''Family Feud'' is an American television
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
created by
Mark Goodson
Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions.
Early life and e ...
. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.
The show has had three separate runs, the first of which started in 1976. Its original run from 1976 to 1985 aired on
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
and in
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
, with
Richard Dawson
Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Hero ...
as host. In 1988, the series was revived and aired on both
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
and in syndication with
Ray Combs
Raymond Neil Combs Jr. (April 3, 1956 – June 2, 1996) was an American actor, comedian and game show host.
Combs began his professional career in the late 1970s. His popularity on the stand-up circuit led to him being signed as the second host o ...
hosting until 1994, with Dawson returning until that version ended in 1995. In 1999, the series was revived through its first-run syndication with four different hosts:
Louie Anderson
Louis Perry Anderson (March 24, 1953 – January 21, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and game show host. Anderson created the cartoon series ''Life with Louie'' and the television sitcom ''The Louie Show'', and wrote four ...
(1999–2002),
Richard Karn
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
(2002–2006),
John O'Hurley
John George O'Hurley Jr. (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, singer, author, game show host and television personality. He is known for his portrayal of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', and was the sixth host of the ...
(2006–2010), and
Steve Harvey
Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', '' Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss U ...
(2010–present). Studio announcers who introduced the contestants and read credits included
Gene Wood
Eugene Edward Wood (October 20, 1925 – May 21, 2004) was an American television personality, known primarily for his work as an announcer on various game shows. From the 1950s to the 1990s, he announced many game shows, primarily Mark Goodson ...
(1976–1995),
Burton Richardson
Burton Merrele Richardson (born September 29, 1949, in Portland, Oregon) is an American television announcer.
Career
He announced ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' from 1989 to 1994, where he became known for his long-drawn-out introduction of the show's ...
(1999–2010),
Joey Fatone
Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. (born January 28, 1977) is an American singer, dancer, actor, and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband NSYNC, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reali ...
(2010–2015), and Rubin Ervin (2015–present).
Within a year of its debut, the original version became the number one game show in daytime television; however, as viewing habits changed, the ratings declined. Harvey becoming host in 2010 increased
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
significantly and eventually placed the program among the top three most-popular syndicated television shows in the United States. Harvey has also surpassed every previous host in tenure, although Dawson hosted more episodes of the show.
The program has produced multiple
regional adaptations in over 50 international markets outside the United States. Reruns of episodes hosted by Steve Harvey air on
Game Show Network
Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revive ...
, as well as in
syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
while reruns of earlier versions air on
Buzzr
Buzzr is an American digital terrestrial television, digital broadcast television network owned by Fremantle North America, a unit of the Fremantle (company), Fremantle subsidiary of RTL Group. The network serves as an outlet for the extensive li ...
. Aside from television shows, there have been also many home editions produced in
board game
Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well.
Many board games feature a comp ...
,
interactive film
An interactive film is a video game or other interactive media that has characteristics of a cinematic film. In the video game industry, the term refers to a movie game, a video game that presents its gameplay in a cinematic, scripted manner, ...
, and
video game
Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
formats.
Gameplay
The game features two competing families, each represented by five members (reduced to four contestants for the 1994–95 season), who compete to determine the answers to survey questions. The original version of the show began with the families being introduced, seated opposite each other as if posing for family portraits, after which the host interviewed them.
While there is no minimum age to participate in ''Family Feud'', producers recommend that contestants are 15 years of age or older due to the nature of some questions. Each round begins with a "face-off" question that serves as a toss-up between two opposing contestants. The host asks a survey question that was previously posed to a group of 100 people, such as "Name the hour that you get up on Sunday mornings."
A certain number of answers are concealed on the board, ranked by popularity of the survey's responses. Only answers said by at least two people can appear on the board. The first contestant to buzz in gives an answer; if it is the most popular, his/her family immediately wins the face-off. Otherwise, the opponent responds and the family member providing the higher-ranked answer wins. Ties are broken in favor of the contestant who buzzes in first. If neither contestant's answer is on the board, the other eight contestants have a chance to respond, one at a time from alternating sides, until an answer is revealed. The family that wins the face-off may choose to play the question or pass control to their opponents (except on the 1988–95 versions, when the family who won the face-off automatically gained control of the question).
The family with control of the question then tries to win the round by guessing all of the remaining concealed answers, with each member giving one answer in sequence. Giving an incorrect answer, or failing to respond, earns a strike. Three strikes gives their opponents a chance to "steal" the points for the round by guessing any one of the remaining answers. Otherwise, the points are awarded to the family that originally had control. From 1992 to 2003, the value of the "stealing" answer was credited to the "stealing" family. If the opponents are given the opportunity to "steal" the points, then only their team's captain is required to answer the question. For most of the series, this is done after the family confers with each other; the only exception was on the 1988 series where each family member was polled for an answer with the team captain having the option to either select one of the family's answers or give a different answer.
Any remaining concealed answers on the board that were not guessed are then revealed.
Answers are worth one point for every person in the 100-member survey who gave them. The winning family in each round scores the total points for all revealed answers to that question, including those given during the face-off but excluding the one used to steal. The number of answers on the board decreases from round to round, and as the game progresses, certain rounds are played for double or triple point value.
For most of the show's existence, the first team to reach or surpass a certain point total won the game. The most common goal has been 300 points but there have been exceptions. When the original series first premiered, the goal was 200 points and for its final year, it was increased to 400 points. From the debut of the original series until 1992, families were awarded $1 per point scored.
