| Family Feud |
| 240px |
| Format |
Game show |
| Created by |
Mark Goodson
El TC FAMILY |
| Directed by |
Paul Alter (1976–1990)
Marc Breslow (1990)
Andrew Felsher (1990–1995)
Bruce Gowers (1999)
Lenn Goodside (1999–2002)
Ken Fuchs (2002–present) |
| Presented by |
Richard Dawson (1976–1985, 1994–1995)
Ray Combs (1988–1994)
Louie Anderson (1999–2002)
Richard Karn (2002–2006)
John O'Hurley (2006–2010)
Steve Harvey (2010–present) |
| Narrated by |
Gene Wood (1976–1995)
Burton Richardson (1999–2010)
Joey Fatone (2010–present) |
| Composer(s) |
Score Productions (1976–1985, 1988–1994, 2002–2003, 2008–present)
Edd Kalehoff (1994–1995)
John Lewis Parker (1999–present) |
| Country of origin |
United States |
| No. of seasons |
ABC: 9
CBS: 5
Syndicated (1977–1985): 8
Syndicated (1988–1995): 7
Syndicated (1999–present): 13 |
| No. of episodes |
ABC: 2,311
Syndicated (1977–1985): 976
ABC Specials: 17
CBS: unknown
Syndicated (1988–1995): unknown
Syndicated (1999–present): 1,300+ |
| Production |
| Running time |
approx. 22 minutes:
ABC (1976–1985)[1]
CBS (1988–1992)
Syndicated (1977–1994, 1999–present)
approx. 44 minutes:
ABC Specials (1978–1984)
CBS (1992–1993)
Syndicated (1994–1995) |
| Production company(s) |
Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions (1976–1982)
Mark Goodson Productions (1982–2002)
The Family Company (1976–1985)
The New Family Company (1988–1994)
Mark Goodson Productions, L.P. (1994–1995)
Pearson Television (1999–2002)
Feudin' Productions (1999–2010)
FremantleMedia (2002–present)
Wanderlust Productions (2010–present)
Georgia Entertainment Industries (2011–present) |
| Distributor |
Viacom Enterprises (1977–1985)
LBS Communications (1988–1991)
All American Television (1991–1995)
Pearson Television (1999–2002)
Tribune Entertainment (2002–2007)
20th Television (2007–present, ad sales only)
Debmar-Mercury (2007–present) |
| Broadcast |
| Original channel |
ABC (1976–1985)
CBS (1988–1993)
Syndicated (1977–1985, 1988–1995, 1999–present) |
| Original run |
July 12, 1976 (1976-07-12) – June 14, 1985 (1985-06-14) (ABC Daytime)
September 19, 1977 – May 17, 1985 (Daily Syndication)
July 4, 1988 (1988-07-04) – March 26, 1993 (CBS Daytime)
September 19, 1988 – May 26, 1995 (1995-05-26) (Syndication)
September 20, 1999 (1999-09-20) – present (Syndication) |
Family Feud is an American television game show 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.
The original version premiered on ABC and was hosted by Richard Dawson from 1976[1] until it was canceled 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 it until its cancellation in 1993 and its accompanying syndicated series until 1994, when he was replaced by Dawson for one season. The series was activated again in 1999 and continues to air with the 13th season, which began on September 12, 2011. During that time, it has been hosted by Louie Anderson, Richard Karn, John O'Hurley and Steve Harvey, who became the host at the start of the 2010–2011 season.
Family Feud has been renewed through 2015.[2]
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 would 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 have been given by at least two of the 100 people to be included on the board, and a question must have yielded at least four different answers (until 2003, the triple value round would often have only three answers). There are five members on each team. This was reduced to four during the 1994–1995 season only.
Examples of questions might be "Name a famous George", "Tell me a popular family vacation spot", "Name something you do at school", or "Give me a slang name for policemen".
The participants are not asked questions about what is true; instead, they are asked questions about what other people think is true. As such, a perfectly logical answer may be considered incorrect because it failed to make the survey (e.g.: for the question about Georges, George Jones was a popular country singer, but if his name was not given by at least two people it is considered incorrect).
