History Main / PanelGame

* A long-running British panel show is ''Series/NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'', which is based around music and generally features pop and rock stars as well as comedians. After most of the original cast started having other commitments, the show bounced back with a very successful format of rotating guest hosts and temporary team captains. Phill Jupitus has appeared in every episode but one, making him pretty much the face of the show. The show is currently hosted by Rhod Gilbert, and the other team captain is [[TheMightyBoosh Noel Fielding]].

* ''The Museum of Curiosity'', which has been described as a sister show to ''{{QI}}''.

The celebrity contestants are usually paid an appearance fee, but there is rarely a prize as an incentive to win, although the contestants may still be highly competitive. [[PlayedForLaughs The focus is on comedy]]; ThePointsMeanNothing, and some shows feature a joke prize that is mundane (''HaveIGotNewsForYou''), bizarre (''Series/ShootingStars''), or non-existent (''Radio/ImSorryIHaventAClue'').

* Another mainstay of British panel games is ''[[Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou Have I Got News For You]]'', a political and satirical panel game that generally attracts politicians, journalists, and businessmen as its panelists, as well as more politically-minded comedians.

** ''Dit Was Het Nieuws'' (This Was The News), a carbon copy of HaveIGotNewsForYou.

* ''Radio/TheNewsQuiz'', something of a radio counterpart to ''HaveIGotNewsForYou'' (which it predates by thirteen years). In its early years, it was a relatively straight panel game about the week's news, with the panel largely comprising journalists and politicians, but since around the mid-1990s there has been more emphasis on comedy.

** Ironic, considering that Charlie Brooker is credited as a joke writer on some episodes of ''8 Out Of 10 Cats'', and has been a panelist on ''HaveIGotNewsForYou'' and ''Series/WouldILieToYou'' twice...

* The one that is most familiar to American viewers is ''WhoseLineIsItAnyway'', which had four comedians who would perform improv comedy to win points from host Clive Anderson (later replaced by Drew Carey for the somewhat-louder American version).
* A long-running British panel show is ''NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'', which is based around music and generally features pop and rock stars as well as comedians. After most of the original cast started having other commitments, the show bounced back with a very successful format of rotating guest hosts and temporary team captains. Phill Jupitus has appeared in every episode but one, making him pretty much the face of the show. The show is currently hosted by Rhod Gilbert, and the other team captain is [[TheMightyBoosh Noel Fielding]].

* A similar show is ''MockTheWeek'', basically ''Have I Got News For You'' [[XMeetsY meets]] ''Whose Line''.

** There have been two ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks''-alikes. {{SBS}}'s ''{{Rockwiz}}'' is considered the more musically credible; it has the feel of a stage show that just happens to be on TV, being filmed in an actual pub and with the scores displayed on cardboard placards. It is trumped in popularity by [[TheABC ABC]]'s ''SpicksAndSpecks'', which is closer to ''Buzzcocks'' in format but (being hosted by Adam Hills) with a more positive attitude and less likely to go OffTheRails.

* Also Australian is ''TalkinBoutYourGeneration'', hosted by [[CloudCuckooLander Shaun Micallef]] and featuring comedians Baby Boomer [[DeadpanSnarker Amanda Keller]], Generation X [[TallDarkAndSnarky Charlie Pickering]], Generation Y [[ButtMonkey Josh Thomas]], and their celebrity guests, in an attempt to determine the superior generation.

* ''YouHaveBeenWatching'', themed around television shows, hosted by CharlieBrooker.

* ''ComedyWorldCup'', hosted by Creator/DavidTennant, which ran for only 7 episodes. In a twist of the normal formal, there were no regulars but four different teams that consisted of the same comedians. The teams were pitted against each other to answer questions regarding comedy history and trivia, and the winner would advance to the next level.

* American example: {{NPR}}'s ''Radio/WaitWaitDontTellMe''. Not a pure panel game, as it also features segments in which listeners play to win an actual prize, but as the prize is an answering machine greeting from newscaster Carl Kasell, these are played for laughs as much as the ones with only the panelists.