From 1999 to 2003, the family with the highest point total after four rounds of play won the game regardless of their score. The first three rounds were played as normal rounds. In the fourth rounds, the point values were tripled, but the families were only allowed one strike if they had control. In the rare instance that the family in control was trailing and could not accumulate enough points to potentially overtake the leaders before striking out, the game ended without the other family attempting to steal.
On the first two series a match continued until a family reached the goal. The current series reinstated the 300 point goal in 2003 but kept the four round format. If neither family has reached 300 points after four rounds, one more triple value question is played as a sudden death face-off. Only the top answer is displayed on the board, and the first contestant to buzz in with it wins the points and the game for their team.
In the original periodic primetime specials, three games were played, with the first two using the $200 format. For the third game, only one question round was played with the winning two celebrity teams from the previous rounds playing.
Fast Money
At the end of the main game, the winning family selects two members to play the show's
bonus round
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...
, known as "Fast Money". One contestant is onstage with the host, while the other is sequestered backstage with headphones so as not to hear or see the first portion of the round. The first contestant is asked five rapid-fire survey questions and has a set time limit in which to answer them (originally 15 seconds, extended to 20 in 1994); time begins to run only after the first question is asked, and the first contestant may pass on a question and return to it after all five have been asked, if time remains.
After the first contestant has finished answering or run out of time, he or she is awarded a point for each person in the survey who gave the same response. Once these points are tallied, the board is cleared except for the total score, and the second contestant is then brought out to answer the same five questions. The same rules are followed, but the time limit is extended by five seconds (originally 20, then extended to 25); in addition, if the second contestant duplicates an answer given by the first, a buzzer sounds and he or she must give another answer. The family is awarded $5 for each point. If the two contestants reach a combined total of 200 points or more, the family wins a cash prize.
The cash prize for winning Fast Money has varied. During the ABC and CBS incarnations of the show, the top prize was $5,000, and $10,000 in syndication. In 2001, the prize was doubled to $20,000.
In the original periodic primetime specials, each game was followed by a Fast Money round. The first two were each worth $5,000, and the final one was worth $10,000.
Returning champions
When ''Family Feud'' premiered on ABC, network rules dictated how much a family could win. Once any family reached $25,000, they were retired as champions. The accompanying syndicated series that premiered in 1977 featured two new families each episode because of a then common
television syndication
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
practice known as "bicycling" (wherein individual stations sent an episode of a series they had already aired to another station, reducing the number of tapes a syndicator had to send out but also ensuring that stations did not air the same episode of a show the same day, nor were they assured of
airing in a proper sequence).
The CBS daytime and syndicated versions which began airing in 1988 also featured returning champions, who could appear for a maximum of five days. For a brief period in the 1994–95 season which aired in syndication, there were no returning champions. For these episodes, two new families competed in this first half of each episode. The second half featured former champion families who appeared on ''Family Feud'' between 1976 and 1985, with the winner of the first half of the show playing one of these families in the second half.
In some cases from 1992 to 1995, the returning champions continued until they were defeated. From 1999 to 2002, two new families appeared on each episode. In 2002, returning champions again appeared with the same five-day limit. In 2009, a new car was announced for a family who wins five games in a row.
Bullseye/Bankroll game
In June 1992, the CBS daytime edition of ''Feud'' expanded from 30 to 60 minutes and became known as the ''Family Feud Challenge.'' As part of the change, a new round was added at the start of each game called "Bullseye". This round determined the potential Fast Money stake for each team. Each team was given a starting value for their bank and attempted to come up with the top answer to a survey question to add to it. The Bullseye round was added to the syndicated edition in September 1992, which remained 30 minutes and was retitled as the ''New Family Feud.''
The first two members of each family appeared at the face-off podium and were asked a question to which only the number-one answer was available. Giving the top answer added the value for that question to the family's bank. The process then repeated with the four remaining members from each family. On the first half of the daytime version, families were staked with $2,500. The first question was worth $500, with each succeeding question worth $500 more than the previous, with the final question worth $2,500. This allowed for a potential maximum bank of $10,000. For the second half of the daytime version, and also on the syndicated version, all values were doubled, making the maximum potential bank $20,000. The team that eventually won the game played for their bank in Fast Money.
In 1994, with Richard Dawson returning as host, the round's name was changed to the "Bankroll" round.
Although the goal remained of giving only the number-one answer, the format was modified to three questions from five, with only one member of each family participating for all three questions. The initial stake for each family remained the same ($2,500 in the first half of the hour and $5,000 in the second). However, the value for each question was $500, $1,500 and $2,500 in the first half, with values doubling for the second half. This meant a potential maximum bank of $7,000 in the first half and $14,000 in the second.
The Bullseye round returned for the 2009–2010 season and was played similarly to the format used from 1992 to 1994 on the syndicated version. Five questions were asked, worth from $1,000 to $5,000. However, each family was given a $15,000 starting stake, which meant a potential maximum of a $30,000 bank.
When Harvey took over as host, the Fast Money jackpot reverted to a flat $20,000.
Hosts and announcers
When ''Family Feud'' was conceived in 1976,
Richard Dawson
Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; 20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was a British-born American actor, comedian, game-show host and panelist in the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk in ''Hogan's Hero ...
(then a regular panelist on the
Goodson–Todman game show ''
Match Game
''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelist ...
'') had a standing agreement with
Mark Goodson
Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions.
Early life and e ...
that when the next Goodson–Todman game show was in the planning stages, Dawson would be given an audition to host it. Dawson had read in trade publications that a pilot for a new show named ''Family Feud'' was in the works, and it was originally to be hosted by ''
Star Trek
''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...
'' actor
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...
