History of Comedy Panel Shows

History of comedy panel shows

-    -   The first panel shows began on US Radio as far back as 1938, with games such as ‘Play the Game’

-       - Shows moved onto television in post war years, and weren’t only an American thing anymore

-        -   As they reached Britain, they rose in popularity and are now considered something deeply associated with British TV

-          - One of the longest running shows, QI, has been running since 2003 until the present

Why has QI lasted so long?

As the concept of panel shows are to have celebrities trying to win points but get no prizes, QI awards points for being interesting and not just correct. This means every episode has different people with different ideas being discussed so every episode is an entirely new experience. Most guests are comedians, which add the comedy element into the show, making it appeal to a large audience.  As a BBC 2 show their target audience is slightly older than BBC 3 so will talk about topics that 30+ adults will find interesting.