Candid Camera is an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series created and produced by Allen Funt, which initially began on radio as Candid Microphone June 28, 1947. After a series of theatrical film shorts, also titled Candid Microphone, Funt's concept came to television on August 10, 1948. The show last aired for 10 episodes in 2014 on the TV Land network. A documentary about Allen Funt is currently in the works by the Candid Camera crew.
The format has appeared on U.S. TV networks and in syndication in each succeeding decade, as either a regular show or a series of specials. Allen Funt himself hosted or co-hosted almost all of the TV versions until a 1993 stroke from which he never recovered. His son Peter Funt, who had co-hosted the specials with his father since 1987, became the producer and host.
Game for a Laugh is a British light entertainment programme which ran for 56 editions and four specials between 26 September 1981 and 23 November 1985, made by London Weekend Television for the ITV network.
Videomatch was a late-night 120-minute Argentine comedy show hosted by Marcelo Tinelli and broadcast on Telefe that debuted in 1989 in the midnight time slot. Currently the show still airs under the name of Showmatch.
Bailey Kipper's P.O.V. is a US children's television series that aired in 1996 on CBS Saturday Mornings, starring Michael Galeota, John Achorn and Meg Wittner. It lasted for only 13 episodes of 30 mins length each and received airings on the BBC's CBBC programming strand as well as on Nickelodeon in the UK. The show has not yet been released on VHS or DVD. The series was one of the first efforts by CBS to comply with the then-new E/I ratings.
Trigger Happy TV is a hidden camera/practical joke reality television series. The original British edition of the show, produced by Absolutely Productions, starred Dom Joly and ran for two series on the British television channel Channel 4 from 2000 to 2003. Although Channel 4 is owned and operated by the Channel Four Television Corporation, he made a name for himself as the sole star of the show, which he produced and directed with cameraman Sam Cadman.
Cheaters is a weekly syndicated American hidden camera reality television series about people suspected of committing adultery, or cheating, on their partners.
Canadian silent comedy/hidden camera reality television show. Playing silly pranks on unsuspecting subjects while hidden cameras capture peoples' responses. The show plays music in the background, but does not contain any sound or dialogue other than brief sound effects and laughter. Although some shorts have included brief dialogue.
Oblivious is a comedy game show that aired within the United States of America on TNN/Spike TV at various points between 2002 and 2004.
It was also aired on Challenge in the UK, Ireland and The Comedy Channel in Australia and still airs on Real TV in South Korea and on TV2 Zebra in Norway. It no longer airs on Spike TV. Comedian Regan Burns served as host.
A DVD was later released featuring the best clips of both seasons.
Comedystreet is a German entertainment show created by and starring comedian Simon Gosejohann. The show follows a hidden camera format. Gosejohann takes different roles with the intent of shocking passersby. Many sketches are filmed in North Rhine-Westphalia, especially in the Ruhr area and the cities of Dortmund and Essen. The show is sometimes filmed in Rhine-Ruhr in cities such as Düsseldorf. Other common locations are the islands of Sylt and Norderney. Some skits are also shot in foreign cities such as Paris and Prague. Gosejohann is recorded by a hidden camera, in a similar vein to British comedy series Trigger Happy TV and World Shut Your Mouth by Dom Joly. Simon's brother Thilo is responsible for the filming.
Comedystreet premiered on 2 September 2002 on German TV station ProSieben. Due to the show's ratings, a fifth season was confirmed. In October 2010, the show entered syndication on Comedy Central.
The crew consists of the two brothers and a director. The director manages the legal issues and obtains the broadcast licenses and the procedures. All passersby are informed and asked for written permission before their segment is included.
'Caméra Café' tells the daily life of employees at a Montreal branch of a large Toronto company through the camera hidden inside a coffee machine installed upon request of the big boss.
What happens when the biggest stars in the world get too high on the Hollywood hog? When their bank accounts start swelling bigger than their heads? Master prankster Ashton Kutcher is there to punk 'em down to earth.
Scare Tactics is a hidden camera/comedy television show, produced by Kevin Healey and Scott Hallock. Its first two seasons aired from April 2003 to December 2004. After a hiatus, the show returned for a third season, beginning July 9, 2008. The first season of the show was hosted by Shannen Doherty. Stephen Baldwin took her place in the middle of the second season. Since the beginning of the third season, the show has been hosted by Tracy Morgan. The fourth season began on October 6, 2009.
In Europe the first season of the program aired on MTV Central from 2003 to 2004. The show is also broadcast in Australia on FOX8, in Canada on MTV, in India on AXN, in Russia on MTV Russia, in Turkey on Dream TV, in Poland on TV Puls, in Finland on Jim, in South Korea on Q TV, in Sweden initially on TV6 and currently on TV11.
Could you pass off a complete stranger as your new best friend for one short weekend to win £10k, even if your 'friend' was actually a brilliant actor hell-bent on humiliating you?
We dress up our actors, create stressful situations, hide our cameras, and set the clock. If our victims can keep their cool for the designated time, they win the cash. If they hit their boiling point early, they're out.
THEM was a short-lived TV series. On the show, a gang of street magicians set up various scenarios to lure unsuspecting targets. After the team bewildered their victims, they would reveal themselves to the target as one of T.H.E.M.
You've Got A Friend was a 2004 reality comedy show on MTV, produced by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg. It was launched near the same time as their reality prank show Punk'd, and although successful in ratings, was cancelled at the end of the first season so they could focus on its more popular counterpart.
The show filmed contestants having to tolerate a 'friend' for 48 hours, while filmed on hidden camera in their home and different public settings. The 'friend' would be a trained improvisational comedian, who would progressively torment the contestant, their friends and loved ones. The catch was that the friends and family of the contestant were unaware of the folie à deux. If able to endure the embarrassment caused by the irreverent demands of the friend, the contestant would win a cash prize.
Damage Control is a reality TV series produced by MTV. Hosted by Simple Plan frontman Pierre Bouvier, and directed by Sebastian Doggart, the show was a real-life version of the movie Risky Business. It first aired on MTV on March 6, 2005. The last episode was broadcast on April 24, 2005.