Just for Laughs Gags
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Just for Laughs: Gags | |
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File:Just for Laughs Gags Logo.png | |
Also known as | Just for Laughs |
Genre | Comedy |
Created by | Pierre Girard Jacques Chevalier |
Country of origin | Canada |
Original languages | Silent French English |
No. of seasons | 20 (as of 2020) |
No. of episodes | 3000+ |
Production | |
Producer | Just for Laughs |
Production locations | Canada (cities of Quebec, Montreal and Vancouver) Mexico |
Running time | 15 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | TVA CBC The Comedy Network TVOntario (Canada) |
Release | 26 December 2000 present | –
Related | |
Just for Laughs Candid Camera |
Just for Laughs: Gags (in French, Juste pour rire: Les Gags) is a Canadian silent comedy/hidden camera reality television show that is under the Just for Laughs brand.[1]
Start of the show
On 26 December 2000, JFL: Gags began airing on French Canadian network Canal D. In the following years, the show was picked up by TVA, CBC and The Comedy Network in Canada, BBC1 in the UK, TF1 in France and ABC and Telemundo in the United States; the Canadian version (unlike the ones produced for ABC) aired in the United States in first-run syndication starting in the fall of 2015. That version is distributed by PPI Partners and is available in both weekday strip and weekend runs.[2]
Production
The series uses a hidden camera format, playing pranks on unsuspecting subjects while hidden cameras capture the subjects' responses; each episode presents multiple gags. While some segments have included brief dialogue, most do not contain any sound or dialogue; the audio is replaced with sound effects, a laugh track, and public domain music.
Most segments are filmed in Montreal, while some have been filmed in Quebec City, Vancouver and Mexico. British and Asian versions have been produced in the UK and Singapore, respectively. In 2011 the show spawned a spinoff, Just Kidding, which consists exclusively of kids playing pranks on adults.
Public reception
With its silent format and no translation required (outside of gag set-up commentary which is easily localized), Just for Laughs: Gags has been purchased for use in over 100 countries throughout the world as well as in airports and by airlines. Reactions to the gags range from "inane"[3] to cross-culturally funny.[4] The same distributors also distribute Surprise Sur Prise, a similar show.
Expansion
In March 2011, Just for Laughs Gags entered into a partnership with Montreal-based, entertainment site, Videobash.com[5] and now have their own devoted channel there. (No video has been posted as of this writing.)
Cast
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2014) |
This section requires specific casting related to Just for Laughs: Gags.[6]
- Claude Talbot;
- Dany Many;
- Denis Levasseur;
- Denise Jacques;
- Francis Gio Santiago;
- Jack Martin;
- Jacques Drolet;
- Jean Guimond;
- Jean Kohnen;
- Jean-Pierre Alarie;
- Jean Provencher;
- Keith Law;
- Kirsteen O'Sullivan;
- Marie-Andrée Poulin;
- Marie-Ève Larivière;
- Marie-Pierre Bouchard;
- Nadja David;
- Pascal Babin;
- Philippe Bond;
- Richard Ledoux;
- Sonia Butterworth.
Pranks
In the opening of each prank, the actors introduce how the prank was done and how it will be shown as well. Below, just some few illustrative examples from the thousands of pranks filmed for the 3000+ episodes include:
- Alien in the bushes: as people pass by a street, bushes shake uttering a strange language. As they try to check it, an alien pops out and chases them away;
- Hand out of the coffin: a coffin is abandoned in a park and when people pass by, a hand pops out;
- Stolen tires: an elderly lady asks bystanders to help her carry two tires to her car. But as they do so, they pass a police vehicle which is missing them. They tell the officer that they were the lady's and they were helping her take it to her car but as they look back, she was nowhere to be found;
- Dead bird in a race: people passing are asked to fire a starting pistol to help start a race. Once they give a shot in the air, a pigeon falls down;
- Honking at Hookers: a traffic police officer stops drivers and checks their license. Two hot prostitutes walk by and the officer honks a horn and the women appear to believe the drivers honked at them.
- Instant Accomplice: stranger's friend or loved ones take part on a prank.
At the end of every prank, the hidden cameras are revealed. During the pranks, actors would also participate as victims for uninvolved bystanders or crowds.
List of pranks
This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2014) |
To see the following list of pranks and its season of Just for Laughs Gags based in Canada, see List of pranks and its seasons on Just for Laughs Gags.
