Family Feud (USA)
Family Feud is an American game show that has been hosted by several television personalities, currently Steve Harvey. It was created by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Two families compete against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey question posed to 100 people. The format, which originated in the United States, airs in numerous local formats worldwide.
Since its premiere in 1976, Family Feud has aired during 30 non-consecutive seasons. The show premiered on ABC and was hosted by Richard Dawson from 1976 until it was cancelled in 1985, by which point it had been popular on both the network and in syndication. The series was revived by CBS in 1988 with Ray Combs hosting and expanded to an hour-long format in 1992 until its cancellation in 1993. Combs also hosted the accompanying syndicated series until 1994, when he was replaced by Dawson for one season, which also expanded to an hour-long format before being cancelled in 1995. Later versions were hosted by Louie Anderson (1999–2002), Richard Karn (2002–2006), and John O'Hurley (2006–2010). Since the 2010–11 television season, Family Feud has been hosted by comedian/actor Steve Harvey.
The show's ratings were said to have improved significantly under Harvey. In fact, Harvey has been described as "saving" the program from near cancellation. Family Feud's ratings were said to have improved a full 40% from the prior year back when John O'Hurley hosted. During the 2011-12 season, the fast-rising game show averaged a 4.0 and became the 5th highest rated show in all of syndication (the show was previously averaging a 1.5 prior to Harvey's reign). As of the 2012-13 season, Family Feud has regularly been the second highest rated show in all of daytime television programming.
Representatives of the family of contestants are posed questions that have already been answered by a survey of 100 people although, sometimes, the surveyed audience can be further narrowed down (e.g., "100 women"). An answer is considered correct if it is one of the concealed answers on the game board, or judged to be equivalent. More points are given for answers that have been given by more people in the survey, with one point per person. Dollars were used before 1992 (see below for more information). Answers must be given by at least two of the 100 people to be included on the board, and a question must yield at least three (until 2003) or four (since 2003) answers. There are five members on each team (except the 1994–95 season, when each team consisted of four members).
To start each round of the main game, two opposing family members "face-off" to see which family will gain control of that particular question. Traditionally, the contestants greet each other with a handshake before the question is read. Whoever guesses the more popular answer in the survey has the option to play the question or pass it to the other family opponents, except from 1988 to 1995, when they were automatically given control of the board. Players are also automatically given control if they guess the answer most commonly given, which is located in the top space of the survey board (referred to in the show's jargon as the "Number One Answer"). If both answers are worth the same amount of points, control goes to the player that buzzed in first. If neither player gives a valid answer, the next member of each family provides an answer, with control again going to the family giving the more popular answer (except from 1999 to 2011, when the question was edited out of the broadcast and replaced with a new question when neither player at the podium gave a valid answer). In this official outtake video from the Family Feud YouTube Channel, a face-off round is unsuccessful. The game board immediately flips over to the show logo. The question is thrown out and a new question is inserted.
Starting with the next family member in line, the family members take turns giving an answer to the host. Family members may not confer with one another while in control of the board. There is a time limit, with the host warning of a three-second count if time is short or the contestant appears to be stalling. An answer not on the board or a family member failing to provide an answer within the time limit results in a strike being charged to the family. When a family is able to reveal all the answers on the board before accumulating three strikes, they win the round.
When a family accumulates three strikes, they lose control of the board, and the other family has one chance to steal the points in the bank by correctly guessing one of the remaining answers. The family is allowed to confer before coming up with an answer, which must be given by the team's captain. If the family guesses a remaining answer correctly, they receive the points accumulated by the other family. If unsuccessful, the opponents keep the points they scored during the round before three strikes. From 1992 to 1995 and 1999 to 2003, the revealed answer's value was also added to the winning team's score.
For the first six years of the 1988 Family Feud revival, conferring was not allowed. Instead, each team member was polled and asked for a response beginning with the anchor player and moving down the line to the captain, who had to decide whether to take one of the answers from his/her teammates or give another answer. This was similar to another Match Game mechanic used in the Audience Match portion of the Super Match bonus game, where a player would poll the panel for three potential responses and then either choose one or come up with one of their own. The rule was discarded once Richard Dawson returned as host in September 1994 and conferring has been allowed ever since.
After determining who takes the bank for a round, any remaining answers are then revealed. Per tradition, the audience yells each unrevealed answer in a choral response from lowest to highest. Prior to the series moving to Atlanta, the unrevealed answers were read from highest to lowest.
From 1992 to 1994 and 2009 to 2010, the "Bullseye" round was played before the traditional gameplay began. One at a time and starting with the team captain, each member of the family went up to the podium to answer a survey question worth a dollar amount. Only the number one answer was accepted. Correctly guessing the number one answer added the value of that question to the family's bankroll.
The Bullseye round first appeared on Family Feud Challenge where it was played in both halves of the hour-long show. In the first half, each family began with $2,500 as their starting bankroll. The first question was worth $500, the second $1,000, and so on up to $2,500 for the fifth question. The highest bank a family could play for was $10,000. In the second half hour, as well as on the syndicated series when the round was introduced, all of these values were doubled, with the starting bankroll at $5,000. The questions were worth $1,000 for the first, $2,000 for the second, and so on, up to $5,000 for the fifth. The highest potential bank was $20,000.
