Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton
Graham Norton and four panelists playing "Would You Rather...?" on set
Graham Norton and four panelists play Would You Rather...?
Also known asWould You Rather...?
WYR...?
GenreComedy
Directed byAlexander Vietmeier
Presented byGraham Norton
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes13 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producersGraham Norton
Graham Stuart
Jim Biederman
Production locationManhattan Center
Running time30 minutes
Production companySo Television
Original release
NetworkBBC America
Release3 December 2011 (2011-12-03) –
25 February 2012 (2012-02-25)[1]
Related
The Graham Norton Show

Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton is a panel game hosted by Graham Norton on BBC America.[2] The show features a panel of American comedians and celebrities who answer "would you rather" questions in the style of the popular parlor game. An example of a question used on the program is, "Would you rather watch your parents have sex every day for a year, or join in once just to make it stop?"[3] The show premiered on 3 December 2011, in its regular time slot of Saturdays at 11 pm following The Graham Norton Show.[4]

Would You Rather...? is notable as being among BBC America's first efforts at original programming, as the channel initially focused on imports from the UK. The show is part of the channel's strategy to create new American programs as companions to the channel's established British hits, such as, in this case, The Graham Norton Show.[5] Would You Rather...? is also one of the few examples of the panel game genre in America, and it is the first panel game to air on BBC America.[6]

Each episode features four panelists who answer questions in three acts. Each question is worth five points, with a possible perfect total of 35.[7]

BBC America ordered 13 episodes of Would You Rather...? for series 1.[8] The episodes were recorded in New York at Manhattan Center in September and October 2011.[9] Panelists included Whoopi Goldberg, Cyndi Lauper, Stanley Tucci, Alan Cumming, Scott Adsit, Judah Friedlander, Baron Vaughn, Michael Ian Black, Mo Rocca, Eugene Mirman, Faith Salie, Dave Hill, Jessi Klein, Andrea Rosen, Christian Finnegan, Leo Allen, Hannibal Buress, Janet Varney, Joe Mande, Jordan Carlos, Michelle Buteau, Sam Seder and Sherrod Small.[2]

Reviews of the show have been generally positive. According to The New York Times' Neil Genzlinger, the show "proves that a fair amount of fun can be generated simply by putting people in chairs and letting them crack wise."[10] Variety's Brian Lowry called the show "a bit of loopy fun."[11] And The San Francisco Chronicle's David Wiegand said that, "As the silly questions, the sillier answers and Norton's ever-burbling laughter continue, we raise the white flag and start laughing."[12] But Media Life Magazine's Tom Conroy compares the show to panel games in the UK, saying the quips on Would You Rather...? "aren't as quick or clever as they would be on a similar British show."[13]

The program is produced by Norton's So Television and executive produced by Norton, Graham Stuart and Jim Biederman.[2] Stuart also executive produces The Graham Norton Show for So Television, the production company Norton and Stuart co-own.[14]

Episodes

As of February 18, 2012, 12 episodes have aired.[15]

No.TitlePanelistsOriginal air date
1"Episode 1"Stanley Tucci, Sherrod Small, Jordan Carlos and Scott Adsit3 December 2011 (2011-12-03)
2"Episode 2"Cyndi Lauper, Michelle Buteau, Christian Finnegan and Joe Mande3 December 2011 (2011-12-03)
3"Episode 3"Alan Cumming, Faith Salie, Scott Adsit and Dave Hill10 December 2011 (2011-12-10)
4"Episode 4"Mo Rocca, Andrea Rosen, Judah Friedlander and Hannibal Buress17 December 2011 (2011-12-17)
5"Episode 5"Eugene Mirman, Hannibal Buress, Mo Rocca and Andrea Rosen24 December 2011 (2011-12-24)
6"Episode 6"Stanley Tucci, Jordan Carlos, Scott Adsit and Faith Salie7 January 2012 (2012-01-07)
7"Episode 7"Faith Salie, Sherrod Small, Jessi Klein and Dave Hill14 January 2012 (2012-01-14)
8"Episode 8"Baron Vaughn, Christian Finnegan, Dave Hill and Jessi Klein21 January 2012 (2012-01-21)
9"Episode 9"Sam Seder, Jessi Klein, Christian Finnegan and Michelle Buteau28 January 2012 (2012-01-28)
10"Episode 10"Joe Mande, Jessi Klein, Christian Finnegan and Sam Seder4 February 2012 (2012-02-04)
11"Episode 11"Scott Adsit, Faith Salie, Alan Cumming and Dave Hill11 February 2012 (2012-02-11)
12"Episode 12"Judah Friedlander, Janet Varney, Michael Ian Black and Leo Allen18 February 2012 (2012-02-18)
13"Episode 13"Whoopi Goldberg, Janet Varney, Leo Allen and Michael Ian Black25 February 2012 (2012-02-25)

References

  1. ↑ "WOULD YOU RATHER? WITH GRAHAM NORTON".
  2. 1 2 3 "Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton". Media Room. BBC America. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  3. ↑ "Would You Rather...? Launch Trailer". BBC America. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  4. ↑ "Watch the Trailers & Get Details About Graham Norton's New Panel Show 'Would You Rather….?'". Britscene. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  5. ↑ McDonald, Andrew (14 November 2011). "BBC America sharpens original focus". Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  6. ↑ "WATCH: Your YouTube Guide to the British Panel Show". Anglophenia. BBC America. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  7. ↑ "About the Show". Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton. BBC America. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  8. ↑ "BBC America announces two original unscripted series and its first development slate". BBC Worldwide Americas. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  9. ↑ "Would You Rather...? with Graham Norton". The Black List New York City. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  10. ↑ Genzlinger, Neil (2 December 2011). "On This Game Show, There Is No Right Answer". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  11. ↑ Lowry, Brian (30 November 2011). "Would You Rather? with Graham Norton". Variety. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  12. ↑ Wiegand, David (2 December 2011). "'Would You Rather ...?' review: Silly, but funny". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  13. ↑ Conroy, Tom (1 December 2011). "'Would You Rather ...?,' rather not". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
  14. ↑ "BBC America Green Lights 'Would You Rather with Graham Norton?'". IFTN. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  15. ↑ "Season 1 - Seasons - Would You Rather? - BBC America". BBC America. Archived from the original on 14 January 2012. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
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