(although since they were involved in the run-throughs,
Geoff Edwards
Geoffrey Bruce Owen Edwards (February 13, 1931 – March 5, 2014) was an American television actor, game show host, and radio personality. Starting in the early 2000s, he was also a writer and broadcaster on the subject of travel.
Background
P ...
and
Jack Narz
John Lawrence Narz Jr. (November 13, 1922 – October 15, 2008) was an American radio personality, television host, and singer.
Early years
Narz was born to John and Ado Narz, in Louisville, Kentucky, along with sister Mary, and younger brothe ...
, the latter of whom reputedly was Goodson's initial choice to host, were under consideration). Incensed, Dawson sent his agent to Goodson to threaten to present an un-funny, silent, and bland persona on future ''Match Game'' episodes if he was not given an audition for ''Feud''. Dawson was then selected as host of the original ABC and first syndicated versions of ''Family Feud''. As writer David Marc put it, Dawson's on-air personality "fell somewhere between the brainless sincerity of
Wink Martindale
Winston Conrad "Wink" Martindale (born December 4, 1933) is an American disc jockey, radio personality, game show host, and television producer. In his six-decade career, he is best known for hosting ''Gambit'' from 1972 to 1976 (and again from ...
and the raunchy cynicism of
Chuck Barris
Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host. Barris was known for hosting ''The Gong Show'' and creating ''The Dating Game'' and ''The Newlywed Game''. He was also a songwrite ...
".
Dawson showed himself to have insistent affections for all of the female members of each family that competed on the show, regardless of age, kissing them, an act that attracted some controversy then among viewers.
Writers Tim Brooks, Jon Ellowitz, and Earle F. Marsh attributed ''Family Feud''s popularity to Dawson's "glib familiarity" (he had previously played Newkirk on ''
Hogan's Heroes
''Hogan's Heroes'' is an American television sitcom set in a Nazi German prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during World War II. It ran for 168 episodes (six seasons) from September 17, 1965, to April 4, 1971, on the CBS network, the longest broadcast ...
'') and "ready wit" (from his tenure as a panelist on ''Match Game'').
The show's original announcer was
Gene Wood
Eugene Edward Wood (October 20, 1925 – May 21, 2004) was an American television personality, known primarily for his work as an announcer on various game shows. From the 1950s to the 1990s, he announced many game shows, primarily Mark Goodson ...
, with
Johnny Gilbert
John Lewis Gilbert III (born July 13, 1928) is an American show business personality who has worked mainly on television game shows. Originally a nightclub singer and entertainer, he has hosted and announced a number of game shows from various e ...
and
Rod Roddy
Robert Ray Roddy (September 28, 1937 – October 27, 2003) was an American radio and television announcer
An announcer is a voice artist who relays information to the audience of a broadcast media programme or live event.
Television and ...
serving as occasional substitutes.
In 1988, comedian
Ray Combs
Raymond Neil Combs Jr. (April 3, 1956 – June 2, 1996) was an American actor, comedian and game show host.
Combs began his professional career in the late 1970s. His popularity on the stand-up circuit led to him being signed as the second host o ...
took over Dawson's role as host on CBS and in syndication with Wood returning as announcer and Roddy and
Art James
Art James (born Arthur Simeonovich Efimchick; October 15, 1929 – March 28, 2004) was an American game-show host, best known for shows such as ''The Who, What, or Where Game'', ''It's Academic''. and ''Pay Cards!'' He was also the announcer a ...
serving in that role when Wood was not available.
Combs hosted the program until the daytime version's cancellation in 1993 and the syndicated version until the end of the 1993–94 season. Dawson returned to the show at the request of Mark Goodson Productions for the 1994–95 season.
When ''Feud'' returned to syndication in 1999, it was initially hosted by comedian
Louie Anderson
Louis Perry Anderson (March 24, 1953 – January 21, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and game show host. Anderson created the cartoon series ''Life with Louie'' and the television sitcom ''The Louie Show'', and wrote four ...
,
with
Burton Richardson
Burton Merrele Richardson (born September 29, 1949, in Portland, Oregon) is an American television announcer.
Career
He announced ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' from 1989 to 1994, where he became known for his long-drawn-out introduction of the show's ...
as the new announcer. In 2002,
Richard Karn
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'stron ...
was selected to take over for Anderson,
until he was replaced by
John O'Hurley
John George O'Hurley Jr. (born October 9, 1954) is an American actor, comedian, singer, author, game show host and television personality. He is known for his portrayal of J. Peterman on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'', and was the sixth host of the ...
in 2006.
In 2010, both O'Hurley and Richardson departed from the show. O'Hurley later stated that he left because he was resistant toward the show's decision to emphasize
ribald
Ribaldry or blue comedy is humorous entertainment that ranges from bordering on indelicacy to indecency. Blue comedy is also referred to as "bawdiness" or being "bawdy".
Sex is presented in ribald material more for the purpose of poking fun at ...
humor and wanted to keep the show
family-friendly
A family-friendly product or service is one that is considered to be suitable for all members of an average family. Family-friendly restaurants are ones that provide service to families that have young children. Frequently, family-friendly produc ...
.
Steve Harvey
Broderick Stephen Harvey Sr. Also aired August 16, 2015. (born January 17, 1957) is an American television host, producer, actor, and comedian. He hosts ''The Steve Harvey Morning Show'', ''Family Feud'', '' Celebrity Family Feud,'' the Miss U ...
was later named the new host and began hosting on July 10, 2010. Harvey has been hosting the show ever since. Announcements were made using a pre-recorded track of
Joey Fatone
Joseph Anthony Fatone Jr. (born January 28, 1977) is an American singer, dancer, actor, and television personality. He is best known as a member of the boyband NSYNC, in which he sang baritone. In 2007, he came in second place on the ABC reali ...
