A panel show or panel game is a

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

in which a panel of celebrities participate. Celebrity panelists may compete with each other, such as on '' The News Quiz''; facilitate play by non-celebrity contestants, such as on ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity paneli ...

'' and '' Blankety Blank''; or do both, such as on '' Wait Wait Don't Tell Me''. The genre can be traced to 1938, when '' Information Please'' debuted on American radio. The earliest known television panel show is '' Play the Game'', a

charades Charades (, ). is a parlor game, parlor or party game, party word game, word guessing game. Originally, the game was a dramatic form of literary charades: a single person would act out each syllable of a word or phrase in order, followed by the wh ...

show in 1946. The modern trend of comedy panel shows can find early roots with '' Stop Me If You've Heard This One'' in 1939 and '' Can You Top This?'' in 1940. While panel shows were more popular in the past in the U.S., they are still very common in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Format

Whats My Line original television panel 1952

While many early panel shows stuck to the traditional quiz show format in which celebrities tried to get the right answers and win, the primary goal of modern panel shows is to entertain the audience with comedy, with the game or quiz structure providing subjects for the comedians to joke about. Panel shows also feature comedic banter, friendly ribbing and camaraderie among the panelists. Scoring is often deemphasised in panel shows. The American version of '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' acknowledged this with the introduction, "Welcome to ''Whose Line Is It Anyway'', the show where everything's made up and the points don't matter." '' QIs opaque scoring system is purportedly a mystery even to its creator, '' I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue'' dispenses with points altogether, and many other shows mention points only occasionally or at the end, instead of continuously displaying scores in front of players. Panel shows can have any number of themes. Many are topical and

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

, such as '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'', '' Have I Got News for You'', '' The News Quiz'' and '' Mock the Week''. ''

8 Out of 10 Cats ''8 Out of 10 Cats'' (stylised as ''8 out of 10 CATS'') is a British comedy panel show that aired from 3 June 2005 to 17 January 2021. It was first broadcast on Channel 4 from 2005 to 2015, then More4 from 2016 to 2017, and finally E4 from ...

'' is based on

opinion poll An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a survey or a poll, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of qu ...

ing; ''

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a Panel show, panel game show that originally ran in the United States, between 1950 and 1967, on CBS, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent American revivals. The game uses celebrity panelists ...

'' is about

occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment * Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, t ...

; ''

Never Mind the Buzzcocks ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks'' is a British comedy panel game show with a pop music theme. It has aired on Sky Max since September 2021, having originally aired between November 1996 and January 2015 on BBC Two. The original series was first host ...

'' and '' Face the Music'' center on

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

; '' A League of Their Own'', '' A Question of Sport'' and '' They Think It's All Over'' are

sport Sport is a physical activity or game, often Competition, competitive and organization, organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The numbe ...

s-themed; '' Was It Something I Said?'', '' Quote... Unquote'' and '' Who Said That?'' feature

quotation A quotation or quote is the repetition of a sentence, phrase, or passage from speech or text that someone has said or written. In oral speech, it is the representation of an utterance (i.e. of something that a speaker actually said) that is intro ...

s; '' My Word!'' involves wordplay; '' I've Got a Secret'' is about secrets; ''

To Tell the Truth ''To Tell the Truth'' is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual ...

'', '' Would I Lie to You?'' and '' The Unbelievable Truth'' deal with lies; and ''

It Pays to Be Ignorant ''It Pays to Be Ignorant'' is a 1942–51 radio comedy show which maintained its popularity during a nine-year run on three networks for such sponsors as Altria Group, Philip Morris, Chrysler, and DeSoto (automobile), DeSoto. The series was a sp ...

'' and '' I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' are parodies. Some panel shows are variations of classic parlor games. '' Twenty Questions'' is based on the parlor game of the same name, '' Give Us a Clue'' is modelled after

, and '' Call My Bluff'' and '' Balderdash'' are based on fictionary. Frequently, a panel show features recurring panelists or permanent team captains, and some panelists appear on multiple panel shows. Most shows are recorded before a studio audience.

International production

United States

The first known example of a panel show in the world is the radio program '' Information Please'', which debuted on 17 May 1938 on the

NBC Blue Network The Blue Network (previously known as the NBC Blue Network) was the on-air name of a now defunct American radio network, which broadcast from 1927 through 1945. Beginning as one of the two radio networks owned by the National Broadcasting Co ...

