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Series / Divided

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A British Game Show based on a Dutch format, which was broadcast by ITV in 2009.

The game is played by teams of three strangers, who are tasked with working together to build a cash pot by answering questions. Most of them are multiple-choice questions, but some require the contestants to place a set of answers in the correct order. Each question must be answered unanimously, and the cash value of the question decreases by 1% every second—thus they have 100 seconds to agree on an answer. The first round consists of five questions that each begin at £15,000, while the fifth and final round consists of one question that starts at £75,000, but has multiple answers. Running out of time or answering incorrectly reduces the pot by half, and getting three questions wrong ends the game immediately.

If the team completes all five rounds or votes to bail out, they must answer one more question in order to claim their prize: how much of the pot will each team member receive? The prize is divided into three unequal shares, and each contestant is given 15 seconds to state which share they want, and explain their justification. If all three contestants agree on different shares, then the game ends and everybody lives happily ever after. But if they don't, the money will begin to drain away until they either reach a unanimous decision, or time runs out and they leave with nothing. Naturally, this often results in a lot of bickering.

The original British version of Divided ran from May 2009 to May 2010 on ITV 1, and was hosted by Andrew Castle. In January 2017, Game Show Network premiered an American version, hosted by Mike Richards (which had hosted GSN's version of Pyramid, and was the then-executive producer of The Price Is Right and Let's Make a Deal). The U.S. version adds a few extra elements, including beginning with four contestants, having to unanimously vote out one contestant after the second round, and a lifeline allowing contestants to overrule the team's choice of answer.

Comparable to fellow ITV game show of the era Golden Balls, which had less quiz and just as much bickering in its endgame.

This series provides examples of


  • The Announcer: The British version had one which served as the question reader, with Charlotte Hudson holding this role in series 1, and Rachel Pierman in series 2.
  • Audience Participation: In the U.S. version, if the team's pot is at $0 after round 2 and they cannot agree on which contestant to vote out (since this normally causes the pot to begin draining like the main game), the decision goes to an audience vote.
  • Catchphrase:
    • "You have failed to agree; your cash starts counting down ... now."
    • "Join us next time where we hope three more strangers will be united, not divided."
  • Downer Ending: Whenever a team leaves with nothing, which happened quite a bit.
  • Lifelines: In the U.S. version, the team receives two "Takeovers" after the first round, which allows a contestant to lock in a guess as the team's final answer without approval from their teammates.

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