's voice, which was used on the show until the end of the 2014–2015 season. Rubin Ervin, who has been a member of the production staff as the warmup man for the audience since Harvey took over, became the announcer at the start of the 2015–2016 season and has retained the role since.
In 2015, Harvey signed with ABC for the primetime reboot of ''
Celebrity Family Feud
''Celebrity Family Feud'' is a broadcast network spin-off of the syndicated American game show ''Family Feud''. Like the primetime ''All-Star Specials'' aired during the late 1970s and early 1980s by the show's then-network home ABC, the episode ...
'', with Burton Richardson returning as announcer. Harvey has hosted ''Celebrity Family Feud'' since 2015, while Richardson has announced for Celebrity Family Feud since it began in 2008. Richardson was involved with the NBC version of ''Celebrity Family Feud'' in 2008 and has been announcing for the 2015 reboot since its inception.
The first four versions of the show were directed by
Paul Alter
Paul Alter (March 11, 1922 – June 11, 2011) was an American television director, specializing in game shows for Mark Goodson Productions. Alter was best known as the original director of ''Family Feud'' from the show's origin in the mid-1970s ...
and produced by
Howard Felsher
Howard Felsher (October 18, 1927 – July 23, 2018) was an American game show producer. He produced shows such as '' Tic Tac Dough''; ''Password''; ''Password Plus''; ''Super Password''; '' He Said, She Said''; ''Concentration''; and most notabl ...
and Cathy Dawson. For the 1988 versions, Gary Dawson worked with the show as a third producer, and Alter was joined by two other directors,
Marc Breslow
Marc Breslow (July 7, 1925 – December 1, 2015) was an American television director, specializing in game shows for Mark Goodson Productions. Breslow was the director throughout the CBS and syndicated run of ''Match Game'' during the 1970s and ea ...
and Andy Felsher.
The 1999 version's main staff include executive producer Gabrielle Johnston, co-executive producers Kristin Bjorklund, Brian Hawley and Sara Dansby, and director Ken Fuchs; Johnston and Bjorklund previously worked as associate producers of the 1980s version.
[End credits lists of appropriate ''Family Feud'' episodes.] The show's classic theme tune was written by an uncredited
Walt Levinsky
Walt Levinsky (April 18, 1929 – December 14, 1999) was an American big band and orchestral player, composer, arranger, and bandleader. While many of his big band assignments were as lead alto sax player, his favorite instrument was the clari ...
for
Score Productions
Score Productions is an American musical production company specializing in background music and themes for television shows. Started in 1963 in a brownstone townhouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan by music producer Bob Israel, Score has cr ...
. The theme and cues for the 1994–1995 version was written by
Edd Kalehoff
Edward Woodley Kalehoff Jr. (born September 1, 1945) is an American television composer who specializes in compositions for television, known for his work on the Moog synthesizer. Kalehoff composed the musical themes to the game shows ''The Price ...
and are based on the Walt Levinsky composition. The themes used from 1999 to 2008 were written by John Lewis Parker.
The production rights to the show were originally owned by the production company Goodson shared with his partner
Bill Todman
William Selden Todman (July 31, 1916 – July 29, 1979) was an American television producer and personality born in New York City. He produced many of television's longest-running shows with business partner Mark Goodson, with whom he created ...
, but were sold to their current holder, Fremantle, when it acquired all of Goodson and Todman's format catalog in 2002.
Broadcast history
1976–1985
![Richard Dawson Family Feud 1976](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/Richard_Dawson_Family_Feud_1976.JPG)
Mark Goodson created ''Family Feud'' during the increasing popularity of his earlier game show, ''Match Game'', which had set daytime ratings records between 1973 and 1976, and on which Dawson appeared almost daily as one of its most popular panelists. ''Match Game'' aired on
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
, and by 1976, CBS vice-president
Fred Silverman
Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as '' ...
, who had originally commissioned ''Match Game'', had moved to a new position as president of
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
. The show, along with a revised daytime schedule for the summer, was first announced by ABC at an annual meeting in May. The show premiered on ABC's daytime lineup at 1:30 p.m. (
ET)/12:30 p.m. (
CT/
MT/
PT) on July 12, 1976. Because it faced the first halves of two long-running and popular soap operas, CBS' ''
As the World Turns
''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...
'' and NBC's ''
Days of Our Lives
''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...
,'' ''Feud'' was not an immediate hit. But a timeslot change several months later made it a ratings winner for ABC, and it eventually surpassed ''Match Game'' to become the highest-rated game show on daytime TV.
Due to the expansion of ''
All My Children
''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
'' to one hour in April 1977, the show was moved to 11:30/10:30 a.m., as the second part of an hour that had daytime reruns of ''
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most succ ...
'' (later ''
Laverne & Shirley
''Laverne & Shirley'' (originally ''Laverne DeFazio & Shirley Feeney'') is an American sitcom television series that played for eight seasons on ABC from January 27, 1976, to May 10, 1983. A spin-off of ''Happy Days'', ''Laverne & Shirley'' star ...
'') as its lead-in. When the
Dick Clark
Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American radio and television personality, television producer and film actor, as well as a cultural icon who remains best known for hosting ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 198 ...
-hosted ''$20,000 Pyramid'' was canceled in June 1980, ''Feud'' moved a half-hour back to 12 noon/11:00 a.m. It remained the most popular daytime game show until
Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own ta ...
's game show ''
Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Art
* ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...
,'' propelled by a new, highly-popular concurrent syndicated evening version, surpassed it in 1984.
