October 17, 1966 – present
Hollywood Squares (originally The Hollywood Square) is an American game show in which two contestants compete in a game of tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The show originally aired as a pilot on NBC in 1965, and debuted on that network as a regular series in October 1966. The board for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity seated at a desk and facing the contestants. The stars are asked questions by the host and the contestants judge the truth of their answers to gain squares in the right pattern to win the game.
Though Hollywood Squares was a legitimate game show, the game largely acted as the background for the show's comedy in the form of joke answers (commonly called "zingers" by the production staff), often given by the stars prior to their real answer. The show's writers usually supplied the jokes. In addition, the stars were given the questions' subjects and bluffs prior to the show. The show was scripted in this sense, but the gameplay was not. The original host Peter Marshall explained at the beginning of the Secret Square game, "the celebrities were briefed before the show to help them with bluff answers, but they are hearing the actual questions for the first time."
Marshall hosted the original version of Hollywood Squares that aired on NBC from 1966 to 1980, as well as a nighttime syndicated version that ran from 1971 to 1981. It then returned to NBC in 1983 as part of a 60-minute hybrid series with Match Game, featuring Jon Bauman hosting the Hollywood Squares portion of that show. Following Marshall's retirement, the show has since been revived twice in syndication: a version hosted by John Davidson from 1986 to 1989, and another hosted by Tom Bergeron from 1998 to 2004. Three revivals were run in the 2010's with a different title all on Paramount cable channels; in 2012, Hip Hop Squares on MTV2 with Peter Rosenberg, and from 2017–19 on VH1 with DeRay Davis, in 2019, Nashville Squares on CMT with Bob Saget, and in 2023, Celebrity Squares on VH1 with John "DC Young Fly" Whitfield.
In 2013, TV Guide ranked it at No. 7 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever. Internationally, there have been multiple versions produced under a variety of names (see International versions below). When combined with two spinoffs of the franchise, the show has been produced for seven different decades.
In May 2024, it was announced that the show would be revived by CBS (which has owned the rights to the program since 2000, when it acquired format owner King World), with Drew Barrymore serving as the center square, and Nate Burleson as host. The show aired on January 9, 2025.
Storyline
Sound Effects Used
- Another Series of Crowd Sounds (2002-2004 and 2025 CBS versions)
- Hollywoodedge, Ascending Whistles CRT057901 (Heard when the contestant opens the safe/steamer trunk.)
- Hollywoodedge, Bottle Rocket 2 Picco PE098501 (2002-2004 edition)
- Hollywoodedge, Car Horn Musical Tru CRT021401
- Hollywoodedge, Highpitched Electr CRT035801 (Heard as one of the secret square reveals in the 2003-04 season.)
- Hollywoodedge, Medium Length Gliss CRT015101 (Heard when the contestant opens the safe/steamer trunk.)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, WHISTLE - SIREN WHISTLE, COMICAL
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, VOCAL - 'OH NO!', HUMAN 02 (2002-2004 edition)
- Sound Ideas, CARTOON, ZIP - RISING ZIPS
- Sound Ideas, MUSIC, BUGLE - WAH WAH BLUES 02 (Heard only when the contestant picks the wrong key after turning it inside the keyhole of the safe/steamer trunk.)
- Sound Ideas, ORCHESTRA BELLS - GLISS, UP, MUSIC, PERCUSSION
- Sound Ideas, RICOCHET - CARTOON RICCO 03
- Sound Ideas, SCREAM - FEMALE, LONG, HUMAN, HORROR 01
- Sound Ideas, SIREN - TWO TONE SIREN, POLICE, AMBULANCE, FIRE TRUCK 01 (1998-2002 game show) (Happens when the secret square is selected.)