The Bullseye round was revised as the "Bankroll" round for Dawson's return, and was played twice on each episode as the syndicated series was expanded to sixty minutes. Instead of each family member going up to answer a question, only one person on each team was required and the two contestants participated in all three questions. The starting bankroll in the first half was $2,500 and the question values were changed to $500−$1,500−$2,500, for a possible bank total of $7,000. These figures were doubled for the second half to $1,000−$3,000−$5,000, making the highest potential bank $14,000.
The round was eliminated for Family Feud's revival in 1999, but was revived in September 2009 for the final O'Hurley season. The starting bankroll was $15,000, with five questions in values from $1,000 to $5,000 in $1,000 increments. This format change only lasted one season.
Questions are played for double and triple points toward the end of the game. Before 1992, families also received money in the amount of their score added to their winnings. The number of double- and triple-point questions in the game has varied over the years.
From 1999 to 2003, the family in the lead after Round 4 automatically won the game regardless of their score, though the majority of the winning families of that period still reached 300 points. Also, in Round 4, the family in control was only allowed one strike. This sometimes created an unusual situation in which a family could give an incorrect answer and still win if there were not enough points in the bank for the other family to win by a successful steal.
The Sudden Death round, played similarly to the Bullseye round, uses only the number one answer from a new survey worth triple points. Additional questions are played until the team reaches the 300-point goal or, from 1999 to 2003, until the tie is broken.
From March 2, 1983 through June 14, 1985, a tree of Tootsie Pops was placed next to the anchor player on each team. When it was introduced, the player chose a lollipop, and if it had a black stem the family won a $100 bonus, which did not affect the outcome of the game. Originally, only one lollipop in each tree had a black stem, but within weeks, there were ten in each tree.
The winning family plays Fast Money and chooses two family members to participate in the round. One family member leaves the stage and is placed in an isolation booth, while the other is given 20 seconds (15 seconds prior to 1994) to answer five questions. The clock begins counting down after the host finishes reading the first question. If he or she cannot think up an answer to a question, he or she may pass. A contestant may revisit a passed question at the end if time permits. If time runs out and all the questions have not been asked yet, they will still be in play as long as they have not been passed. The number of people giving each answer is revealed once all five answers are given or time has expired, whichever comes first. The player earns one point for each person that gave the same answer; at least two people must have given that answer for it to score. When revealing the number of people giving the same response, it is most commonly revealed with the phrase, "(Our) Survey said!"
Once all the points for the first player are tallied, the second family member comes back on stage with the first contestant's answers covered and is given 25 seconds (20 seconds before 1994) to answer the same five questions. If the second player gives the same answer as the first player on a question, a double buzzer will sound and the host will ask for another response, usually by telling the contestant, "Try again."
If one or both family members accumulate a total of 200 points or more, the family wins the top prize. If both family members score a total of less than 200 points, each point awards the family $5. Until 1992, the bonus for winning Fast Money was $5,000 on all daytime versions and $10,000 on all syndicated versions. From 1992 to 1995, the top prize was the amount accumulated in the Bullseye/Bankroll round (see above). The top prize reverted to $10,000 from 1999 to 2001, but was raised to $20,000 in 2001, an increase requested by host Louie Anderson because of inflation. The top prize remained at that level until 2009, at which point the Bullseye round was reinstated, with a potential top prize of $30,000. The top prize reverted to $20,000 and the Bullseye round was removed at the beginning of the 2010–11 season. Since 2009, five-time champion families also receive a new car.
On the Gameshow Marathon episode in 2006, the top prize was increased to $50,000 for a home viewer. On Celebrity Family Feud, the jackpot was $50,000 to the charity. If the goal was not reached, the $5/point rule was discarded and $25,000 was awarded to the charity instead.
Since its premiere in 1976, Family Feud has aired during 30 non-consecutive seasons. The show premiered on ABC and was hosted by Richard Dawson from 1976 until it was cancelled in 1985, by which point it had been popular on both the network and in syndication. The series was revived by CBS in 1988 with Ray Combs hosting and expanded to an hour-long format in 1992 until its cancellation in 1993. Combs also hosted the accompanying syndicated series until 1994, when he was replaced by Dawson for one season, which also expanded to an hour-long format before being cancelled in 1995. Later versions were hosted by Louie Anderson (1999–2002), Richard Karn (2002–2006), and John O'Hurley (2006–2010). Since the 2010–11 television season, Family Feud has been hosted by comedian/actor Steve Harvey.
The show's ratings were said to have improved significantly under Harvey. In fact, Harvey has been described as "saving" the program from near cancellation. Family Feud's ratings were said to have improved a full 40% from the prior year back when John O'Hurley hosted. During the 2011-12 season, the fast-rising game show averaged a 4.0 and became the 5th highest rated show in all of syndication (the show was previously averaging a 1.5 prior to Harvey's reign). As of the 2012-13 season, Family Feud has regularly been the second highest rated show in all of daytime television programming.