From May 8, 1978 until May 25, 1984, ABC periodically broadcast hour-long primetime "All-Star Specials", in which celebrity casts from various primetime TV series (mostly ABC ones) competed instead of ordinary families.
The popularity of the program inspired Goodson to consider producing a nighttime edition, which launched in syndication on September 19, 1977 with Viacom Enterprises as distributor. Like many other game shows at the time, the nighttime ''Feud'' aired once a week; it expanded to twice a week in January 1979,
[Schwartz, Ryan and Wostbrock, p. 72.] and finally to five nights a week (Monday through Friday) in the fall of 1980, representing the first time that a weekday network game ran concurrently with a nightly syndicated edition. Dawson and ''Feud'' coasted for several years at the top, seen twice a day in much of the country. However, the viewing habits of both daytime and syndicated audiences began changing around 1984.
When Griffin launched ''Wheel''s syndicated version, starring
Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak ( , born Patrick Leonard ; born October 26, 1946) is an American television personality and game show host. He is best known as the host of the American television game show ''Wheel of Fortune'', a position he has held since 1981. Fo ...
and
Vanna White, in 1983, that show climbed the ratings to the point where it unseated ''Feud'' as the highest-rated syndicated show, even replacing it on some stations; the syndicated premiere of ''Wheel''s sister show ''
Jeopardy!
''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given genera ...
'' with
Alex Trebek
George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian-American game show host and television personality. He is best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 season ...
as host also siphoned ratings from ''Feud'' with its early (and surprising, given an unstable first few months) success. With declining ratings (probably due mainly to its overexposure and viewers subsequently tiring of the show), and as part of a scheduling reshuffle with two of ABC's half-hour soaps, the show moved back to the 11:30/10:30 timeslot in October 1984, as the second part of a one-hour game show block with ''
Trivia Trap
''Trivia Trap'' is an American game show produced by Mark Goodson Productions. It was created by producer Goodson and originally ran from October 8, 1984 to April 5, 1985 on ABC. The game featured two teams of three contestants each competing again ...
'' (later ''
All-Star Blitz
''All-Star Blitz'' is an American game show that aired on ABC from April 8 to December 20, 1985, with reruns airing on the USA Network from March 31 to December 26, 1986. Peter Marshall was the host and John Harlan was the announcer for the ser ...
'') as its lead-in, hoping to make a dent in the ratings of ''
The Price Is Right
''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...
,'' coincidentally another Goodson-packaged show.
Despite the ratings decline, there was some interest in keeping the show in production. In a 2010 interview, Dawson recalled a meeting with executives from Viacom about renewing the show for one more season after 1985. Dawson was growing tired of the grueling taping schedule and initially wanted to stop altogether. After discussing the situation with ABC and Viacom, Dawson said that he would return for a final syndicated season of thirty-nine weeks of episodes but would not continue doing the daytime series. After this, Dawson did not hear from Viacom for approximately a week and once they contacted him again, Dawson was told that Viacom was no longer interested in continuing the syndicated ''Feud'' beyond the 1984–85 season. Viacom made this official in January 1985 ahead of that year's
NATPE
The National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) is a professional association of television and emerging media executives. The organization was established in 1963.
NATPE implements its mission by providing members with educati ...
convention, and within a few weeks, ABC, probably prompted by Viacom's decision, decided that it too would not renew ''Feud'' for the 1985–86 season. The daytime version came to an end on June 14, 1985.
The final week was taped a month prior, on May 16. Newspapers via ''
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
'' reported that this version was slated to end on June 28. However, for reasons undisclosed, it ended two weeks prior to that instead. The syndicated version aired its last new episode on May 17, 1985, with reruns continuing to air until September 1986.
1988–1995
''Family Feud'' moved to CBS with Ray Combs hosting the show on July 4, 1988 at 10:00 a.m. (ET)/9:00 a.m. (CT/MT/PT), replacing ''
The $25,000 Pyramid
''Pyramid'' is the collective name of a series of American television game shows that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The original series, ''The $10,000 Pyramid'', debuted on March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequ ...
'' (which had aired continuously in that time slot since September 1982, except between January and April 1988, when ''
Blackout'' took its place; CBS began development on ''Family Feud'' shortly after ''Blackout'' was canceled). Like its predecessor, this version also had an accompanying syndicated edition which launched in September of that year.
The CBS version started off with good ratings, particularly with women, but struggled to sustain that momentum. The changing landscape of daytime television, with most network affiliates pre-empting network shows in favor of syndicated programming, plus the decline of game shows as a genre at the time, began to hurt ''Feud'', and many CBS affiliates dropped the program from their lineups. It moved to 10:30/9:30 in January 1991 to make room for a short-lived talk show starring
Barbara De Angelis
Barbara De Angelis (born March 4, 1951) is an American relationship consultant, lecturer and author, TV personality, relationship, personal growth adviser and spiritual teacher.
Biography
De Angelis received a Ph.D. in psychology from Columbia P ...
. At that time frame, it replaced the daytime ''Wheel of Fortune'', which moved back to NBC after a two-year run on CBS hosted by
Bob Goen
Robert Kuehl Goen (born December 1, 1954) is an American game show emcee and television personality, best known for his work on ''Entertainment Tonight'' between 1993 and 2004 and as the fourth and final host of the daytime ''Wheel of Fortune'' fr ...
but still featuring Vanna White.
In June 1992, the network version expanded from its original half-hour format to a full hour, and was retitled ''The Family Feud Challenge'';
this new format featured three families per episode, which included two new families competing in the first half-hour for the right to play the returning champions in the second half. Early into the fifth season, however, CBS announced it would no longer program the 10:00 a.m. ET timeslot starting in the fall of 1993, effectively cancelling ''Feud''. ''The Family Feud Challenge'' aired its final new episode on March 26, 1993, with reruns airing until September 10 of that year.