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, except during the 1988–1995 version, when they were automatically given control of the board. Players are also automatically given control if they guess the "Number one answer," the answer most commonly given. 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. From 1999 to 2011, the question was edited out of the broadcast and replaced with a new question when neither player at the podium give a valid answer.[3] 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. The family gets a "strike" if a player gives an answer that is not on the board or fails to respond. There is no time limit, but the host has the discretion to impose a three-second count if time is short or the contestant appears to be stalling. Three strikes cause the family to relinquish control of the board, giving the other family one chance to steal the points in the bank by correctly guessing one of the remaining answers. However, if the family is able to reveal all the answers on the board before accumulating three strikes, they win the round and their opponents are not given the chance to steal.
In all versions except the 1988–1994 version, before attempting to steal the round, the entire family could confer before the answer was given. In the 1988–1994 and 2008 primetime versions, each family member gave his or her opinion one at a time. The team captain could then either select one of those four or give his or her own. If the family guesses a remaining answer correctly, they receive the points accumulated by the other family. From 1992–1995 and 1999–2003, the revealed answer's value was also added to the winning team's score.
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 1992 to 1994 and 2009–2010, 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 continuing 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 later revival in 1999, but was revived in September 2009 for the final O’Hurley season.[4] The starting bankroll was $15,000, with five questions in values from $1,000 to $5,000 in $1,000 increments. This version only lasted one season.[4]
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 |
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 |
| 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 |
Triple1 |
Sudden Death2 |
| 2003 |
2009 |
300 |
Single |
Double |
Triple |
Sudden Death |
| 2009 |
2010 |
300 |
Single |
Double |
Triple |
Sudden Death |
| 2010 |
present |
300 |
Single |
Double |
Triple |
Sudden Death |
1From 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.
2The 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,[1] 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 team 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 saying "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 1992–1995 and 2009–2010, 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.[5] 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 2010–2011 season. Since 2009[citation needed], 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 winners' charity. If the goal was not reached, the $5/point rule was discarded and $25,000 was awarded to the charity instead.
Family Feud was created during the increasing popularity of the Goodson-Todman game show, Match Game, which set daytime ratings records in 1976. Geoff Edwards, then hosting The New Treasure Hunt in weekly syndication, was originally offered the show's pilot. However, he turned it down after seeing a similar show, The Neighbors, fail in the ratings, as well as have a deal pending with Bob Stewart for what became Shoot for the Stars on NBC, which was later placed in direct competition with Family Feud and did not last long.[6] 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[citation needed], 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[citation needed], where the series became a ratings winner and eventually surpassed the series it was spun off from, Match Game, to become the #1 game show in daytime.[citation needed]
A nighttime syndicated version of Family Feud debuted on local stations (many of them affiliated with NBC, including the network's owned and operated stations) on September 19, 1977.[citation needed] As was the custom with many other syndicated game shows at the time, the nighttime Family Feud aired as a weekly series. In January 1979, midway through its second season, the syndicated version began airing twice weekly due to its popularity.[citation needed] 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)[citation needed] when the syndicated version's fourth season debuted in September 1980.
Family Feud moved to 12:00 noon on June 30, 1980[citation needed] after The $20,000 Pyramid was canceled, while reruns of The Love Boat filled the 11:00 AM hour. While most series that aired in the time slot on various networks usually saw some large ratings drop, often due in part to local affiliates opting to air newscasts or more profitable syndicated programming, Family Feud's ratings remained consistent[citation needed] and for the next few years remained at or near the top in the daytime.[citation needed]
However, in early 1984, the series' ratings began to decrease.[citation needed] In October, ABC moved the show back to its original 11:30 AM time slot[citation needed], with the new Goodson show, Trivia Trap, as its lead-in. The popularity of another Goodson game show, The Price Is Right (airing opposite Family Feud on CBS), and the weak performance of Trivia Trap as the show's lead-in[citation needed], contributed to its decrease in ratings. The syndicated series was suffering through its own ratings trouble, as Wheel of Fortune quickly surpassed Family Feud in popularity[citation needed] upon its September 19, 1983 debut and Jeopardy!, which premiered on September 10, 1984, became the second-most popular syndicated game show.[citation needed] Eventually, both editions of Family Feud were canceled. The syndicated series left the air on May 17, 1985[citation needed] and ABC canceled the daytime series on June 14. The final daytime Family Feud featured an emotional farewell from Dawson, which was cut from the episode's original airing but has been shown in reruns since then.
