Updated for 2024
For just about as long as we’ve had TV, we’ve had the game show. But for every Jeopardy! there’s a Let’s Make a Deal. One brand of game show is one with a stunt component. These goofy game shows seek to embarrass the players for a chance of winning some valuable prizes. Some are relatively short-lived while others last for years, but you never know when a new “revival” just might make it back to the small screen. It’s hard to keep track of them all, but here are 21 of some of the wackiest shows ever made (and in some cases, are still airing today).
Truth or Consequences
One of the earliest kooky TV game shows, Truth or Consequences, began as a radio show for NBC in 1940. Hosted by Ralph Edwards, contestants were given two seconds to answer an obscure trivia question. If they got it wrong, they would have to face embarrassing consequences. But it wasn’t all bad. Sometimes the contestants were reunited with a loved one had been away in the service. Truth or Consequences was the first TV game show to air on broadcast TV in 1941. It was an experiment and didn’t air on TV again until 1950 on CBS. Having ended in 1951, the show had a revival on NBC with host Jack Bailey from 1954-1956. Bob Barker hosted a daytime version of the show from 1956-1965. The show went into syndication through 1975. The New Truth or Consequences aired in syndication in 1977 with Bob Hilton hosting. The show had yet another (brief) comeback for once season in 1987 with Murray Langston hosting. Fun fact: Langston was also known as the “Unknown Comic” on The Gong Show. (Image: Ralph Edwards Productions)
Beat the Clock
Originally, this game show aired over the radio. Time’s A-Wastin’ in 1948 with host Bud Collyer. The show’s name was changed to Beat the Clock in 1949 and premiered on CBS TV on March 23, 1950. During each episode, contestants were given a series of tasks that they needed to finish within a minute highlighted by a giant countdown clock. The budget for the show was pretty low compared today’s standards. Props were everyday objects used in unusual ways. Playwright Neil Simon was among the early stunt writers for the show. Proving popular, a daytime version of Beat the Clock was created 1957, but it only ran for a year before moving to ABC where it stayed until 1961. The show had a brief revival on CBS from September 1979 to February 1980 and a kid’s version aired on Universal Kids from February 2018 to July 2019. (Image: Wikimedia)
Supermarket Sweep
Supermarket Sweep first aired on ABC from December 20, 1965 to July 1967. Hosted by Bill Malone, it was actually shot within real Food Fair supermarkets found around New York City. The show was revived for Lifetime and PAX TV with host David Ruprecht running from April 1999 to 2003 with a set only resembling a grocery store. The show later returned for another revival on ABC. Debuting on October 18, 2020, the show was filmed within the Barker Hangar at the Santa Monica Airport with host Leslie Jones. It ran for two seasons. (Image: ABC)
Almost Anything Goes
Intervilles was a French comedy game show that pitted towns against each other with a series of silly games, some of which included interacting with live cows and bulls. It aired on and off from 1962 to as late as 2009. However, it was the inspiration for the British game show, It’s a Knockout! (which aired from 1966 to 1982) and that show inspired the American Almost Anything Goes which premiered on ABC on July 31, 1975. For AAG, three teams representing hometowns in the U.S. would compete against each other with crazy competitions that included wacky obstacle courses, pie throwing contests, swing relays and others. Sports announcers Charlie Jones and Lynn Shackelford did the play-by-play for the two-season show. It was followed by the Junior Almost Anything Goes, hosted by Soupy Sales, running on Saturday mornings from 1976-1977) followed by All Star Anything Goes from 1977-1978. (Image: ABC)
Double Dare
One of America’s messiest game show history was Nickleodeon’s Double Dare which debuted on October 6, 1986. Double Dare was the network’s first and longest-running game show. Right after the show premiered, it had tripled its viewership and became the most-watched original daily program on cable TV. Hosted by Marc Summers, the series continued through 1993. For a brief time, there was a Family Double Dare show that aired on FOX from April 3 to July 23, 1988. The show was revived as Double Dare 2000 with host Jason Harris from January to November. Then years later, the now defunct Nickelodeon Suites Resort in Orlando, Florida hosted the Double Dare Live show through 2016. A Double Dare Reunion Special aired on Nick at Nite on November 23, 2016. (Image: Nickleodeon)
Distraction