The syndicated ''Feud'', however, remained in production and entered its sixth season in the fall of 1993. The show, however, had dealt with a consistent ratings downturn for several years. It initially secured time frames in desirable hours, such as the Prime Time Access hour, but stations quickly found other programming, such as ''
A Current Affair
''A Current Affair'' may refer to:
* ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network
* ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...
'', ''
Inside Edition
''Inside Edition'' is an American news broadcasting newsmagazine program that is distributed in first-run syndication by CBS Media Ventures. Having premiered on January 9, 1989, it is the longest-running syndicated-newsmagazine program that is no ...
'' and ''
Hard Copy
''Hard Copy'' is an American tabloid television show that ran in syndication from 1989 to 1999. ''Hard Copy'' was aggressive in its use of questionable material on television, including gratuitous violence.
The original hosts of ''Hard Copy'' ...
'', intended to draw higher ratings, particularly among younger, more desirable viewers, and sought these shows to replace ''Feud''. Some stations dropped the show, while others relocated it to lower-rated time frames such as late night and early morning slots. This resulted in ''Feud's'' ratings bottoming out in the 1992–93 season and its distributor,
All American Television
All American Television (later known as All American Communications Television) was a television syndication company active from 1981 to 1998. It was founded by Anthony J. Scotti, Ben Scotti, and Syd Vinnedge. The company was known for producing ...
informed Mark Goodson Productions that unless there was an uptick in ratings or changes were made to the program, they would cancel it at the end of the 1993–94 season.
The responsibility for this was all in the hands of
Jonathan Goodson
Jonathan Michael Goodson (born August 20, 1945) is an American television producer who specializes in game shows. He is the son of legendary game show producer Mark Goodson and began his television career in 1973 as chief counsel of Goodson-Todm ...
, who had taken over his father's company when Mark Goodson died in 1992. One of the options considered was a host change, with original ''Feud'' host Richard Dawson’s name being repeatedly mentioned as an option.
The consideration of Dawson as host was a reversal of policy, since Mark Goodson had refused to consider Dawson as host for the revival series and had remained loyal to Combs from the moment he hired him. There were also many staffers from the original series that were working on the revival, including executive producer Howard Felsher with whom Dawson had significant friction. As a result, there were many lingering bad feelings over Dawson’s behavior and there was relative unease over the idea of him returning to ''Feud''.
Jonathan Goodson felt that a change was necessary in order to keep the show in production, so he contacted Dawson about returning. Dawson, who had largely retired from show business by 1993, agreed to terms on a contract and All-American Television decided to renew the syndicated ''Feud'' for at least one more year. Combs, who was upset over his firing, finished the remainder of the 1993–94 season as host with his final episodes taping in early 1994. After the last taping session concluded, Combs left the studio without saying goodbye to anyone.
A revamped ''Family Feud'' returned for a seventh season in September 1994, with Dawson returning as the host. The show expanded from thirty to sixty minutes, reinstated the ''Family Feud Challenge'' format, and did various other things to try to improve ratings such as modernizing the set, featuring families that had previously been champions on the original ''Feud'', and having more themed weeks. Although Dawson did bring a brief ratings surge when he came back, the show could not sustain it long term and ''Feud'' came to a conclusion at the end of the season, with Dawson retiring permanently afterward. Its final new episode aired on May 26, 1995, with reruns airing until September 8 of that year and repeated failures to come to an agreement with various syndicators kept it off the air for nearly the next four years.
Outside of the show Ray Combs, whose life was falling apart due to financial ruin caused in large measure by the
typecasting
In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...
he incurred as host of ''Feud,'' never found other show-business employment and
committed suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including major depressive disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic f ...
on June 2, 1996 by hanging himself in a Glendale psychiatric ward.
1999–present
![SteveHarveyHWOFMay2013 (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/SteveHarveyHWOFMay2013_%28cropped%29.jpg)
''Family Feud'' returned in syndication on September 20, 1999, with comedian Louie Anderson as the next host.
Three years later, Richard Karn took over the show. The format was changed to reintroduce returning champions, allowing them to appear for up to five days.
Anderson-hosted episodes continued in reruns that aired on
PAX TV/Ion Television. Karn hosted the show for four years until he was replaced by John O'Hurley in 2006 and Steve Harvey in 2010.
The show's
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
were at 1.5, putting it in danger of cancellation once again (as countless affiliates that carried the show from 1999 to 2010 aired it in daytime, graveyard or other low-rated time slots). Since Steve Harvey took over the show, ratings increased by as much as 40%, and within two short years, the show was rated at 4.0, and had become the fifth-most-popular syndicated program.
Fox News
The Fox News Channel, abbreviated FNC, commonly known as Fox News, and stylized in all caps, is an American multinational conservative cable news television channel based in New York City. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is owne ...
' Paulette Cohn argued that Harvey's "relatability," or "understanding of what the people at home want to know," was what saved the show from cancellation;
Harvey himself debated, "If someone said an answer that was so ridiculous, I knew that the people at home behind the camera had to be going, 'What did they just say?' … They gave this answer that doesn't have a shot in hell of being up there. The fact that I recognize that, that's comedic genius to me. I think that's
hat made
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
the difference."