Representatives of the family of contestants are posed questions that have already been answered by a survey of 100 people although, sometimes, the surveyed audience can be further narrowed down (e.g., "100 women"). An answer is considered correct if it is one of the concealed answers on the game board, or judged to be equivalent. More points are given for answers that have been given by more people in the survey, with one point per person. Dollars were used before 1992 (see below for more information). Answers must be given by at least two of the 100 people to be included on the board, and a question must yield at least three (until 2003) or four (since 2003) answers. There are five members on each team (except the 1994–95 season, when each team consisted of four members).
Basics
To start each round of the main game, two opposing family members "face-off" to see which family will gain control of that particular question. Traditionally, the contestants greet each other with a handshake before the question is read. Whoever guesses the more popular answer in the survey has the option to play the question or pass it to the other family opponents, except from 1988 to 1995, when they were automatically given control of the board. Players are also automatically given control if they guess the answer most commonly given, which is located in the top space of the survey board (referred to in the show's jargon as the "Number One Answer"). If both answers are worth the same amount of points, control goes to the player that buzzed in first. If neither player gives a valid answer, the next member of each family provides an answer, with control again going to the family giving the more popular answer (except from 1999 to 2011, when the question was edited out of the broadcast and replaced with a new question when neither player at the podium gave a valid answer). In this official outtake video from the Family Feud YouTube Channel, a face-off round is unsuccessful. The game board immediately flips over to the show logo. The question is thrown out and a new question is inserted.
Starting with the next family member in line, the family members take turns giving an answer to the host. Family members may not confer with one another while in control of the board. There is a time limit, with the host warning of a three-second count if time is short or the contestant appears to be stalling. An answer not on the board or a family member failing to provide an answer within the time limit results in a strike being charged to the family. When a family is able to reveal all the answers on the board before accumulating three strikes, they win the round.
When a family accumulates three strikes, they lose control of the board, and the other family has one chance to steal the points in the bank by correctly guessing one of the remaining answers. The family is allowed to confer before coming up with an answer, which must be given by the team's captain. If the family guesses a remaining answer correctly, they receive the points accumulated by the other family. If unsuccessful, the opponents keep the points they scored during the round before three strikes. From 1992 to 1995 and 1999 to 2003, the revealed answer's value was also added to the winning team's score.
For the first six years of the 1988 Family Feud revival, conferring was not allowed. Instead, each team member was polled and asked for a response beginning with the anchor player and moving down the line to the captain, who had to decide whether to take one of the answers from his/her teammates or give another answer. This was similar to another Match Game mechanic used in the Audience Match portion of the Super Match bonus game, where a player would poll the panel for three potential responses and then either choose one or come up with one of their own. The rule was discarded once Richard Dawson returned as host in September 1994 and conferring has been allowed ever since.
After determining who takes the bank for a round, any remaining answers are then revealed. Per tradition, the audience yells each unrevealed answer in a choral response from lowest to highest. Prior to the series moving to Atlanta, the unrevealed answers were read from highest to lowest.
Bullseye/Bankroll round
From 1992 to 1994 and 2009 to 2010, the "Bullseye" round was played before the traditional gameplay began. One at a time and starting with the team captain, each member of the family went up to the podium to answer a survey question worth a dollar amount. Only the number one answer was accepted. Correctly guessing the number one answer added the value of that question to the family's bankroll.
The Bullseye round first appeared on Family Feud Challenge where it was played in both halves of the hour-long show. In the first half, each family began with $2,500 as their starting bankroll. The first question was worth $500, the second $1,000, and so on up to $2,500 for the fifth question. The highest bank a family could play for was $10,000. In the second half hour, as well as on the syndicated series when the round was introduced, all of these values were doubled, with the starting bankroll at $5,000. The questions were worth $1,000 for the first, $2,000 for the second, and so on, up to $5,000 for the fifth. The highest potential bank was $20,000.
The Bullseye round was revised as the "Bankroll" round for Dawson's return, and was played twice on each episode as the syndicated series was expanded to sixty minutes. Instead of each family member going up to answer a question, only one person on each team was required and the two contestants participated in all three questions. The starting bankroll in the first half was $2,500 and the question values were changed to $500−$1,500−$2,500, for a possible bank total of $7,000. These figures were doubled for the second half to $1,000−$3,000−$5,000, making the highest potential bank $14,000.
The round was eliminated for Family Feud's revival in 1999, but was revived in September 2009 for the final O'Hurley season. The starting bankroll was $15,000, with five questions in values from $1,000 to $5,000 in $1,000 increments. This format change only lasted one season.
Scoring format
Questions are played for double and triple points toward the end of the game. Before 1992, families also received money in the amount of their score added to their winnings. The number of double- and triple-point questions in the game has varied over the years.
- Daytime
| From | To | Goal | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | 1979 | 200 | Single | Double | ||||
| 1979 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | ||||
| 1979 | 1982 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1982 | 1984 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1984 | 1985 | 400 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1988 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | ||||
| 1988 | 1990 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1990 | 1992 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1992 | 1993 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1993 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | ||||
- Syndicated
| From | To | Goal | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 200 | Single | Double | |||||
| 1977 | 1984 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1984 | 1985 | 400 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1988 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | ||||
| 1988 | 1990 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1990 | 1992 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1992 | 1995 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | |||
| 1999 | 2003 | — | Single | Triple | Sudden Death | |||
| 2003 | 2009 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | Sudden Death | ||
| 2009 | 2010 | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | Sudden Death | ||
| 2010 | present | 300 | Single | Double | Triple | Sudden Death | ||
The Sudden Death round, played similarly to the Bullseye round, uses only the number one answer from a new survey worth triple points. Additional questions are played until the team reaches the 300-point goal or, from 1999 to 2003, until the tie is broken.
Lollipop trees
From March 2, 1983 through June 14, 1985, a tree of Tootsie Pops was placed next to the anchor player on each team. When it was introduced, the player chose a lollipop, and if it had a black stem the family won a $100 bonus, which did not affect the outcome of the game. Originally, only one lollipop in each tree had a black stem, but within weeks, there were ten in each tree.
Fast Money
The winning family plays Fast Money and chooses two family members to participate in the round. One family member leaves the stage and is placed in an isolation booth, while the other is given 20 seconds (15 seconds prior to 1994) to answer five questions. The clock begins counting down after the host finishes reading the first question. If he or she cannot think up an answer to a question, he or she may pass. A contestant may revisit a passed question at the end if time permits. If time runs out and all the questions have not been asked yet, they will still be in play as long as they have not been passed. The number of people giving each answer is revealed once all five answers are given or time has expired, whichever comes first. The player earns one point for each person that gave the same answer; at least two people must have given that answer for it to score. When revealing the number of people giving the same response, it is most commonly revealed with the phrase, "(Our) Survey said!"
Once all the points for the first player are tallied, the second family member comes back on stage with the first contestant's answers covered and is given 25 seconds (20 seconds before 1994) to answer the same five questions. If the second player gives the same answer as the first player on a question, a double buzzer will sound and the host will ask for another response, usually by telling the contestant, "Try again."
If one or both family members accumulate a total of 200 points or more, the family wins the top prize. If both family members score a total of less than 200 points, each point awards the family $5. Until 1992, the bonus for winning Fast Money was $5,000 on all daytime versions and $10,000 on all syndicated versions. From 1992 to 1995, the top prize was the amount accumulated in the Bullseye/Bankroll round (see above). The top prize reverted to $10,000 from 1999 to 2001, but was raised to $20,000 in 2001, an increase requested by host Louie Anderson because of inflation. The top prize remained at that level until 2009, at which point the Bullseye round was reinstated, with a potential top prize of $30,000. The top prize reverted to $20,000 and the Bullseye round was removed at the beginning of the 2010–11 season. Since 2009, five-time champion families also receive a new car.
On the Gameshow Marathon episode in 2006, the top prize was increased to $50,000 for a home viewer. On Celebrity Family Feud, the jackpot was $50,000 to the charity. If the goal was not reached, the $5/point rule was discarded and $25,000 was awarded to the charity instead.
Family Feud (USA)
Technical
CPU
- maincpu 5A22 (@ 21 Mhz)
- soundcpu SPC700 (@ 1 Mhz)
Chipset
- SNES Custom DSP (SPC700)
Display
- Orientation Yoko
- Resolution 255 x 225
- Frequency 60.098476 Hz
Controlers
- Number of players 2
- Number of buttons 6
- Kind of controler
- joy (8 ways)
- joy (8 ways)
- joy (8 ways)
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Family Feud (USA) Screenshots
Clones of Family Feud (USA)
Broadcast history
1976–1985
Family Feud was created during the increasing popularity of the Goodson-Todman game show, Match Game, which set daytime ratings records in 1976. Richard Dawson, one of Match Game's most popular panelists, was the immediate next choice as host of the spin-off, which combined the team format and form of questioning from the original 1960s Match Game with the survey polling used for the 1970s version's "Audience Match".
Family Feud premiered on ABC's daytime lineup on July 12, 1976 at 1:30 PM Eastern, with Dawson as host and Gene Wood as announcer. Although it was not an immediate hit, ABC moved the series to 11:30 AM on April 25, 1977, where the series became a ratings winner and eventually surpassed the series it was spun off from, Match Game, to become the No. 1 game show in daytime.
A nighttime syndicated version of Family Feud debuted on local stations, including NBC's owned and operated stations, on September 19, 1977. As was the custom with many other syndicated game shows at the time, the nighttime Family Feud originally aired as a weekly series. In January 1979, midway through its second season, the syndicated version began airing twice weekly due to its popularity. The show continued to be such a solid hit that it expanded again to become a daily series, and Family Feud became the first game show to air ten episodes per week (five on ABC and five in syndication) when the syndicated version's fourth season debuted in September 1980.
Family Feud moved to 12:00 noon on June 30, 1980 after The $20,000 Pyramid was canceled, while reruns of The Love Boat filled the 11:00 AM hour. Feud then moved back to 11:30 AM in October 1984 as part of an attempt to both improve sagging ratings and use the 11:00 hour as a game-show centric hour competing with CBS and NBC's offerings at that time. However, the 1984-85 season was the final season for both the network and syndicated Family Feud series. The syndicated Feud aired its final new episode on May 17, 1985, with reruns airing until September 13. The ABC daytime series aired its finale on June 14, 1985. Dawson closed the final episode with an emotional farewell speech, finishing by signing "I love you" to the audience and saying "God bless all the little children in the world."
1988–1995
Three years after the original version ended, Family Feud returned to both daytime and syndication with stand-up comedian Ray Combs taking over for Dawson as host. On July 4, 1988, CBS premiered the new Family Feud at 10:00 AM Eastern, replacing The $25,000 Pyramid. On September 19, the accompanying prime time syndicated series premiered. Both series were taped at Studio 33 (now known as "The Bob Barker Studio") at CBS Television City.
On June 29, 1992, the daytime version, renamed Family Feud Challenge, added the Bullseye round. It premiered that day, coinciding with an expansion to a full hour. The change in the format resulted in three families competing on each episode. Two families competed in the first half hour for the right to play the returning champions in the second half. Family Feud Challenge aired its final new episode on March 26, 1993, with reruns airing until September 10.
On September 14, 1992, the Bullseye round was added to the syndicated series, which took on the name New Family Feud. The series debuted season six on September 13, 1993, with three weeks of shows taped at Opryland USA, making this the only time that Family Feud had filmed on location. Production returned to CBS Television City after that, and the final episode of the season aired on May 27, 1994. At the end of the season, Combs was dismissed due to the show's declining ratings.
1994–1995
After Mark Goodson died in December 1992, his son Jonathan took over control of his father's company. Since he inherited the ratings problem with the syndicated Family Feud, Jonathan Goodson began looking for ways to improve the program's ratings and fend off the cancellation threats the show was facing. It was suggested that Richard Dawson, who had largely gone into seclusion following the 1985 cancellation of his Feud series and whom Mark Goodson refused to consider for the hosting position of this series due to Dawson's attitude and behavior during the original Feud, be asked to return to the series. Goodson agreed and Dawson accepted the offer to return to host the seventh season of the current Feud.
To prepare for Dawson's return, Family Feud underwent a large aesthetic overhaul. Gone were the families' name slider boards and living room scenery, the three-paneled game board, and most of the set pieces and lights. In order to create a more modern look and feel, the entire set was covered with glass panels and dark backlighting. The old game board was replaced with the Ferranti-Packard board, which had been used to display the Fast Money game but was now used throughout the entire game to display answers. However, continuing with the modern design idea, the home audience never saw this on their screens; instead, a computer generated board was superimposed over the Ferranti-Packard board for the entire game outside of Fast Money.
The team size was reduced to four for this season, and as noted above the Bullseye round was reworked to accommodate this, becoming known as the Bankroll round. Two matches were played per show, with the first match featuring two new families. The winner of the first match would play another family in the second match. For the first few weeks of the season, the producers brought back families that had originally competed on Dawson's original Feud series. After that, the Family Feud Challenge format was adopted where the first half winner took on the returning champion family in the second match.
Despite the changes and return of Dawson, the ratings did not improve enough and on May 26, 1995, the second Family Feud series came to an overall end with the final episode of a week-long police vs. firefighters special. Reruns continued to air for the remainder of the summer and the show finally left the air on September 8, 1995. As he had done on his final episode in 1985, Dawson signed off by telling the audience, "God bless all the little children in the world."
1999–present
1999–2002
After a four-year hiatus, Family Feud returned in syndication on September 20, 1999. Dawson was offered the choice of returning to the hosting position, but turned it down and decided to have no further involvement with the show. With Dawson's retirement, producers chose Louie Anderson to host the new incarnation of the show over other leading candidate Dolly Parton. Burton Richardson became the new version's announcer.
2002–2006
Richard Karn was selected to take over for Anderson in season four on September 16, 2002. The same game format was used, but returning champions were reintroduced and could appear up to five days. In mid-November, two months after the start of the season, the retooled version of the show's theme song was replaced by the one previously used on the Combs version.
Production later moved to Tribune Studios in Hollywood, California and the goal of 300 points was reinstated. However, for all rounds worth triple points, Karn would not read the question again after the face-off. In addition, the Combs-era theme was replaced by the retooled theme and remained unchanged for the rest of Karn's run. At the end of season seven, Karn left the show. Pieces from the set were later sold on eBay.
2006–2010
John O'Hurley became the new host in 2006. With O'Hurley's first episode on September 11, the set was overhauled into an updated version of the classic look.
In O'Hurley's final season, the Bullseye round was reintroduced with families' banks beginning at $15,000, and a total jackpot of $30,000 available. Families who retired as five-day champions also won a car as a bonus prize.
2010–present
On January 20, 2010, following O'Hurley's and Richardson's departures from the show, comedian Steve Harvey was announced as the new host for season twelve with former 'N Sync member Joey Fatone becoming the new announcer. The show also moved taping locations to Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida. Taping of the season began on July 10 and ended on September 19. The gameplay also returned to its 2003–2008 format, although five-time champions still win a car as a bonus. The Fast Money jackpot reverted to a flat $20,000. Hometown family moments featuring members of the winning family sponsored by Comfort Inn & Suites were also added. These were dropped at the beginning of the 2012–13 season.
After Harvey began hosting, ratings increased by as much as 40% from O'Hurley's last season as host. Two years later, the show had jumped from 1.5 (putting it in danger of cancellation) to 4.0, to become the fifth most popular syndicated program. Clips from Harvey's version of the show were officially released on YouTube.
On May 7, 2011, announced via the show's official Twitter page, the show moved taping locations for the 2011–12 season to the Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where Harvey lives and hosts his radio show.
The show has been renewed through the 2014–15 season, and started airing in HD at the start of the 2012–13 season on September 10, 2012.
Midway into the 2012–13 season, the fast-rising game show began scoring ratings in the 5-digit ranges. As of the 2012–13 season, Family Feud has regularly been the 2nd highest rated show in all of daytime television programming, second only to longtime daytime leader Judge Judy.
Production
Other production staff
Gabrielle Johnston, a Goodson-Todman staffer since the 1970s, is the show's Executive Producer, years after she was the show's Associate Producer of the 1980s version. Kristin Bjorklund and Brian Hawley are the current Supervising Producers, with Kristin also having been Associate Producer of the 1980s version.
Previous staff members include Howard Felsher, the show's original producer before being an executive producer in the 1980s version, who was also a Goodson-Todman staffer since the 1960s, and Cathy Hughart Dawson, the show's original associate producer, who then became producer. Georgia Purcell assumed the associate producer role later in the series. Chester Feldman, who was a creative consultant for Goodson-Todman in the 1970s, was the show's executive producer in the 1980s version. Mark Dawson, Richard's son, was a writer and consultant on the show throughout much of his father's time as host.
During the Dawson and Combs versions, Gene Wood was the regular announcer. On the 1976 Dawson versions, Johnny Gilbert and Rod Roddy substituted on different occasions. On the Combs versions, Roddy, Art James, and Charlie O'Donnell substituted. Burton Richardson was the announcer for all episodes from 1999 to 2010, except for the Gameshow Marathon finale episode in 2006, which was announced by Rich Fields. Joey Fatone has been the new announcer since the beginning of season twelve.
Production company and distribution
Family Feud was originally produced by Mark Goodson/Bill Todman Productions. Todman's name was dropped from the company after his death in 1979, and it was known as Mark Goodson Productions until 1995. The current version of the show used that name and logo from 1999 to 2002 even though the original production company no longer existed.
The show's copyright holder was called "The Family Company" from 1976 to 1985, "The New Family Company" from 1988 to 1994, "Mark Goodson Productions, L.P." from 1994 to 1995, and "Feudin' Productions" from 1999 to 2010. Family Feud's copyright holder is called "Wanderlust Productions". Since 2002, the show has been produced by RTL Group subsidiary FremantleMedia North America, as a successor to Mark Goodson Productions.
Viacom Enterprises, now known as CBS Television Distribution, distributed the syndicated version from 1977 to 1985. From 1988 to 1995 and 1999 to 2002, it was distributed by FremantleMedia (previously under the names LBS Communications, All American Television, and Pearson Television). It was distributed by Tribune Entertainment from 2002 to 2007, when Lionsgate-owned Debmar-Mercury assumed distribution and 20th Television assumed ad sales.
Returning champions
On the ABC daytime version, champion families could stay until they were defeated or reached or exceeded $25,000 in winnings. On the syndicated version from 1977 to 1985 and again from 1999 to 2002, two new families competed on each episode.
The 1988–1995 version featured returning champions, as has the current version since 2002. From 1988 to 1993 and again since 2002, the limit has been five appearances. From 1988 to 1992, a Tournament of Champions format was used (see below), but in the syndicated version, there was no returning champion limit. Since the 2009–2010 season, families who retire undefeated also win a new car.
Tournament of Champions
1988–1994
The 1988–1994 version carried special tournaments for the four highest winning families from certain periods of time returning for a Winner-Take-All Tournament of Champions. These were rarely held at first for both the CBS and syndicated versions.
The main game rules applied, but if a family reached 200 points in Fast Money, $5,000 went into a jackpot that started at $25,000 and went up to potentially $55,000 on the CBS version. Likewise, on the syndicated version, the jackpot started at $50,000 and went up $10,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $110,000. If the score was less than 200, nothing was added to the jackpot, as the $5 a point rule was discarded for the tournament. Each semifinal was the best-of-three games, with the first family in each one to win two games advancing to the finals, which was also a best-of-three match. There was no Fast Money round played during the finals. The scoring was similar to the 1984–85 season (single-single-single-single-double-triple) or the regular CBS/Syndicated version from late 1989 to 1990 (single-single-single-double-triple) in the finals, with the first family to reach 400 winning the game instead of 300. The first family to win two out of three games won everything in the jackpot in addition to what they won in the regular game. No Fast Money was played.
No additional tournaments were conducted on the syndicated version after the second season. The CBS version continued conducting them, but in mid-1990, tournaments were held every month, with the top four money-winning families of the previous month returning. The main game point goals for winning a semifinal and a final game were the same, but the match format was changed from the best-of-three to a one-game match for both the semifinals and the finals. Thus, the potential maximum was lowered to $35,000.
2002–present
The current version began doing tournaments in 2002. The first occurred in May 2002 with the Family Circle Tournament of Champions, with eight winning families returning in a single-elimination tournament. The jackpot started at $50,000 and went up $20,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $170,000. For this particular tournament only, if Fast Money was not won, $5 per point was added to the jackpot. Each game was played to 300 points except for the finals, which required 500 points to win the game and the jackpot. The winning team for this tournament won a trip to Charleston, South Carolina and tickets to the Family Circle Cup women's tennis tournament in nearby Daniel Island, in addition to the money, which was $112,230. The runners-up for this tournament won a trip to Jamaica.
This version, however, did not do tournaments on an occasional basis until May 2005. Again, eight families were brought back, but this time, they consisted of either families who previously lost their first game for the tournament that was held in May 2005 and May 2006, or previously winning families, but not necessarily focusing on the higher winning families of the past for the tournament held in February 2006. The differences at this point for the tournaments were that the jackpot started with nothing, except for the February 2006 Tournament of Champions, which began at $10,000, for a possible $130,000. Losses in Fast Money did not add anything to the jackpot, as in the 1988–1994 version and the championship game was played to 400 points. Trips were sometimes awarded to the jackpot-winning family, including Hawaii during the February 2006 tournament and Mexico during the May 2006 tournament. Again, no Fast Money was played in the finals.
The tournament format did not return again until 2013, where the jackpot started at $40,000 and could get as high as $160,000 and was sponsored by Publishers Clearing House. As before, no Fast Money was played in the finals, and the first team to reach 400 points won the jackpot; the runners-up in this tournament received $20,000.
Special weeks
Special-themed weeks have been prominent during "sweeps" weeks during the show's long history, through all versions. Among them were the following:
- 1979: Dallas vs. Eight Is Enough
- 1979: Hatfields vs. McCoys
- 1980 Dallas Cowboys vs. the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
- 1983: Game show hosts
- 1989: As the World Turns vs. The Young and the Restless
- 1989: Funny Men vs. Funny Women
- 1989: Grammy Award winners
- 1990: WCW vs. GLOW
- 1991: Grand Ole Opry Stars
- 1991: World Wrestling Federation Superstars vs. World Bodybuilding Federation Bodystars
- 1992: Celebrity look-alikes
- 1993: Roseanne Arnold and Roseanne vs. Tom Arnold and The Jackie Thomas Show
- 1993: The Price Is Right vs. The Young and the Restless
- 1994: The Young and the Restless vs. The Bold and the Beautiful
- 1994: American Gladiators stars
- 1995: Carol Burnett and her family playing against Betty White and her poker players
- 2002: General Hospital vs. The Young and the Restless
- 2003: Olympic figure skaters; "Stars on Ice" (men vs. women)
- 2004: Playboy Playmates vs. Bachelors
- 2005: American Idol contestants
- 2005: Soap opera stars; "Naughty vs. Nice"
- 2005: Survivor castaways; "Heroes vs Villains"
- 2006: Divorced couples (ex-husbands vs. ex-wives)
- 2007: NBA players vs. their mothers
- 2007: WWE Superstars vs. Divas
- 2010: TNA Wrestling stars
All-Star Family Feud Specials
During the week of Valentine's Day in February 1978, the Dawson daytime version ran its first all-celebrity week, which featured ABC soap stars competing. The success of this special week not only caused the show's ratings to peak, but also caused declining ratings of the network's soaps to increase. As a result, ABC created hour-long All-Star Family Feud Specials, which were played between cast members of hit prime time and, on rare occasions, daytime series for charity. The first installment aired on May 8, 1978 and did so well in the ratings that new specials continued to air as a semi-regular sweeps event on the network until May 25, 1984.
In the first half of the special, two teams played until one reached $200 or more. That team went on to play Fast Money for $5,000 and competed in the finals against the team that won in the second half, which was played the same way. The two winning teams then faced each other in a one-question showdown, with the team that won the pot going on to play Fast Money for an additional $10,000.
Originally, only the cast members of ABC series competed in the All-Star Specials, but when high ratings made it apparent that continuing to do so would soon exhaust the network's stable of celebrities, an agreement was reached with CBS, NBC and the production companies and stars of series from all three networks began appearing in the fall of 1979, similar to ABC's Battle of the Network Stars concept. At the time, networks did not own their own programming and had to rely on programming from the studios, who dealt with all three networks, and often, the battles were between shows from two different networks, even if it was the same production company. Among the series represented were:
Underlying themes to the series' casts were occasionally featured, such as Nighttime vs. Daytime, featuring daytime soap stars competing against prime time TV stars, and some specials even removed the "TV series cast" format in favor of a single unifying theme among the four teams competing, such as Mutiny On The Love Boat, in which the cast of that show competed alongside such past guest stars as Robert Goulet, Jill St. John, Bert Parks and Rhonda Fleming.
This six-week miniseries was part of NBC's "All-American Summer", which also included America's Got Talent and MGM's revival of American Gladiators.
The game format was similar to the All-Star Specials. The families played three rounds (single-single-triple-sudden death). The winners of the two games played in another three-round match for the right to play Fast Money.
As a result of this version, Family Feud became only one of a handful of game shows to air on three different networks.
In the first half of the special, two teams played until one reached $200 or more. That team went on to play Fast Money for $5,000 and competed in the finals against the team that won in the second half, which was played the same way. The two winning teams then faced each other in a one-question showdown, with the team that won the pot going on to play Fast Money for an additional $10,000.
Originally, only the cast members of ABC series competed in the All-Star Specials, but when high ratings made it apparent that continuing to do so would soon exhaust the network's stable of celebrities, an agreement was reached with CBS, NBC and the production companies and stars of series from all three networks began appearing in the fall of 1979, similar to ABC's Battle of the Network Stars concept. At the time, networks did not own their own programming and had to rely on programming from the studios, who dealt with all three networks, and often, the battles were between shows from two different networks, even if it was the same production company. Among the series represented were:
- Barney Miller
- Dallas
- The Dukes of Hazzard
- Dynasty
- Eight Is Enough
- Family
- The Jeffersons
- Real People
- Soap
- Three's Company
- WKRP in Cincinnati
- The Waltons
- Welcome Back, Kotter
Celebrity Family Feud
Main article: Celebrity Family Feud
While technically a revival of the All-Star Family Feud Specials, this NBC prime-time summer series, entitled Celebrity Family Feud, premiered on June 24, 2008 as a six-week short series with Al Roker at the helm. This version featured teams composed of a celebrity captain and four friends or relatives, with a $50,000 charity payoff at stake. In addition, this version debuted set changes that were later introduced on the syndicated run for the 2008–09 season.This six-week miniseries was part of NBC's "All-American Summer", which also included America's Got Talent and MGM's revival of American Gladiators.
The game format was similar to the All-Star Specials. The families played three rounds (single-single-triple-sudden death). The winners of the two games played in another three-round match for the right to play Fast Money.
As a result of this version, Family Feud became only one of a handful of game shows to air on three different networks.
Family Feud Live!
Family Feud Live! is a stage show held at the Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Connecticut with several hosts, including Michael Burger and Marc Summers. The shows are produced in association with RTL Group officials, including former television director Andrew Felsher, producer Cathy Dawson, and others who have worked on the TV version of Family Feud and other game shows. The show also briefly ran at two Atlantic City casinos in 2006.
International versions
Main article: International versions of Family Feud
With the success of the U.S., UK and Australian versions, countries all over the world have attempted to emulate the success of these game shows. A summary of such attempts may be found at the article above. Home versions
Dozens of home versions have been released in various formats (traditional board games, computer games, handheld and electronic games, and online games) since the show's premiere in 1976. Milton Bradley, Pressman Games and Endless Games have all released home versions of the show, which have occasionally been given to contestants of the show. Tiger Electronics released two electronic handheld games in 1998 and 1999, which also included expansion cartridges. In 2004, Imagination Entertainment released a DVD game of Family Feud, a second edition in 2006, and a third edition in 2007, with a movie edition of the DVD game also being released that same year.
The game has been released in other formats by multiple companies, with each company generally releasing a number of games over a period of years for different mediums (video game consoles, PC CD-ROMs, PC downloads and mobile phones). Coleco Adam released the first computer version of the show in 1983, and Sharedata followed in 1987 with versions for MS-DOS, Commodore 64 and Apple II computers. GameTek released versions for NES, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Panasonic 3DO, and PC (on CD-ROM) between 1990 and 1995. Hasbro Interactive released a version in 2000 for the PC and PlayStation. In 2006, versions were released for PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance and PC.
Online versions appeared on Uproar.com and IWin.com. Seattle-based Mobliss Inc. also released a mobile version of Family Feud that was available on Sprint, Verizon and Cingular.Glu Mobile released a newer mobile version of Family Feud for other carriers.
UBI Soft released multiple versions for the Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC in 2009, and released Family Feud Decades, which features sets and survey questions from television versions from the past four decades in 2010.Family Feud 2012 was released for the Wii and Xbox 360 in 2011.
The game has been released in other formats by multiple companies, with each company generally releasing a number of games over a period of years for different mediums (video game consoles, PC CD-ROMs, PC downloads and mobile phones). Coleco Adam released the first computer version of the show in 1983, and Sharedata followed in 1987 with versions for MS-DOS, Commodore 64 and Apple II computers. GameTek released versions for NES, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Genesis, Panasonic 3DO, and PC (on CD-ROM) between 1990 and 1995. Hasbro Interactive released a version in 2000 for the PC and PlayStation. In 2006, versions were released for PlayStation 2, Game Boy Advance and PC.
Online versions appeared on Uproar.com and IWin.com. Seattle-based Mobliss Inc. also released a mobile version of Family Feud that was available on Sprint, Verizon and Cingular.Glu Mobile released a newer mobile version of Family Feud for other carriers.
UBI Soft released multiple versions for the Wii, Nintendo DS, and PC in 2009, and released Family Feud Decades, which features sets and survey questions from television versions from the past four decades in 2010.Family Feud 2012 was released for the Wii and Xbox 360 in 2011.
Episode status and reruns
All episodes still exist. Reruns have aired on GSN since the network's launch with the exception of the 1999–2002 version hosted by Louie Anderson and Al Roker's Celebrity version from 2008. The network airs Dawson's first run, the Karn version, the O'Hurley version (minus the 2009–10 season) and the Harvey version (2010–2012).
A DVD set titled All-Star Family Feud was released on January 8, 2008 and featured a total of 21 celebrity episodes from the original ABC/syndicated versions on its four discs. It was re-issued as The Best of All-Star Family Feud on February 2, 2010.
A DVD set titled All-Star Family Feud was released on January 8, 2008 and featured a total of 21 celebrity episodes from the original ABC/syndicated versions on its four discs. It was re-issued as The Best of All-Star Family Feud on February 2, 2010.