* In 2013, Creator/ComedyCentral introduced ''Series/AtMidnight'', a panel game hosted by Chris Hardwick which is themed around internet culture and social media. While its format closer resembles a competitive quiz show, it still gets all the hallmarks down.

** There are two ''Never Mind the Buzzcocks''-alikes, the SBS's musically credible ''{{Rockwiz}}'', trumped in popularity by the Adam-Hills-hosted ''SpicksAndSpecks'' which is noteworthy for the fact that of the four non-regular panelists, two are generally musicians, the other two being comedians who don't know the first thing about music. Doesn't stop them from being funny.

** ''GoodNewsWeek'' was originally a carbon copy of ''Have I Got News For You'', but its political satire didn't survive the move to commercial television. After a ten year hiatus, the rebooted show focuses more on oddball stories, celebrity news and musical guests.

** Ironic, considering that Charlie Brooker is credited as a joke writer on some episodes of ''8 Out Of 10 Cats'', and has been a panelist on ''HaveIGotNewsForYou'' and ''WouldILieToYou'' twice...

* ''Radio/TheUnbelievableTruth'', hosted by David Mitchell. The three guests give a lecture on a particular subject that is full of lies, except for five truths scattered throughout, and the others have to pick out the truths as they go.

* A long-running British panel show is ''NeverMindTheBuzzcocks'', which is based around music and generally features pop and rock stars as well as comedians. After most of the original cast started having other commitments, the show bounced back with a very successful format of rotating guest hosts and temporary team captains. Phill Jupitus has appeared in every episode, making him pretty much the face of the show. The show currently uses [[GuestHost guest hosts]], and the other team captain is [[TheMightyBoosh Noel Fielding]].

The celebrity contestants are usually paid an appearance fee, but there is rarely a prize as an incentive to win, although the contestants may still be highly competitive. [[PlayedForLaughs The focus is on comedy]]; ThePointsMeanNothing, and some shows feature a joke prize that is mundane (''HaveIGotNewsForYou''), bizarre (''ShootingStars''), or non-existent (''Radio/ImSorryIHaventAClue'').

* The format was taken to its logical conclusion in ''ShootingStars'' which dispensed with rules, order and sense, and featured questions such as "True or False: Bill Cosby was the first-ever black man" (the answer was false; it was actually Sidney Poitier). It also featured dream sequences, sketches, and other distractions from the boring business of actually hosting a show. The guests are more of an afterthought than anything.

-->-- Richard Ayoade very sincerely introduces ''NeverMindTheBuzzcocks''

* This format was once common on North American prime time; the tone was more serious, although there was still some joking going on. The best known of these were CBS's ''ToTellTheTruth'', ''IveGotASecret'', and ''Series/WhatsMyLine'' (all of which later went into syndication) and CBC's ''Front Page Challenge'', which ran for 37 years (1958-95).

* ''Series/WouldILieToYou'', hosted in the first two seasons by Angus Deayton, currently hosted by Rob Brydon, with team captains LeeMack and DavidMitchell. Slightly more emphasis on the ''game'' part of panel game, the contestants read out a card that either contains an unlikely truth about themselves or a lie made up by the researchers of the show, and they have to defend it as true, while the other team prods them for additional facts and then says whether it's the truth, or a lie. ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6JH-3o17qI A video link]] explains it better than that description.) There are also various other rounds, such as each member of one team claiming to know a mystery guest. It's one of the best panel shows on today, with very little scripted material, lots of funny stories and plenty of good-natured ribbing.

* ''So Wrong It's Right'', another panel show hosted by CharlieBrooker. Comedians (including several regulars such as DavidMitchell, Rob Brydon, Holly Walsh, and LeeMack) compete to tell the "worst" stories, such as the worst thing that happened to them at a party or the worst idea for a restaurant.

* [[PhilthonJones Caught Chatting]] is presented in this format.

->''. . . but for once, let's put our heads down, and have an informative, popular, music-based quiz, without resorting to'' jokes--''the coward's way out.''