Steve Harvey's ''Family Feud'' has regularly ranked among the top 10 highest-rated programs in all of daytime television programming and third among game shows (behind ''Wheel of Fortune'' and ''Jeopardy!''); in February 2014, the show achieved a 6.0 share in the Nielsen ratings, with approximately 8.8 million viewers. In June 2015, ''Family Feud'' eclipsed ''Wheel of Fortune,'' which had been on top for over 30 years, as the most-watched syndicated game show on television, and consistently began ranking among the top three shows in all of syndication. The show has had improved syndication clearances and better timeslots. It has been airing in early fringe and prime access slots nationwide.
Reruns of episodes hosted by Dawson, Combs, Anderson, and Karn have been included among
Buzzr
Buzzr is an American digital terrestrial television, digital broadcast television network owned by Fremantle North America, a unit of the Fremantle (company), Fremantle subsidiary of RTL Group. The network serves as an outlet for the extensive li ...
's acquisitions since its launch on June 1, 2015. In 2019, reruns of the Karn-hosted episodes started airing on
Up TV
UP TV (stylized as UPtv; formerly GMC TV and originally Gospel Music Channel) is an American basic cable television network that was founded to have a focus on gospel music. It has expanded into family-friendly original movies, series, and special ...
during the morning hours.
Production of ''Family Feud'' was shifted from
Universal Orlando
Universal Orlando Resort, commonly known as Universal Orlando or simply Universal, formerly Universal Studios Escape, is an American theme park and entertainment resort complex based in Orlando, Florida. The resort is operated by Universal Par ...
to Harvey's hometown of
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
in 2011, first staged at the
Atlanta Civic Center
The Atlanta Civic Center was a theater located in Atlanta, Georgia. It closed in 2014. The theater, which seats 4,600, regularly hosted touring productions of Broadway musicals, concerts, seminars, comedy acts, and high school graduations and ...
and later at the
Georgia World Congress Center
The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) is a convention center in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Enclosing some 3.9 million ft2 (360,000 m2) in exhibition space and hosting more than a million visitors each year, the GWCC is the worl ...
. Harvey was also originating a
syndicated radio show
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and radio programs to multiple television stations and radio stations, without going through a broadcast network. It is common in the United States where ...
from Atlanta, and the state of Georgia provided
tax credit
A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "disc ...
s for the production. In 2017, production moved to
Los Angeles Center Studios
Los Angeles Center Studios, located in the Westlake District of Los Angeles, California, is a multipurpose facility in the former Unocal Center building (opened as Union Oil Center in April 1958) next to the 110 Freeway. Architect William Perei ...
(later moved again to
Universal Studios Hollywood
Universal Studios Hollywood is a film studio and theme park
An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusemen ...
and later still to
CBS Studio Center
Radford Studio Center, alternatively CBS Studio Center, is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. The lot has 18 sound stages from , of office space, and 223 dressing rooms. T ...
) in Los Angeles to accommodate Harvey's new syndicated talk show ''
Steve'', returning production of the regular series to Los Angeles for the first time since 2010.
In November 2019, Harvey started production in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
for that country's version. It aired for the first time on Sunday, April 5, 2020. In conjunction, a website was launched, dedicated to the region to catch up on previous episodes, submit entries and engage from a local perspective.
In March 2020, after initially announcing that production would continue with no studio audience, Fremantle suspended production of all of its programs (including ''Family Feud'') due to the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In August 2020, ''Family Feud'' returned to production, returning to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
after several years in
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and with health and safety protocols (including
social distancing
In public health, social distancing, also called physical distancing, (NB. Regula Venske is president of the PEN Centre Germany.) is a set of non-pharmaceutical interventions or measures intended to prevent the spread of a contagious disea ...
and no studio audience) being enforced. Since 2021, the series was filmed at
Trilith Studios
Trilith Studios is an American film and television production studio located south of Atlanta in Fayette County, Georgia. Originally known as Pinewood Atlanta Studios, the studio has been used to produce many films and television programs, particu ...
in
Fayetteville, Georgia
Fayetteville is a city in and the county seat of Fayette County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 18,957, up from 15,945 at the 2010 census. Fayetteville is located south of downtown Atlanta.
In 2015 ...
.
Reception
''Family Feud'' won the
in 1977 and 2019, Outstanding Directing for a Game Show and the show has won the
Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host, once with Dawson in 1978 and thrice with Harvey in 2014, 2017 and 2022. ''Feud'' ranked number 3 on
Game Show Network
Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revive ...
(GSN)'s 2006 list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time, and also on ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
''s 2013 list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.
Tara Ariano and
Sarah D. Bunting
Sarah D. Bunting, also known online as Sars, is known as an American writer and journalist, and a co-founder of Television Without Pity (TWoP). She has written for a number of magazines and journals, and has received coverage for her website To ...
, founders of the website
Television Without Pity
Television Without Pity (often abbreviated TWoP) was a website that provided detailed recaps of select television dramas, situation comedies and reality TV shows along with discussion forums. These recaps were written with sarcastic criticism an ...
, wrote that they hated the 1999 syndicated version, saying "Give us classic ''Feud'' every time", citing both Dawson and Combs as hosts. Additionally, they called Anderson an "alleged sexual harasser and full-time sphere".
Since Harvey became host, the show has become notorious for questions and responses that are sexual in nature, with content frequently referring to certain anatomy or acts of intercourse.
This type of material has drawn criticism from viewers, including former ''
NCIS'' actress
Pauley Perrette
Pauley Perrette (born March 27, 1969) is an American retired actress and singer. She played Abby Sciuto in the television series '' NCIS'' from 2003 to 2018.
Early life
Perrette was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised throughout the so ...
, who in 2018 sent a series of tweets to ''Family Feud'' producers questioning why the show had to be "so filthy."
Dan Gainor of the
Media Research Center
The Media Research Center (MRC), formerly known as Culture and Media Institute (CMI), is an American conservative content analysis and media watchdog group based in Reston, Virginia, and founded in 1987 by L. Brent Bozell III.