. An evolution of the quiz show format, ''Information Please'' added the key element of a panel of celebrities, largely writers and intellectuals, but also actors and politicians. Listeners would mail in questions, winning prizes for stumping the panel. American panel shows transferred to television early in the medium's history, with the first known example being '' Play the Game'', a

show that aired on DuMont and ABC beginning in 1946. The celebrity charades concept has been replicated numerous times since then. The most popular adaptation was '' Pantomime Quiz'', airing from 1947 to 1959, and having runs on each of the four television networks operating at the time. Other charades shows have included ''

Stump the Stars Stump may refer to: *Tree stump, the rooted remains of a felled tree *Stump (cricket), one of three small wooden posts which the fielding team attempt to hit with the ball Places *Stump, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United Stat ...

''; '' Movietown, RSVP''; '' Celebrity Charades''; '' Showoffs'' and ''

Body Language Body language is a type of nonverbal communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information. Such behavior includes facial expressions, body posture, gestures, eye movement, touch and the use o ...

''. TV panel shows saw their peak of popularity in the 1950s and '60s, when CBS ran the three longest-running panel shows in

prime time Prime time, or peak time, is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for television shows. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...

: ''

'', '' I've Got a Secret'' and ''

''. At times, they were among the top ten shows on American television, and they continue to experience occasional revivals. All three Goodson-Todman primetime shows were cancelled by CBS in 1967 amid ratings declines and trouble attracting younger viewers, although the programs were consistently profitable by being among the cheapest television shows to produce. Their cancellations came as attention to

demographics Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examin ...

and a focus on younger viewers gained currency among advertisers. The departures of these three New York–based shows were also part of a mass migration of television production to Los Angeles, leaving only one primetime show produced on the East Coast. Later years saw several successes in the format, with ''

''; '' The Hollywood Squares''; '' Win, Lose or Draw''; '' Celebrity Sweepstakes''; ''

Password A password, sometimes called a passcode, is secret data, typically a string of characters, usually used to confirm a user's identity. Traditionally, passwords were expected to be memorized, but the large number of password-protected services t ...

'' and ''

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

'' primarily running in the daytime and airing in their greatest numbers during the '70s and '80s. These panel shows marked a shift in the format: whereas CBS' primetime shows had panelists guessing secrets about the guests, these new shows largely featured civilian contestants playing games with celebrity partners, or competing to either predict how the panelists will respond to a prompt or question, or determine whether the panelist answered a question correctly. Later,

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (nicknamed Nick) is an American pay television channel and the flagship property of the Nickelodeon Group, a sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on April 1, 1979, as the first ca ...

premiered the youth-oriented panel game '' Figure it Out'' in 1997, the American version of '' Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' had a primetime run from 1998 to 2004 on ABC and a revival in 2013 by

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

, while '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' has become a popular weekend show on NPR since 1998. Since 2002, the sports channel

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

has broadcast '' Around the Horn'' as part of its daytime block of sports news and discussion shows. While presented as being a roundtable debate show, the series does contain some game show-like elements; the panel of sports journalists earn points from the host based on the strength of their points and arguments in specific topics (and may also mute panelists, if needed), with the lowest scorers eliminated at points throughout the show. The winner receives 30 seconds at the end of the show to discuss any topic unopposed. In 2015, ABC announced primetime revivals for ''Match Game'', which ran from 2016 until 2021, and ''To Tell the Truth'', which ran from 2016 to 2022. From 2013 to 2017,

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

aired ''

@midnight ''@midnight with Chris Hardwick'' (shortened to and formerly exclusively titled ''@midnight'') is an American late night Internet-themed panel game show, hosted by Chris Hardwick, that aired Monday through Thursday nights between October 21, ...

'', an internet culture and

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

-themed panel game which used a more quiz show-styled presentation—with the celebrity guests buzzing in to earn points from the host for punchlines and responses in various segments. In 2024, a reboot of the show, now titled ''After Midnight'' and hosted by Taylor Tomlinson, premiered on CBS. The streaming service Dropout has received attention for many of its shows' similarities to panel shows, notably '' Game Changer''.

United Kingdom

Panel shows are particularly popular in the United Kingdom, where they have found continued success since the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

adapted its first radio panel shows from classic parlor games. Perhaps the earliest British panel show is the BBC radio adaptation of '' Twenty Questions'', which debuted on 28 February 1947. Panel shows can have decades-long runs in the UK: ''Twenty Questions'' lasted until 1976, while ''

Just a Minute ''Just a Minute'' is a BBC Radio 4 radio comedy panel game. For more than 50 years, with a few exceptions, it was hosted by Nicholas Parsons. Following Parsons' death in 2020, Sue Perkins became the permanent host, starting with the 87th ser ...