* ''{{QI}}'', themed around general [[strike:knowledge]] ignorance, has become one of the biggest. (And funniest.) Notable for having no captains but a regular panelist in Alan Davies, who acts as a foil to host Stephen Fry and keeps things from getting too serious.

* ''EightOutOfTenCats'', about statistics, hosted by Creator/JimmyCarr, regular team captain Sean Lock (either of whom tend to be CMOF-worthy ''separately''), relatively new team captain Jon Richardson, and the occasional ''somewhat'' thematic celebrity (such as Chris Hoy, after he won Olympic gold).

* ''8 Out Of 10 Cats'', about statistics, hosted by Creator/JimmyCarr, regular team captain Sean Lock (either of whom tend to be CMOF-worthy ''separately''), relatively new team captain Jon Richardson, and the occasional ''somewhat'' thematic celebrity (such as Chris Hoy, after he won Olympic gold).

* ''The Museum of Curiosities'', which has been described as a sister show to ''{{QI}}''.

* In 2013, Creator/ComedyCentral introduced ''Series/AtMidnight'', a panel game hosted by Chris Hardwick that is themed around trying to make jokes about things they found on Website/{{Twitter}} and the like.

* Subverted in ''AnnuallyRetentive'', a TwoForOneShow which shows both a traditional panel game and the (fictional) behind-the-scenes backstabbing that happens behind it. As far as the celebrities are concerned, it's a 'proper' panel show, and only the host and captains act in the behind-the-scenes bits.

** ''They Think It's All Over'', also a sporting panel game but with more emphasis on the funny (each side had a regular sportsman, a regular comedian and one other random, usually a sportsman), was rendered slightly redundant. A change of panelists didn't kill the show; a change of hosts did. Rampantly most famous for the Feel The Sportsman round, where contestants were blindfolded and had to identify a sportsperson (or, in several cases, a ''team'' of sportspersons) by touch alone.

* Another American example is ''AtMidnight'', a show on ComedyCentral hosted by Chris Hardwick that is based around social media.

* ''FigureItOut'' has four panelists try to figure out what a contestant's secret talent is before all three rounds are up. Being a {{Nickelodeon}} show, lots of slime is expected.

* ''ComedyWorldCup'', hosted by DavidTennant, which ran for only 7 episodes. In a twist of the normal formal, there were no regulars but four different teams that consisted of the same comedians. The teams were pitted against each other to answer questions regarding comedy history and trivia, and the winner would advance to the next level.

* ''Dave Gorman's Genius'', which is also a radio show, involves more audience participation than usual: the general public mails suggestions which could improve the world (or are just funny), and the best ones get invited onto the show to defend their idea to a guest, who is in charge of deciding whether or not the idea is genius. Ideas that have been declared genius before include breeding an elephant that is small enough to be a house pet, helium filled bubble wrap to make parcels lighter and postage cheaper, and to make parliament discuss things under the rules of ''JustAMinute''.
* ''WouldILieToYou'', hosted in the first two seasons by Angus Deayton, currently hosted by Rob Brydon, with team captains LeeMack and DavidMitchell. Slightly more emphasis on the ''game'' part of panel game, the contestants read out a card that either contains an unlikely truth about themselves or a lie made up by the researchers of the show, and they have to defend it as true, while the other team prods them for additional facts and then says whether it's the truth, or a lie. ([[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6JH-3o17qI A video link]] explains it better than that description.) There are also various other rounds, such as each member of one team claiming to know a mystery guest. It's one of the best panel shows on today, with very little scripted material, lots of funny stories and plenty of good-natured ribbing.

* Another mainstay of British panel games is ''[[Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou]]'', a political and satirical panel game that generally attracts politicians, journalists, and businessmen as its panelists, as well as more politically-minded comedians.

* Another mainstay of British panel games is ''{{Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou}}'', a political and satirical panel game that generally attracts politicians, journalists, and businessmen as its panelists, as well as more politically-minded comedians.

* Another mainstay of British panel games is ''HaveIGotNewsForYou'', a political and satirical panel game that generally attracts politicians, journalists, and businessmen as its panelists, as well as more politically-minded comedians.