Debuting on January 18, 2005 on Comedy Central, the mean-spirited Distraction was based on a British game show of the same name. Hosted by Jimmy Carr, this short-lived spectacle would start with four players where one was eliminated after each round of trivia questions. The trick here was that the players were distracted by unusual events or unusual challenges. Most of these challenges required the players to complete some sort of task before answering the question including downing an icy beverage, slapping a raw egg on their forehead or throw a pie in their face (which could be filled with cream, mustard, honey etc.). Other types of games included shocking players every time they blinked, hitting players with multiple ping pong balls or forcing players to remove stickers off of a nudist’s body. During the bonus round, if a question was answered incorrectly, the prize was destroyed in some creative way. (Image: Comedy Central)
Wipeout
When it comes to this genre of TV shows, Wipeout has done particularly well for itself. Having premiered on June 24, 2008, it boasted of having the world’s largest obstacle course. The show was hosted by John Henson and John Anderson with Jill Wagner serving as the on-the-ground reporter. (Although Vanessa Lachey took over for Wagner for one season.) The show consisted of outrageous stunts that were mostly impossible to achieve, and many involved the use of water. The show proved so popular in its first year that international versions of the show began popping up in the United Kingdom, Australia, Argentina and others. The American version ran until 2014. Wipeout was rebooted for TBS in 2021 with new hosts John Cena, Nicole Byer and Camille Kostek. It ran for one season. (Image: ABC)
Minute to Win It
Similar to Beat the Clock, Minute to Win It also created 60-second challenges using everyday objects. The first version of the show aired from March 14, 2010 to 2011 on NBC with Guy Fieri serving as the show’s host. It was a show that was hugely popular as families and youth groups could easily replicate the games in their own homes, but the show faded out quickly too. In 2013, the show was revived on Game Show Network (GSN) running for two seasons with Apolo Ohno as host. However, the show has done better internationally having appeared in over 50 international versions. (Image: NBC)
Mental Samurai
Described as an “obstacle course of the mind”, Mental Samurai debuted on March 19, 2019 on FOX. Hosted by Rob Lowe, the show consisted of two parts. Round One aimed to eliminate contestants by throwing various trivia questions in rapid fire. Those who answered the most questions correctly moved on to Round Twos. Players were then strapped into a movable capsule named Ava which would spin contestants in different directions while they attempted to answer more questions. The show ran for two seasons.
Holey Moley
Holey Moley was a sports reality competition series where the term “sports” was loosely termed. It was often pitched that the series was created by Stephen Curry, but outside of his occasional appearances on the show, he was just one of the eight or so executive producers. Wearing the famed gold Wide World of Sports jackets of yesteryear, the show was hosted by sports commentator Joe Tessitore and comedian Rob Riggle with Jeannie Mai as a sideline reporter. The show premiered on June 20, 2019 and was shot at Sable Ranch in Santa Clarita, California – the same place where Wipeout was filmed years earlier. With holes that feature contestants running through “burning” windmills, avoiding giant rubber duckies and playing giant pinball machines, it is show that won’t be forgotten any time soon. It ran for four seasons ending in 2022, but fans are hoping for a revival soon. (Image: ABC)
Cannonball
Thought of as a weaker version of Wipeout (and less chaotic), Cannonball first previewed on NBC on June 29, 2020 before airing on USA Network from July 9 to September 3, 2020. It was based on the British game show of the same name. Each week, 16 contestants would perform various water-based stunts in hopes of getting the highest score and moving on to the next round eventually winning $10,000. The show was hosted by The Miz, Rocsi Diaz and Simon Gibson and was filmed at the Hansen Dam Recreation Park in Los Angeles, California. (Image: USA Network)
Candy Crush
Hosted by Saved by the Bell heartthrob, Mario Lopez, Candy Crush debuted on July 9, 2017. Based on the mobile phone game of the same name, the show featured the Guinness World Record for the largest touchscreens in the world, which would be impressive if the show wasn’t so bad. It has the distinction of being one of the worst game shows ever made according to a number of critics (and viewers no doubt). The show featured a number of games like Jelly Time (which required players to wear giant candy canes strapped to their backs while swinging around the giant board. The show only ran for nine episodes. (Image: CBS)
Ellen’s Game of Games
Featuring games that had been shown on Ellen DeGeneres’ talk show, Ellen’s Game of Games premiered on NBC on December 18, 2017. The show starred DeGeneres with Stephen “tWitch” Boss serving as a sidekick announcer. The primetime show ran for four seasons with one of TV’s loudest audiences ever. Games that were featured on the show included “Aw Snap” where two contestants were strapped with a bungee cord attached to each other’s backs; “Blindfolded Musical Chairs” and “Buckin’ Blasters” where contestants would mount giant cannons and shoot portraits of their opponents to win. The show ran through 2020 (Image: NBC)
Don’t
Don’t was a one-season game show airing on ABC from June 11 to August 13, 2020. In each episode, a team of four people, usually a family, would compete through a series of tasks with names like “Don’t Blink”, “Don’t Be Shocked” and “Don’t Beat Yourself Up”. It was hosted by Adam Scott with commentary by Ryan Reynolds who also served as an executive producer. Each team could have won up to $100,000 but often won a lot less since playing a perfect game was nearly impossible. (Image: ABC)
Frogger
Loved the video game, the larger-than-life obstacle course, not so much. Frogger aired premiered on Peacock on September 9, 2021. Hosted by Kyle Brandt and Damon Wayans Jr., the course did resemble the arcade game but here, the frog (human contestants) had to do more than just get across a busy highway in hopes of winning $100,000. This game show was odd in that despite that large usage of water, the show took place indoors and there was no audience cheering anyone on. Each contestant had three “lives”, just like in the arcade game. If they fell in the water, they would lose a life. (Image: Peacock)
Family Game Fight
Following in the steps of Ellen’s Game of Games, Family Game Fight starred real-life married couple, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard who not only hosted the show, but participated in it as well. Here, two families of four would compete against each other with the help of the hosts in a battle to win $100,000. The show aired from 2021-2022. The games included in the series included “Air Heads” where contestants were blasted in the face with air due to a wrong answer; “Between the Sheets” where the hosts lying in a bed wearing blindfolds had to find hidden objects under their sheets and describe them to each other; and “Brain Freeze” where wrong answer led to all team members getting ice water pour down their backs. (Image: NBC)
That’s My Jam
Previewing on November 29, 2021 before its January 3, 2022 start date, That’s My Jam is based on some of the games played on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Featuring celebrities instead of everyday people, the game show features music-themed challenges such as “Mixtape Medley Showdown”, “Slay It, Don’t Spray It”, and “Wheel of Musical Impressions”. The show is currently airing on NBC. (Image: NBC)
The Final Straw
At least ABC gets points for creativity for this one. Hosted by Janelle James, The Final Straw began airing on July 10, 2022. In this larger-than-life Jenga game, various objects were stacked in themed towers of stuff. The game was played with two teams of players who competed against each other tasked with removing one object from their own tower at a time without letting the tower topple over. This was played for two rounds with a third bonus “Mega Stack” round reserved for the winning team only. Oh, and a costumed panda would run around and cause havoc throughout the game for some reason. The show lasted for 10 episodes. (Image: ABC)
Lotería Loca
Based on the Mexican game of chance Lotería, Lotería Loca is pretty loco. Hosted by Jaime Camil and Sheila E serving as both co-host and band leader, this show is a mix of a game show and a variety show. The show debuted on October 2, 2023. While the show has not been officially cancelled as of yet, only six of the 11 episodes were shown in 2023 before being taken off the schedule. The show is bright and lively, features a mix of mini-games, is full of color and features some good music and dancing. However, the contestants are obnoxious and the game is based on luck. (Image: CBS)
Raid the Cage
Although the title says that it is a “CBS Original”, Raid the Cage is based on an Israeli show of the same name. Debuting on October 13, 2023, the show is hosted by Damon Wayans Jr. and Jeannie Mai. It features two teams of players who are first given ten clues to match with 11 eleven answers within 45 seconds. Each correct answer earns the team three seconds of game play, up to 30 seconds. Then, another has to run and retrieve a number of prizes within the “cage” and get back out with them before time runs out. Hilarity ensues. Apparently. (Image: CBS)
The Quiz with Balls
The weirdest show to premiere in 2024 is The Quiz with Balls. It’s destined to last only one season joining other forgotten train wrecks. Hosted by Jay Pharoah, this show is said to “pit brains against balls.” During each episode, two families face off answering multiple choice questions while standing on a platform over a pool of water. When a contestant answers a question, a giant ball will roll down a chute. If they get the answer correct, the ball will stop just short of knocking the contestant in the pool. If not, they’re going to get wet. The longer a family stays dry, the more money they’ll get with one member going up for a final $100,000 round. (Image: FOX)
Main Image: The Quiz with Balls (FOX)
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