'' has remained on the air, and had

Nicholas Parsons Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show ''Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' S ...

as host from 1967 until 2019. Other long-running games on radio include '' I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' since 1972, '' The News Quiz'' since 1977, '' My Word!'' from 1956 to 1988, and '' My Music'' from 1967 to 1994. The British version of ''

'' may have been the first television panel show in the UK, with an original run from 1951 to 1963 and several remakes in later years. The word game ''

Call My Bluff ''Call My Bluff'' is a British panel game show based on the short-lived US version of the same name. It was originally hosted by Robin Ray and later, most notably, by Robert Robinson. Its most prominent panellist was Frank Muir. The theme m ...

'' aired from 1965 to 2005, the charades show '' Give Us a Clue'' ran from 1979 to 1992, and the improv game ''

Whose Line Is It Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. The three major versions of the show are the original 1988 British radio programme (from which all subsequent versions are ada ...

'' aired from 1988 to 1998. Current British panel shows have become showcases for the nation's top stand-up and improv comedians, as well as career-making opportunities for new comedians. Regular comics on panel shows often go on to star in sitcoms and other TV shows. The modern British panel show format of TV comedy quizzes started with '' Have I Got News for You'', a loose adaptation of

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

's '' The News Quiz''. ''HIGNFY'', as the show is sometimes known, began airing in 1990, and has been the most-viewed show of the night, regularly attracting as much as a 20%

audience share Audience measurement calculates how many people are in an audience, usually in relation to radio listenership and television viewership, but also in relation to newspaper and magazine readership and, increasingly, web traffic. The term is sometim ...

. The show's success grew after its transfer from

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

to the flagship

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

in 2000. After ''HIGNFYs success, panel shows proliferated on British TV. Notable example include '' QI'' on various BBC channels since 2003, '' Mock the Week'' on BBC Two from 2005 to 2022, ''

'' on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

since 2005, '' Would I Lie to You?'' on BBC One since 2007, and the annual special, ''

The Big Fat Quiz of the Year ''The Big Fat Quiz of the Year'' is an approximately annual British television programme broadcast in the last or first week of the year on Channel 4. The show is a comedy panel game in the style of a pub quiz. Three teams of two celebrities, mo ...

'' on Channel 4 since 2004. On the radio, '' The News Quiz'', ''

'', '' I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'' and '' The Unbelievable Truth'' are among the most popular and long-running panel shows, all of which air on BBC Radio 4. British comedy panel shows feature mainly male guests. A 2016 study that analysed 4,700 episodes from 1967 to 2016 found that 1,488 of them had an all-male lineup, and only one an all-female cast. The proportion of women rose from 3% in 1989 to 31% in 2016.

Australia

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n panel shows include advertising-focused '' The Gruen Transfer'' and its various spinoffs on

ABC1 ABC TV, formerly known as ABC1, is an Australian national public television network. It is owned and operated by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, and is the flagship (broadcasting), flagship ABC Television (Australian TV network), A ...

since 2008, the music quiz '' Spicks and Specks'' on ABC1 from 2005 to 2011 and again since 2014, news quiz '' Have You Been Paying Attention?'' on Network Ten since 2013, and tabloid quiz ''

Dirty Laundry Live ''Dirty Laundry Live'' is an Australian comedy panel television quiz show hosted by Lawrence Mooney. The first of 22 episodes in Season 1 screened live on Thursday 16 May 2013 at 9.30pm AEST on ABC2 (with repeats on ABC1 later in the week). It r ...

'' on ABC1 and

ABC2 ABC Family is an Australian free-to-air television channel owned by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation and part of its ABC Television network. The channel broadcasts a range of family and teen entertainment programming. The channel oper ...

since 2013. News quiz ''

Good News Week ''Good News Week'' is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and 11 February 2008 to 28 April 2012. The show's initial run aired on ABC until being bought by Network Ten in ...

'' aired on ABC1 from 1996 to 1998 and on Network Ten from 1999-2000 and again from 2008 to 2012, sports quiz ''

A League of Their Own ''A League of Their Own'' is a 1992 American sports comedy drama film directed by Penny Marshall that tells a fictionalized account of the real-life All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL). It stars Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Ma ...

'' aired on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

in 2013, and pop culture quiz '' Tractor Monkeys'' aired on ABC1 in 2013.

New Zealand

Currently running New Zealand panel shows include the news quiz '' 7 Days'' since 2009, '' Have You Been Paying Attention? New Zealand'' since 2019, ''

Taskmaster New Zealand ''Taskmaster New Zealand'' (also known as ''Taskmaster'' or ''Taskmaster NZ'' especially prior to season 4) is a New Zealand comedy panel game show, first broadcast in 2020 on TVNZ 2. The format for the show was created by British comedian Alex ...

