Whose Line Is It Anyway?

Last updated
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Created by Dan Patterson
Mark Leveson
Original work Whose Line Is It Anyway? (radio series) (1988)
Owner Hat Trick Productions
Years1988–present
Films and television
Television series
Audio
Radio program(s) Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988)
Miscellaneous
Genre Improvisational comedy

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 adapted), the British television programme, which ran from 1988 to 1999, and the American television programme, which ran from 1998 to 2007 and was revived in 2013. All three versions were produced by Patterson and Leveson and have a continuity of cast (for example, both the British radio and television shows were hosted by Clive Anderson, while several performers from the British television show then starred in the American television show).

Each version of the show consists of a panel of four performers who create characters, scenes, and songs on the spot, in the style of short-form improvisation games, many taken from theatresports. Topics for the games are based on either audience suggestions or predetermined prompts from the host. The show ostensibly takes the form of a game show, with the host arbitrarily assigning points and likewise choosing a winner at the end of each episode.

Versions, adaptations and similar shows

TitleTranslationFormatYearsNationalityAired OnStatusDescription
Whose Line Is It Anyway? Radio1988UK BBC Radio 4 OfficialThe British radio series which inspired the television series
Whose Line Is It Anyway? TV1988-1999UK Channel 4 Official
Whose Line Is It Anyway? TV1998-2007, 2013-PresentUS ABC / The CW Official
Whose Line Is It Anyway? TV2016-2017AustraliaOfficial
Shel Mi HaShura HaZot? (של מי השורה הזאת)Whose Line Is It?TV2000-2001, 2006-2007IsraelOfficial
aldawr ealaa min? (الدور على مين؟)TV2018-Egypt TeN TV [1] Official
Sponk! TV2001-2003USA Noggin AdaptationWas aimed at a younger audience and featured child performers playing games similar to Whose Line? games. [2]
De Lama's TV2004-2008NetherlandsAdaptationBesides a number of games from Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the show used a lot of new games. The show won several prizes and was one of the most watched shows on Dutch television.[ citation needed ]
Lo Kar Lo BaatTVIndiaAdaptationMost of the games were taken from the original.[ citation needed ]
ImpsTheater2005-IndiaAdaptationA frequent theatre production similar to Whose Line Is It Anyway?, started by Divya Palat.[ citation needed ]
Onvoorziene Omstandigheden Unforeseen CircumstancesTVBelgium één AdaptationA similar programme was made, presented by Mark Uytterhoeven.[ citation needed ]
Frei Schnauze TV2006-2008GermanyAdaptationThis version of the UK original entertained its audience with many similar games. The show started as a half-hour programme and expanded to one hour in 2006. The host was the German comedian Dirk Bach.
Schillerstraße TVGermanyAdaptationFeaturing many well-known German comedians.[ citation needed ]
Hatten Rundt TVDenmarkAdaptationFeatured a setup very similar to that of Whose Line?, with much more emphasis on acting and much less on wild comedy.[ citation needed ]
Minus ManusTVNorway Norwegian TV3 AdaptationShown on was more or less identical in tone and form to the British show.[ citation needed ]
SpinnTVNorway TVNorge AdaptationHad a slightly different set-up, split the contestants into two competing teams (the green team and the orange team, both wearing appropriately-colored T-shirts) and also heavily involved a rotating stage that provided scenery and props for the various improvised skits. Though the shows were completely separate, many of the contestants (such as Helén Vikstvedt), featured on both.[ citation needed ]
Wild 'n Out TVUSA MTV AdaptationHosted by Nick Cannon, this is a hip-hop version of the show with guest stars (among them Wayne Brady from the US adaptation) and hip-hop performances. It is also derived from ComedySportz.[ citation needed ]
Whose Pie Is It Anyway?TVAustraliaSpoofAn unofficial, short-lived Australian version of the programme was created by comedy troupe The T Team. This was a spoof of the British and U.S. versions of the programme.[ citation needed ]
Anında Görüntü Show Immediate Vision ShowTVTurkeyAdaptationAlthough there are some differences in the format, it is still very close to the original Whose Line Is It Anyway?. Players include: Ayça Işıldar Ak, Ayhan Taş, Burak Satıbol, Dilek Çelebi, Özlem Türay and Yiğit Arı. [3]
Tsotskhali ShowLive ShowTV Georgia AdaptationThis show is a copy of the original with minor changes.[ citation needed ].
Pagauk kampąCatch The Corner

