Poster for the NBC version, with creator/host Michael McIntyre on the bottom.
The Wheel is a Game Show created and hosted by Michael McIntyre for the BBC that involves three contestants battling out to be the first to clear a wheel of seven categories, each containing a celebrity expert of that category. One contestant plays at a time, randomly selected from a pool of three; after they choose a category, they must also choose an expert to "shut down" from the round. The wheel is then spun to randomly select the expert to help them answer the multiple-choice question. Each correct answer adds at least £3,000 to the jackpot (£10,000 should they land on the category's expert — marked in gold — and in the final category, £6,000 should they land on an expert that had yet not been selected — marked in silver) and removes the category from the board.
Should they land on a shutdown expert or get the question wrong, they are ejected back down to a smaller wheel under the stage, and one of them is randomly selected to replace them. The experts also answer each question on their own with keypads at their chairs; if the category's expert gets their answer wrong, they are also shut down in the next round. If all seven experts answer a question correctly, an extra £5,000 goes into the jackpot. Beginning with Series 2, a "Moneyspinner" question is also played, giving every expert a chance to answer and adding up to £10,000 more to the jackpot.
The contestant who answers the final question correctly receives a chance to claim up to double the jackpot value by answering one more question, referred to since Series 3 and on the U.S. version as "The Cashout".
The show premiered on BBC One in November 2020 as a replacement for Michael McIntyre's Big Show, whose production was suspended due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Christmas Celebrity Edition also aired that year, and it has since been renewed for additional series.
An American version premiered on NBC on December 19, 2022 as a two-week event, with McIntyre hosting and producing. The per-question payouts are set at $5,000 and $10,000 (gold) respectively, the wheel is cut down to six categories/celebrities to accommodate commercial breaks, and the Moneyspinner and the bonus on the final question for landing on an expert that had yet not been selected have been removed. This version was canceled after the two-week run was up.
This show provides examples of:
- Bonus Round: In the Cashout final, the experts are ranked based on how many questions they answered correctly throughout the game, and the contestant who answered the final question correctly must then choose either the highest (first) ranked, the middle (fourth, third in the US) ranked or bottom (seventh, sixth in the US) ranked expert as their partner. A question is asked from one of three new categories; clearing it with the middle-ranked expert awards the jackpot, the highest-ranked expert awards half the jackpot, and the lowest-ranked expert awards double the jackpot. Oh, and there is a mere 30-second time limit. If the contestant answers the Cashout question incorrectly, its topic along with the chosen expert and their jackpot are taken out of play, and the contestant wheel is spun again to pick a new player.
- The first two UK series featured four topics in each Cashout, and those for missed questions were replaced.
- Calvinball: Some of the mechanics aren't exactly brought up until they're needed (such as the bonuses), making the format of the show feel like this sometimes. The American version does have more of a Rules Spiel.
- Celebrity Edition: The Christmas edition featured celebrity contestants in addition to the experts.
- Catchphrase:
- "Welcome to The Wheel!"
- "(It's a one-in-three...) Who's it gonna be?!"
- "(Let's) spin the (Contestant) Wheel!"
- Compliment Backfire: In one episode, Iain Stirling attempts to say to a contestant called Karen that though her name gets bad press, she was brilliant. She doesn't take it too well.
- Downer Ending: In the Cashout round, each of the three experts can only be selected once. Thus, it is possible for an episode to end without a winner if the contestants miss questions with all of them. The first time this happened, Michael marked the occasion with Self-Deprecation:Michael: This show is supposed to raise the mood of the nation. This is worse than Newsnight, this is so depressing. [..] We never thought no one would win. It maybe came up in one meeting and they were like, "No." And look at us now, a bunch of losers. I am so horrified.
- Ear Worm: The show's theme tune
is so catchy that every time it plays Michael and the experts start to sing and dance along to it. - "El Niño" Is Spanish for "The Niño": Michael asks a contestant on one episode what "Spin the wheel" is in Jamaican patois. The answer is "Spin the wheeeeeeel!".
- Game Show Host: Michael McIntyre is on hand to crack jokes and encourage the contestants.
- Genius Ditz: Celebrities who end up at the bottom of the ranking are this, being completely clueless in everything except their chosen topic.
- Golden Snitch: It doesn't matter which contestant clears the most categories. Whoever clears the last one gets the first chance at the jackpot, and whoever gives the first right answer in the Cashout round goes home with the money.
- Hidden Depths: Most of the experts' chosen categories are based on their professions (e.g. Carol Vorderman, Rachel Riley and Susie Dent on Maths, Numbers and Words respectively, Steve Kornacki on U.S. politics) or their locations (e.g. Gemma Collins on Essex). However, there is the odd occasion you get a celebrity with an unexpected topic, such as Dermot O'Leary on World War II.note
- Subverted with comedian Joel Dommett on his unexpected subject of Heavy Metal, only to get the majority of his questions wrong including thinking one of Black Sabbath's greatest hits was Black Panther, along with ribbing from both Michael and even Joel's fellow expert Chris Eubank.
- In Case You Forgot Who Wrote It: Usually billed as Michael McIntyre's The Wheel.
- Luck-Based Mission: The process for choosing which contestant will play next is completely random, so it's possible for the same one to go right back into the game after being dismissed. The wheel's final position after each spin is determined randomly by computer, meaning that any expert can come up for a given subject.
- Mundane Made Awesome: When you boil it down, the show revolves around a load of chairs spinning around in a circle. But it's done with a lot of flashing lights and bombastic music, combined with Michael McIntyre's Large Ham tendencies.
- Parody Assistance: The studio that produces The Wheel allowed the Sidemen to use the set, intro, graphics, and theme music (both the original song and a chiptune remix) for their own Affectionate Parody of the show.note
- Scenery Porn: The set definitely counts, with a wheel of celebrities that once again makes the "big wheel" of the infamous Shoppers Casino look much less glitzy in comparison.
- Spectacular Spinning: The Wheel itself as well as the Contestant's Wheel.
- Speed Round: Series 2 adds a "Moneyspinner" round, where the seven experts are asked a list-based question with at least seven correct answers. Each correct answer adds £1,000 to the pot, and and extra £3,000 if all of them get it right for a maximum of £10,000. Each expert has to answer in the time it takes them to move slowly past the wheel's pointer, and the first miss by any of them ends the round immediately.