'' since 2020, and ''

Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee ''Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee'' is a New Zealand television comedy panel show on Three, created and presented by Guy Montgomery and co-hosted by Sanjay Patel. The show is loosely based on a spelling bee: each episode, four comedian ...

'' since 2023.

Canada

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent o ...

currently broadcasts two long-running radio panel shows: ''

The Debaters ''The Debaters'' is a Canadian radio comedy show currently hosted by Steve Patterson. It airs on CBC Radio One, Saturdays at 3:00PM (PDT) and Wednesdays at 11:30AM, Eastern Time. During each episode, two debates take place between two sets of ...

'', which debuted in 2006, and '' Because News'', which debuted in 2015. In 2022,

Noovo Noovo is a Television in Canada, Canadian French language, French-language Terrestrial television, terrestrial television network owned by the Bell Media subsidiary of BCE Inc. The network has five Owned-and-operated station, owned-and-operated a ...

began broadcasting '' Le maître du jeu'', a local

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

adaptation of '' Taskmaster''.

Former shows

In 2014, Super Channel ordered 36 episodes of a panel show called ''Too Much Information''. A revival of ''

'' aired on

The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming and operates two time-shifted feeds, runni ...

from 2012 to 2014, the news quiz ''

Front Page Challenge ''Front Page Challenge'' was a Canadian panel game about current events and history. Created by comedy writer/performer John Aylesworth (of the comedy team of Frank Peppiatt and John Aylesworth) and produced and aired by CBC Television, the s ...

'' aired on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

from 1957 to 1995, and the charades show ''

Party Game Party games are games that are played at social gatherings to facilitate interaction and provide entertainment and recreation. Categories include (explicit) icebreaker, parlour (indoor), picnic (outdoor), and large group games.Frankel, Lillia ...

'' aired in syndication from 1970 to 1981.

France

French panel shows include ' ("Friday, Everything Goes"), an improv game on

TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...

since 2011. Earlier panel shows include ', a linguistic game on ORTF and TF1 from 1969 to 1981; ' ("The Academy of Nine"), based on ''Hollywood Squares'' on

Antenne 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

from 1982 to 1987; ''

Cluedo ''Cluedo'' (), known as ''Clue'' in North America, is a murder mystery game for three to six players (depending on editions) that was devised in 1943 by British board game designer Anthony E. Pratt. The game was first manufactured by Waddingt ...

'', based on the board game Cluedo/Clue on

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming. France 3 is structured as a Region ...

from 1994 to 1995; '' Burger Quiz'' on Canal + from 2001 to 2002; ' ("Incredible Experiences"), about scientific experiments on

France 2 France 2 () is a French free-to-air public television channel. The flagship channel of France Télévisions, it broadcasts generalist programming including news, entertainment (such as dramas, films, and game shows), factual programmes, and sp ...

and

from 2008 to 2012; and ' ("Sofa Quiz"), an adaptation of Hollywood Game Night on TMC in 2014.

Germany

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

panel shows include ''

7 Tage, 7 Köpfe 7 Tage, 7 Köpfe (''Sieben Tage, sieben Köpfe'', lit. ''Seven days, seven heads'') is a German comedy television program of the television station RTL Television and featured a humorous retrospective of the past week. The show was hosted by Joc ...

'' ("7 Days, 7 Heads"), '' Genial daneben'' ("Idiot Savant"), '' Kopfball'' ("Headball"), '' Die Montagsmaler'' ("Pictionary"), '' Noch Besserwissen'' ("Even Better Knowledge"), '' Pssst …'' (similar to ''I've Got A Secret''), ''

Die Pyramide Die Pyramide (''The Pyramid'') is a high-rise building built in 1994/95 and located in the Berlin region of Marzahn-Hellersdorf, district of Marzahn, at the Rhinstraße / Landsberger Allee intersection. The office building and adjacent outbuildin ...

'' (the German version of ''Pyramid''), '' Quizfire'', '' Sag die Wahrheit'' ("Tell the Truth", the German version of ''To Tell the Truth''), '' Typisch Frau – Typisch Mann'' ("Typical Woman – Typical Man"), '' Was bin ich?'' ("What am I?", the German version of ''What's My Line?'') and '' Was denkt Deutschland?'' ("What Does Germany Think?").