Get It Quick

TVLithuaniaAdaptationQuite a successful Lithuanian copy of Whose Line? with similar rules and games.[ citation needed ]
KamikazeRadioearly 2000sFrench-Canadian Radio-Canada AdaptationThe only airings of the show were unannounced and used as a replacement after the sitcom Catherine went on hiatus during the holidays. The show was almost identical to the U.S. version, using the same set and playing similar games such as "Old Job New Job."[ citation needed ]
L'auditionThe Audition2006Quebec, Canada TQS AdaptationThe concept of the show was based on the WLIIA game "Hollywood Director," where the host played the director. Every week, three guests from the Québec pop-culture were invited to improvise various scenes and games such as a fake cooking show or a modified version of "Scenes From a Hat." TQS decided to cancel the show due to three months of poor ratings.[ citation needed ]
Beugró : [4] Stand-InTV2007Hungarian Magyar Televízió, Cool TV AdaptationThe pilot aired New Year's Night, 2007. The show consists of four actors playing improvisational games. The games are slightly differ from the original Whose Line games, and the show introduces some new games as well (like a hook-word which has to be used through the show as many times as the performers can). The show was successfully aired on Hungarian national public service television, but one year later passed to Cool TV due to financial reasons. [5]
Black fishPakistanLive AdaptationThis show was carried out live in Karachi by four performers who more or less played the same games as were seen on the American version of the show.[ citation needed ]
Actorlympics TV TVMalaysia NTV7 Adaptation[ citation needed ]
Super Spontansuper spontaneousTV2012

2013 2014 2016 2017 2018

Malaysia astro warna,

astro warna hd, astro mustika hd

similar[ citation needed ]
mega spontanmega spontaneousTV2023Malaysia astro warnasimilarthis show is the continuation of the show super spontan [ citation needed ]
Quinta Categoria TV2008-2011Brazil MTV BrasilAdaptationStarting with 2009 it incorporated similar games to the original Whose Line is it Anyway? This show, in its improvisational format, was carried out by four players: Marcos Mion and the three members of theatrical comedy group Cia. Barbixas de Humor: Anderson Bizzocchi, Daniel Nascimento and Elidio Sanna. Sometimes a fifth member, Mionzinho (Victor Coelho), would join the games. There is also a special guest who suggests the rules of the last game of the show. For the 2010 and 2011 seasons, the format was maintained, but with a different cast of comedians consisting of Tatá Werneck, Paulinho Serra and Rodrigo Capella, plus one guest host every week.[ citation needed ]
É Tudo Improviso TV2010-2011, 2019Brazil Rede Bandeirantes AdaptationSpiritual successor of Quinta Categoria. Presented by Márcio Ballas, it had a format more similar to the Barbixas group's theater shows (they themselves appeared only in the first season of this format).[ citation needed ]
I kto to mówi?And who says it?TV2013Poland TVP2 AdaptationClose adaptation of the original show with minor changes only.
Partička SlovakiaAdaptation[ citation needed ]
'สายของมันอยู่ดีThailandAdaptation[ citation needed ]
Vedetään hatusta FinlandAdaptation[ citation needed ]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clive Anderson</span> English television and radio presenter

Clive Stuart Anderson is an English television and radio presenter, comedian, writer, and former barrister. Winner of a British Comedy Award in 1991, Anderson began experimenting with comedy and writing comedic scripts during his 15-year legal career, before becoming host of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, initially a radio show on BBC Radio 4 in 1988, before moving to television on Channel 4 from 1988 to 1999. He was also host of his own chat show Clive Anderson Talks Back, which changed its name to Clive Anderson All Talk in 1996, from 1989 to 1999. He has also hosted many radio programmes, and made guest appearances on Have I Got News for You, Mock the Week and QI.

<i>Whose Line Is It Anyway?</i> (British TV series) British TV improvisational comedy series

Whose Line is it Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy television series created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, presented by Clive Anderson, and produced for Channel 4 between 23 September 1988 and 4 February 1999. The programme's format was on a panel of four performers conducting a series of short-form improvisation games, creating comedic scenes per predetermined situations made by the host or from suggestions by the audience. Such games include creating sound effects, performing a scene to different television and film styles, using props, and making up a song on the spot. The programme originally began as a short-lived BBC radio programme, before the concept was adapted for television.

<i>Have I Got News for You</i> British television panel show

Have I Got News for You (HIGNFY) is a British television panel show, produced by Hat Trick Productions for the BBC, which premiered on 28 September 1990. The programme focuses on two teams, one always captained by Ian Hislop and one by Paul Merton, each plus a guest panelist, answering questions on various news stories on the week prior to an episode's broadcast. However, the programme's format focuses more on the topical discussions on the subject of the news stories related to questions, and the satirical humour derived from these by the teams. This style of presentation had a profound impact on panel shows in British TV comedy, making it one of the genre's key standard-bearers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Stiles</span> American-Canadian actor and comedian

Ryan Lee Stiles is an American-Canadian actor, comedian, and producer whose work is often associated with improvisational comedy. He is best known for his work on Whose Line Is It Anyway?, both the original British version and the subsequent American version, and for his role as Lewis Kiniski on The Drew Carey Show. He also played Herb Melnick on the CBS comedy Two and a Half Men and was a performer on the show Drew Carey's Improv-A-Ganza.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Panel show</span> Radio and TV genre

A panel show or panel game is a radio or television game show 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 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 U.S. radio. The earliest known television panel show is Play the Game, a charades 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geoffrey Perkins</span> British comedy writer, producer and actor

Geoffrey Howard Perkins was a British comedy producer, writer and performer. He was BBC head of comedy between 1995 and 2001, and produced the first two radio series of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. He is one of the people credited with creating the panel game Mornington Crescent for I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. In December 2008 he posthumously received an Outstanding Contribution to Comedy Award.

Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a compère or host. The variety format made its way from the Victorian era stage in Britain and America to radio and then television. Variety shows were a staple of English language television from the late 1940s into the 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Brady</span> American TV host and actor (born 1972)

Wayne Alphonso Brady is an American television host, comedian, actor, and singer. He is a regular on the American version of the improvisational comedy television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? He was the host of the daytime talk show The Wayne Brady Show, was the original host of Fox's Don't Forget the Lyrics!, and has hosted Let's Make a Deal since its 2009 revival. Brady also performed in the Tony Award–winning musical Kinky Boots on Broadway as Simon—who is also drag queen Lola—from November 2015 to March 2016, and as James Stinson on the American TV series How I Met Your Mother.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Slattery</span> English actor and comedian (born 1959)

Tony Declan James Slattery is an English actor and comedian. He appeared on British television regularly from the mid-1980s, most notably as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. His serious and comedic film work has included roles in The Crying Game, Peter's Friends and How to Get Ahead in Advertising.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Proops</span> American actor

Gregory Everett Proops is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work on the UK and US versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. He has also voiced the titular character on the US version of Bob the Builder: Project: Build It in series 10 to 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brad Sherwood</span> American improv comedian

Bradley Sherwood is an American actor, singer, comedian, game show host and writer. He is best known for his work on the British and American versions of comedy improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?.

Josie Lawrence is an English actress and comedian. She is best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? and as Manda Best in EastEnders.

Michael McShane is an American actor, singer, and improvisational comedian. He appeared on the original British version of the television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988–97) and went on to appear in films such as Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Richie Rich (1994), and Office Space (1999). McShane has also been involved in several Disney productions, including Tom and Huck (1995), the television series Brotherly Love (1995–97), Tower of Terror (1997), and A Bug's Life (1998). He also voiced the Revolting Slob in the Canadian-American variety television series Crashbox.

<i>Drew Careys Green Screen Show</i> American television series (2004–2005)

Drew Carey's Green Screen Show is an American improvisational comedy television series that aired in the fall of 2004 on The WB, and the fall of 2005 on Comedy Central. The show was hosted by Drew Carey, and was somewhat a follow-up to the show he formerly hosted, Whose Line Is It Anyway?. The distinguishing feature of the show was that the improv games were performed in front of a "green screen", with animation, music and sound effects inserted in post-production. The show was otherwise very similar to Whose Line? and featured many of the same performers and games.

<i>Mock the Week</i> British celebrity panel show

Mock the Week is a topical satirical celebrity panel show, created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson. It was produced by Angst Productions for BBC Two, and was broadcast from 5 June 2005 to 4 November 2022. Presented by Dara Ó Briain, he and Hugh Dennis appeared in every episode, with a variety of other stand-up comedians being regular or guest panellists during the show's history.

Dan Patterson is a British television producer and writer, best known as co-creator, alongside Mark Leveson, and producer of both the British and American incarnations of the comedy improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and the British satirical comedy panel show Mock the Week.

Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy radio programme, which ran for six episodes on BBC Radio 4 in 1988. A television version of the show began on Channel 4 later that year, which ran for ten years. Following the conclusion of the British television show in 1998, ABC began airing an American television version, which lasted until 2007 before returning on The CW in 2013.

<i>Whose Line Is It Anyway?</i> (American TV series) American improv TV series

Whose Line Is It Anyway? is an American improvisational comedy television series, and is an adaptation of the British series of the same name. It originally aired on ABC and ABC Family from August 5, 1998 to December 15, 2007, hosted by Drew Carey. A revival of the show, hosted by Aisha Tyler, began airing on The CW on July 16, 2013.

Fast and Loose is a British television series which was broadcast on BBC Two in 2011. Conceived by Dan Patterson, one of the creators of the TV series Whose Line Is It Anyway?, it mirrors the series in format and style with the addition of some new games. Guests take part in improvised sketches in which each comedian inhabits a certain character or film genre. The only series was eight episodes long and hosted by comedian Hugh Dennis. Fast and Loose is the inspiration for the 2012 American show Trust Us with Your Life on ABC, hosted by Fred Willard and featuring a celebrity guest on each episode.

References

  1. "Hat Trick's Whose Line is it Anyway? heads to the Middle East – TBI Vision". tbivision.com. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
  2. "Sponk! - TV.com". TV.com<!. 2008-09-26. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  3. ":: Mahşer-i Cümbüş ::. Tiyatro Sporu | Beyin Fırtınası - Ana Sayfa". Mahsericumbus.com. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  4. "Beugró (Official Site)".
  5. "Új hazát talált a Beugró". tévé (in Hungarian). [origo]. 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2009-10-02.