The holiday season may cause families to squabble at the dinner table, but one local Katy family is doing it on purpose – competing on the “Family Feud” TV show during Thanksgiving week.

Thomas Nguyen and his family have lived in Katy since 1979, where he went to Sundown Elementary and then Mayde Creek for junior high and high school. In the fall of 2024, Nguyen was inducted into the Mayde Creek High School Wall of Honor. After graduating from UT for undergrad and law school, he moved back to Katy where he and wife Kristine currently reside in Cinco Ranch. “I will basically have lived in Katy for my entire life, haha,” said Nguyen. Nguyen co-founded the Peli Peli restaurant and is now a top commercial real estate agent with a focus on restaurants for CBRE in Houston. He works with a lot of the popular restaurant groups at Katy Asia Town, he told the Katy Times.

Like most people, Nguyen grew up watching Family Feud. “I always wanted to be on the show but didn’t think it would ever be a reality,” he told the Katy Times in an email interview. “I have been on CNBC’s Restaurant Startup and Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge but never on a game show. My wife’s co-worker went on the show and had a great experience. That encouraged us to apply, and my niece, Taylor Phung, sent in the application. We were so surprised that they responded and ended up having us on the show.”

“My wife kept her family name, which is Truong, after we married,” Nguyen said. “Since our team is made up of her family, we went with Truong instead of Nguyen.” The team consisted of Nguyen, wife Kristine Truong, sister-in-law Elizabeth Truong, and nieces Taylor Phung and Jacqueline Phung.

The application process to be on the show was fairly simple, Nguyen said. ”They need five members and ask you to tell them about your family, where you are from and to make it fun,” he said. “They also ask you to include five family photos. I would definitely encourage applicants to submit information and photos that highlight your family’s personality. It was important to me that we submitted that we are from Katy. There have been a lot of contestants from Houston, but not from Katy. Definitely super proud to represent Katy!”

The filming happened back in April at the Tyler Perry studios in Atlanta, GA, and filmed for two days. “It was very well organized from beginning to end,” Nguyen said. “Everyone in the production crew is super nice including the man himself, Steve Harvey. To be an audience member, it’s free and Steve definitely puts on a comedy show both before, during and after. If

you are ever in Atlanta, I would recommend attending as an audience member, especially if you are a fan of the show.”

There were lots of memorable moments, Nguyen said. “We will just have to wait and watch the show to see if any of them were included,” he said. “We were all very nervous since there is over 100 people in the audience watching you and knowing you will be on TV. We were all so scared of saying a stupid response that will end up being a meme or showcased on social media. One of my favorite memories was just spending more time as a family prior to the show, practicing games and playing along on TV so that we could be as prepared as possible.”

And if they win?

“I think everyone has different plans, but for me and my wife, it would be nice to take a romantic getaway to Paris or Korea,” Nguyen said. “That has been on my bucket list for some time.”

The episode airs November 25 on KTXHMy20 Vision at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.

“It was really special for me to be able to represent Katy on Family Feud,” Nguyen said. “Especially after getting inducted into Mayde Creek High School’s Wall of Honor last year, my pride for Katy runs deep and love this city. I would definitely encourage fans of the show to apply. They are always looking for new families to compete, and we all know how many wonderful families there are in Katy, Texas.”