Japan

Early

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese panel shows include 話の泉 ("Source of the Story"), based on ''Information Please'' on

NHK Radio 1 , known by its callsign NHK AM, is Japan's oldest radio station operated by the public broadcaster, NHK. Its programming output, which consists of news, current affairs, and information is broadly similar to the BBC's Radio 4 in the United Kingd ...

from 1946 to 1964; 二十の扉 ("Twenty Doors"), based on ''Twenty Questions'' on NHK Radio 1 from 1947 to 1960; ジェスチャー ("Gestures"), a charades show on

NHK General TV , abbreviated on-screen as NHK G, is the main television service of NHK, the Japanese public broadcaster. Its programming includes news, drama, quiz/variety shows, music, sports, anime, and specials which compete directly with the output of its co ...

from 1953 to 1968; and 私の秘密 ("My Secret"), based on ''I've Got a Secret'' on NHK General TV from 1956 to 1967. Currently, a wide variety of

Japanese variety show A Japanese variety show is an entertainment television program made up of a variety of original stunts, musical performances, comedy skits, quiz contests, and other acts. Japanese variety shows are characterized by an eccentric, fast-paced style ...

s are popular, and many of them feature

owarai is a broad word used to describe Japanese comedy as seen on television. The word ''owarai'' is the Honorific speech in Japanese#Honorific prefixes, honorific form of the word ''warai'' (by adding o- prefix), meaning "a laugh" or "a smile". '' ...

comedians,

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese popular culture, Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in other performance skills such as acting, dancing, and modeling. Idol ...

s, and other celebrities playing games. Some games involve bizarre physical stunts. ''

Brain Wall is a component of the Japanese variety show '' The Tunnels' Thanks to Everyone''. Video clips from the show proliferated on video-sharing websites and the concept was eventually adopted by several other countries. It became popularly known to non- ...

'', adapted in English-speaking countries as '' Hole in the Wall'', has comedians attempt to jump through oddly shaped holes in moving walls without falling into water, '' DERO'' and its successor '' TORE'' have celebrities solve mental and physical challenges to escape traps and hazards or presumably die trying, '' VS Arashi'' has a team of celebrities compete against J-pop group

Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, 199 ...

and their Plus One guest(s) in physical games, '' Nep League'' has various celebrity teams competing in various quizzes that test their combined brainpower in the fields of Japanese, English, General Knowledge, Etc., and ''

AKBingo! ''AKBingo!'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese television variety show featuring Japanese idol girl group AKB48. The show aired weekly on Nippon Television. In each episode, members of AKB48 and occasionally their sister groups participate in ...

'' similarly features members of pop group

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol musical girl group named after the Akihabara area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48 has sold more records than any other female musical act in Japanese history. AK ...

and others competing in physical challenges and quizzes. Other shows include 日本語探Qバラエティクイズ!それマジ!?ニッポン ("Is it really!?"), a celebrity word game; くりぃむクイズミラクル9 ("Miracle 9"), a show somewhat similar to Hollywood Squares; '' Numer0n'', a celebrity numbers game; and オールスター感謝祭 ("All Star Thanksgiving"), a semi-annual celebrity quiz. There are many other games featuring celebrities within Japan's variety genre. '' Prime Minister Ōta'' is a show featuring many comedians and politicians debating fictional proposals in a sort of game show version of a legislative chamber.

Examples

* ''

'' * ''

'' * '' Hollywood Game Night'' * ''

Hollywood Squares ''Hollywood Squares'' (originally ''The Hollywood Squares'', later stylized as ''H2: Hollywood Squares'') is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show originally aired as a ...

'' * ''

It's News to Me English auxiliary verbs are a small set of English verbs, which include the English modal auxiliary verbs and a few others. Although the auxiliary verbs of English are widely believed to lack inherent semantic meaning and instead to modify the ...

'' * '' I've Got a Secret'' * ''

'' * ''

Says You! ''Says You!'' is a word game Game show, quiz show that airs weekly in the United States on public radio stations. Richard Sher (producer), Richard Sher created the show in 1996 with the guiding philosophy: "It's not important to KNOW the answe ...

'' * '' Spicks and Specks'' * ''

'' * '' The Marriage Ref'' * ''

'' * ''

Wait Wait… Don't Tell Me! ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' is an hour-long weekly news radio panel show produced by WBEZ and National Public Radio (NPR) in Chicago, Illinois. On the program, panelists and contestants are quizzed in humorous ways about that week's news. It ...

'' * ''

References

{{reflist, 30em

External links

UKGameshows.com: List of panel gamesThe British Comedy Guide: List of British Panel Shows
Game shows

Format

International production

United States

United Kingdom

Australia

New Zealand

Canada

Former shows

France

Germany

Japan

Examples

See also

References

External links