gadfly" notifying viewers of negative purchases like "record album rip-offs," often appeared.

[10] According to an interview with Philadelphia Daily News, original host Michael Young first learned of Columbus Goes Bananaz while in his lawyer's office in 1977.

Hamilton was selected based on clips of his time as the Bananaz host, provided to ABC by producer Burt Dubrow.