The CMI promoted ...
, a politically conservative content analysis organization, suggested that the responses are in line with sexual content becoming more commonplace on television.
The popularity of ''Family Feud'' in the United States has led it to become a
worldwide franchise, with over 50 adaptations outside the United States. Countries that have aired their own versions of the show include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, Poland, Russia, Thailand, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Vietnam, among others.
Merchandise
Since the show's premiere in 1976, many home versions of ''Family Feud'' have been released in various formats.
Milton Bradley
Milton Bradley (November 8, 1836 – May 30, 1911) was an American business magnate, game pioneer and publisher, credited by many with launching the board game industry, with his eponymous enterprise, which was purchased by Hasbro in 1984, and ...
, Pressman Games, and Endless Games have all released traditional board games based on the show, while
Imagination Entertainment released the program in a DVD game format.
The game has been released in other formats by multiple companies;
Coleco Adam
The Coleco Adam is a home computer and expansion device for the ColecoVision released in 1983 by American toy and video game manufacturer Coleco. It was an attempt to follow on the success of the company's ColecoVision video game console. The Ad ...
released the first computer version of the show in 1983, and Sharedata followed in 1987 with versions for
MS-DOS
MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...
,
Commodore 64
The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...
, and
Apple II
The Apple II (stylized as ) is an 8-bit home computer and one of the world's first highly successful mass-produced microcomputer products. It was designed primarily by Steve Wozniak; Jerry Manock developed the design of Apple II's foam-m ...
computers.
GameTek
GameTek was an American video game publisher based in North Miami Beach, Florida known for publishing video game adaptations of game shows in the late 1980s and early 1990s. GameTek was a trade name for IJE, the owner of electronic publishing rig ...
released versions for
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in America ...
,
Super NES
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in E ...
,
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
,
3DO, and PC (on
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...
) between 1990 and 1995.
Hasbro Interactive
Hasbro Interactive was an American video game developer, video game production and video game publisher, publishing subsidiary of Hasbro, the large game and toy company. Several of its studios were closed in early 2001 and most of its properties ...
released a version in 2000 for the PC and
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
. In 2006, versions were released for
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...
,
Game Boy Advance
The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, 2 ...
, and PC.
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
-based Mobliss Inc. also released a mobile version of ''Family Feud'' that was available on Sprint, Verizon, and Cingular.
Glu Mobile
Glu Mobile LLC is an American developer and publisher of video games for mobile phones and tablet computers. Founded in San Francisco, California, in 2004, Glu offers products to multiple platforms including Java ME-based devices, Android, Wind ...
later released a newer mobile version of ''Family Feud'' for other carriers.
In conjunction with
Ludia
Ludia is a video game developer based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that creates and distributes cross-platform digital games with mass consumer appeal. Ludia produces original and branded properties based on game shows, television series, movies, ...
,
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...
has published ''Family Feud'' video games for multiple platforms. The first of these was entitled ''Family Feud: 2010 Edition'' and was released for the
Wii
The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...
,
Nintendo DS
The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
, and
PC in September 2009. Ubisoft then released ''Family Feud Decades'' the next year, which featured sets and survey questions from television versions of all four decades the show has been on air. A third game, entitled ''Family Feud: 2012 Edition'' was released for the Wii and
Xbox 360
The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...
in 2011. A fourth game, produced by Ubisoft and developed by Snap Finger Click, was released for the
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...
,
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...
,
Nintendo Switch
The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...
, and
Stadia
Stadia may refer to:
* One of the plurals of stadium, along with "stadiums"
* The plural of stadion, an ancient Greek unit of distance, which equals to 600 Greek feet (''podes'').
* Stadia (Caria), a town of ancient Caria, now in Turkey
* Stadi ...
in 2020.
In addition to the home games, a DVD set titled ''All-Star Family Feud starring Richard Dawson'' was released on January 8, 2008, by BCI Eclipse LLC Home Entertainment (under license from
Fremantle
Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...
USA) and featured a total of 43 segments taken from 21 special celebrity episodes from the original
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
/syndicated versions on its four discs, uncut and remastered from original 2” videotapes for optimal video presentation and sound quality. It was reissued as ''The Best of All-Star Family Feud'' on February 2, 2010.
International versions
See also
* ''
All Star Family Feud
''All Star Family Feud'' was an Australian game show which aired on Network Ten from 14 March 2016 until 6 May 2018. The series, which is a spin off of ''Family Feud'', sees celebrities compete in teams to raise money for their chosen charity. '' ...
''
* ''
Family Fortunes
''Family Fortunes'' is a British television game show based on the American game show ''Family Feud''. The programme ran on ITV from 6 January 1980 to 30 December 2002. A celebrity version, ''All Star Family Fortunes'', followed from 2006 to 2 ...
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Google Feud''
References
Works cited
External links
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Current Production website*
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{{Family Feud, state=expanded
1976 American television series debuts
1985 American television series endings
1988 American television series debuts
1995 American television series endings
1999 American television series debuts
1970s American game shows
1980s American game shows
1990s American game shows
2000s American game shows
2010s American game shows
2020s American game shows
American game shows
American Broadcasting Company original programming
CBS original programming
English-language television shows
First-run syndicated television programs in the United States
Television series by CBS Studios
Television series by 20th Century Fox Television
Television series by Fremantle (company)
Television series by Lionsgate Television
Television series by Mark Goodson-Bill Todman Productions
Television series by Tribune Entertainment
Television productions suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic
American television series revived after cancellation
American television spin-offs
Television series impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic