Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1988)

Directed by

Chris Bould

Genre

panel game, humor

Country

United Kingdom

Length

10 seasons, 136 episodes

Rated

TV-PG

Rating

7.7 of 10 from 73 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

A host leads a panel of four comedians through a series of improv games. The performers act out made-up scenes based on random suggestions from the host or the audience.

playfulfast-pacedspontaneousimprovisedcomiclightheartedinteractivewitty

What happens

Whose Line Is It Anyway? (shortened to Whose Line? or WLIIA) is a short-form improvisational comedy television panel show created by Dan Patterson and Mark Leveson, presented by Clive Anderson, and produced for Channel 4 between 23 September 1988 and 4 February 1999. The programme features a panel of four performers (six in the Christmas special) conducting a series of short-form improvisation games, creating comedic scenes per predetermined situations made by Anderson or from suggestions by the audience. Such games include creating sound effects, performing a scene to different television and film styles, using props, and making up a song on the spot. The programme originally began as a short-lived BBC radio programme, before the concept was adapted for television. During its history, the programme featured a variety of noted comedians from Britain, America and Canada. Notable performers during the show's run included John Sessions, Stephen Fry, Josie Lawrence, Paul Merton, Tony Slattery, Rory Bremner, Archie Hahn, Mike McShane, Sandi Toksvig, Greg Proops, Ryan Stiles, Colin Mochrie, Jim Sweeney, Steve Steen, Stephen Frost, Chip Esten, Brad Sherwood, Caroline Quentin and Wayne Brady. The programme was mainly recorded in Britain, though several episodes of series 3 and 4 were made in New York, while the tenth and final series was shot entirely in California on the same set as the American version. The success of Whose Line? spawned several domestic and international adaptations. The American version, featuring several of the same performers as the British version, aired on ABC between 1998 and 2007, and was revived on The CW from 2013 to 2024. A short-lived Australian version ran on The Comedy Channel during 2016. Two similarly themed British comedy programmes, Mock the Week (2005–2022, 2026-present) and Fast and Loose (2011), were created by Patterson. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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