The syndicated Family Feud continued to air reruns until September 13, 1985.[citation needed] The show's distributor, Viacom Enterprises, created a "best-of" rerun package of Family Feud, which was sold to certain stations for the 1985–1986 season.[citation needed]
Three years after airing its final episodes, Family Feud returned to both daytime and syndication with stand-up comedian Ray Combs taking over for Dawson as host. On July 4, 1988[citation needed], CBS premiered the new Family Feud at 10:00 AM Eastern, replacing The $25,000 Pyramid. On September 19[citation needed], 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, where The Price Is Right has taped since 1972.
The daytime Family Feud aired at 10:00 AM until January 11, 1991[citation needed]. The following Monday, after Wheel of Fortune was moved back to NBC, Family Feud moved into Wheel's 10:30 AM time slot to make room for a talk show hosted by Barbara DeAngelis[citation needed].
One year later, the Bullseye round was added on both series. The round premiered on the daytime version on June 29, 1992[citation needed], coinciding with an expansion to a full hour and a renaming to Family Feud Challenge. 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 on CBS until September 10, 1993[citation needed], with its final new episode airing on March 26[citation needed].
On September 14, 1992[citation needed] the Bullseye round was added to the syndicated series, which took on the name The New Family Feud. The series' sixth season debuted on September 13, 1993[citation needed] with three weeks of shows taped at Opryland USA, the first and only time that Family Feud had filmed on location. Production continued at CBS Television City after that, and the final episode of the season aired on May 27, 1994[citation needed]. Toward the end of taping for the season, Combs was dismissed from the series due to declining ratings.
Jonathan Goodson took over Mark Goodson Productions in February 1993 following the death of his father. Richard Dawson was asked to return as host in an attempt to bring in higher ratings. Dawson had not been considered to host the revival[citation needed] before due to issues between Mark Goodson and others involved in the original production, including Howard Felsher. Felsher, who had become executive producer of Family Feud by 1993, was the producer of Dawson's Family Feud and had a very contentious and problematic relationship with the host.[citation needed] Dawson agreed to return for the upcoming seventh season of the syndicated series and made his return to Family Feud on September 12, 1994.[citation needed] With his return, several format and aesthetic changes were made.
A set similar to that used during taping at Opryland USA was redesigned and rebuilt to serve as the set at Television City. Instead of the traditional three-paneled game board, a scaled back version of the Ferranti-Packard Fast Money board was used to display answers for the entire game, as it had been at Opryland. However, the board was not shown outside of Fast Money and a superimposed, computer-generated board appeared over the Fast Money board for broadcast.
The team size was reduced to four for this season, and the name sliders removing the scenery that they hid, a staple of Family Feud since its debut in 1976, were also removed. Instead, each family was introduced in a caricature drawing with each family member's head superimposed on one of the figures in the picture. The Bullseye round was reworked to accommodate this, becoming known as the Bankroll round. In this round, one player from each side played for the entire round and three questions were asked. A maximum of $7,000 was available in the first half of the show and doubled to $14,000 in the second half. During Fast Money, the first contestant received 20 seconds to answer the five questions and the second contestant received 25 seconds.
For the first few weeks of episodes in the new hour-long format, two new families competed in the first half hour. The winning family played a family from Dawson's first run as host of Family Feud. This later changed to the format used for Family Feud Challenge, where the two families competed to meet the returning champions in the second half of the show. Despite an initial rise in the ratings[citation needed], the momentum could not be sustained and Dawson did not last beyond the one season as host. The final episode aired on May 26, 1995[citation needed], and reruns continued until September 8[citation needed].
After a four-year hiatus, Family Feud returned in syndication on September 20, 1999.[citation needed] 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.[7] 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.
Richard Karn was selected to take over for Anderson in the fourth season, which began on September 16, 2002.[citation needed] For the fourth season, the same gameplay format was used, but returning champions were reintroduced and could appear up to five days. In mid-November[citation needed], 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.
Beginning with the 2003–2004 season[citation needed], production 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 the seventh season, Karn left the show. Pieces from the set were later sold on eBay.
On March 28, 2006[citation needed], John O'Hurley was announced as the new host. With O'Hurley's first episode, which aired on September 11[citation needed], the set was overhauled into an updated version of the classic look. The first week of shows began the same as the original series with Richardson reading the classic opening spiel. Beginning with the tenth season[citation needed], the show began using the Combs-era theme again, along with the set changes introduced on Celebrity Family Feud from the previous summer.
In O'Hurley's final season, which ran from September 7, 2009 to May 28, 2010[citation needed], 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.
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 the twelfth season with former 'N Sync member Joey Fatone becoming the new announcer.[8] 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.[9] The gameplay also returned to its 2003–2008 format, although five-time champions still win a car as a bonus. For the twelfth season, the Bullseye round did not return and the Fast Money jackpot reverted to a flat $20,000.
After Harvey began hosting, ratings increased by as much as 40% from O'Hurley's last season as host.[11] Clips from Harvey's version of the show were officially released on YouTube.[12]
On May 7, 2011, announced via the show's official Twitter page, the show moved taping locations for the 2011–2012 season to the Atlanta Civic Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where Harvey lives and hosts his radio show.
Gabrielle Johnston, a Goodson-Todman staffer since the 1970s, is currently the show's executive producer, years after she was the show's associate producer of the 1980s version. Kristin Bjorklund is the current producer and was also an associate producer of the 1980s version. Lauri Chryss is the associate director.
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.
During the Dawson and Combs versions, Gene Wood was the announcer, with periodic fill-ins from Johnny Gilbert, Charlie O'Donnell, Art James and Rod Roddy. Burton Richardson was the announcer for all episodes of the current version from 1999–2010, except for the Gameshow Marathon finale episode, which was announced by Rich Fields in 2006. Joey Fatone has been the new announcer since the beginning of the twelfth season.
Originally, Family Feud was billed as "A Mark Goodson/Bill Todman Production", but after Todman's death in 1979, the unit was simply known as "Mark Goodson Productions" and was announced as such until 1995. During the first three seasons of the 1999 revival, the show used the Mark Goodson Productions name and logo at the end of each episode, but not the announcement, even though the original production company no longer existed. However, when Richard Karn began hosting in 2002, the traditional practice was abandoned entirely.
The show's copyright holder was called "The Family Company" from 1976–1985, "The New Family Company" from 1988–1994, "Mark Goodson Productions, L.P." from 1994–1995 and "Feudin' Productions" from 1999–2010. Currently, 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, currently known as CBS Television Distribution, distributed the syndicated version from 1977–1985.
From 1988 until 1995 and again from 1999 until 2002, FremantleMedia (previously under the names LBS Communications, All-American Television, and Pearson Television) distributed Family Feud. In March 2001, Tribune Entertainment was awarded syndication duties, when FremantleMedia chose to focus on producing rather than distribution. Tribune's participation in the series ended in the spring of 2007, when they dismantled their television distribution arm. That fall, Lionsgate-owned Debmar-Mercury assumed distribution and 20th Television assumed ad sales.
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 1977–1985 and again from 1999–2002, two new families competed on each episode.
The 1988–1995 version featured returning champions, as has the current version since 2002. From 1988–1993 and again since 2002, the limit has been five appearances. From 1988–1992, 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.
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 1984–1985 season (single-single-single-single-double-triple) or the regular CBS/Syndicated version from late 1989–1990 (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.
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 winning family of the Big Money Tournament from the 2007–2008 season won a $60,000 jackpot out of a possible $120,000. In the 2008–2009 season, the winning family won $80,000.
Special-themed weeks have been prominent during "sweeps" weeks during the show's long history, through all versions. Among them were the following:
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.
[edit] 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 2008–2009 season.
This six-week mini-series 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.
[edit] 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.
With the success of the US, 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.
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[13] 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, and a second edition in 2006, and a third edition in 2007.
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 1990–1995. 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.
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. The network currently airs Dawson's first run, the Karn version, the O'Hurley version and the Harvey version.
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. A re-release of the DVD set titled The Best of All-Star Family Feud was introduced on February 2, 2010 and included the same shows.
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