International versions
Country | Name | Network | Aired |
---|---|---|---|
Finland | Pilanpäiten | MTV3 | 2001 – present |
United Kingdom | Just for Laughs | BBC One | 31 May 2003 – 21 July 2007 |
Sri Lanka | Matama Hina | Siyatha TV | 14 April 2017 – present |
United States | Just for Laughs | ABC and Telemundo First-run syndication |
17 July 2007 – 12 July 2009 September 2015 – present |
Singapore | Just for Laughs Gags Asia and Just for Laughs Gags | MediaCorp Channel 5 and DIVA Asia | 12 January 2010 – present |
Japan | Just for Laughs | Fox | 2011 – present |
Philippines | Just for Laughs Gags | GMA Network, | 5 November 2011 – August 2012 |
Russia | Radi Smeha (in Russian, Ради Смеха) | Ren TV | 2012 – present |
Kazakhstan | Tek Kúlki úshin (in Kazakh, Тек Күлкі Үшін) | NTK TV | 2008 – present |
Turkey | Komikler (Just for Laughs Gags) | Kanal D | 2012 – present |
Azerbaijan | Just for Laughs Gags | Lider TV | 2005 – 2016 |
Morocco | Just for Laughs Gags | 2M TV | 2010s – present |
Brazil | Só Risos (Only Laughs) Vídeos incríveis (Incredible Videos) |
Rede Bandeirantes de Televisão (terrestrial TV) | 15 July 2013 – present |
Pegadinhas (Pranks) | Viva (pay TV) | 5 January 2013 – present | |
Kazakhstan | Тек Күлкі Үшін | HTK | 2012 – present |
Hong Kong | 笑笑大搞作 | ATV | 2007 |
Taiwan | 歡樂夏夏叫 | Videoland Television Network | |
Kenya | Just for Laughs Gags | KTN | |
Kosovo | Kamera e Fshehur | RTK | 20?? – present |
Croatia | Skrivena kamera Žuta minuta |
RTL Television | 2010 – present |
India | Just for Laughs Gags | Zee Cafe, Zee Trendz, Zee Studio and Pogo | 1 January 2004 – present |
Pakistan | Just for Laughs Gags | Cartoon Network Filmax |
2008 – 2010 2014 – present |
Serbia | Skrivena kamera-Скривена Камера | Prva Srpska Televizija
Radio Television of Serbia |
2010 – present
2017 – present |
Malaysia | Just for Laughs Gags and Just for Laughs Gags Asia | TV3, NTV7, Disney Channel Asia, DIVA Asia, Astro Ceria & Comedy Central | 1 January 2005 – present |
Poland | Ale numer! | TV Puls | 2007 – present |
South Africa | Just for Laughs Gags | Comedy Central Africa | 2012 – present |
Portugal | Não há crise! (There's no crisis!) | SIC | 2008 – present |
Greece | Just for Laughs | Makedonia TV | 2009 – 2016 |
Mexico | Sólo para Reir (Just for Laughs) | Canal 5 (Mexico) | 2011 – present |
Peru | |||
Bosnia and Herzegovina | Just for Laughs Gags Skrivena kamera |
Face TV FTV |
2015 – present 12 July 2017 – 30 September 2017 |
Vietnam | Just for Laughs Gags
Đùa chút thôi or Cười lên nào |
VTC7,VTC11 | 2011 – 2012 |
Vui là chính | HTV7 | 2006 | |
Đùa chút thôi | VTV6 | 2013 - 2014 | |
Lithuania | Just for Laughs Gags Pričiupom! |
BTV Info TV |
2019 – present |
Just for Laughs (American TV series)
Just for Laughs | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy |
Created by | Rick Miller |
Directed by | Troy Miller |
Presented by | Rick Miller |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
No. of seasons | 3 |
No. of episodes | 35 |
Production | |
Executive producer | Troy Miller |
Production location | Warner Brothers Studios |
Camera setup | Single-camera |
Running time | 23 minutes |
Original release | |
Network | ABC |
Release | 17 July 2007 12 July 2009 | –
Just for Laughs is an American sketch comedy show hosted by Rick Miller produced by Dakota Pictures that shows clips from the Canadian version of the show. Good ratings during the summer airings in 2007 and a writer's union strike resulted in ABC adding the show to the network lineup as a mid-season replacement for 2007-2008. It returned to the schedule on 1 January 2008, before being canceled on 12 May 2008. However, on 4 June 2009, it was announced that a third season would begin airing on 21 June 2009.[7] Program Partners brought the show back to the United States for a fourth season beginning in fall 2015; this season aired in first-run syndication.[8]
Seasonal Nielsen ratings
Seasonal ratings based on average total viewers per episode of Just for Laughs on ABC:
Season | Episodes | Timeslot (EDT) | Season Premiere | Season Finale | TV Season | Rank | Viewers (in millions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 17 | Tuesday 8:00 PM | 17 July 2007 | 6 November 2007 | 2006-2007 | #111 | 7.06 |
2 | 14 | Tuesday 8:00 PM | 1 January 2008 | 1 April 2008 | 2007-2008 | #156 | 4.93 |
3 | 4 | Sunday 7:30 PM | 21 June 2009 | 12 July 2009 | 2008-2009 | #150 | 3.90 |
Season 1 (2007)
No. overall |
No. in season |
Original Airdate |
---|---|---|
1 | 1 | 17 July 2007 |
2 | 2 | 24 July 2007 |
3 | 3 | 31 July 2007 |
4 | 4 | 7 August 2007 |
5 | 5 | 14 August 2007 |
6 | 6 | 21 August 2007 |
7 | 7 | 28 August 2007 |
8 | 8 | 4 September 2007 |
9 | 9 | 11 September 2007 |
10 | 10 | 18 September 2007 |
11 | 11 | 25 September 2007 |
12 | 12 | 2 October 2007 |
13 | 13 | 9 October 2007 |
14 | 14 | 16 October 2007 |
15 | 15 | 23 October 2007 |
16 | 16 | 30 October 2007 |
17 | 17 | 6 November 2007 |
Season 2 (2008)
No. overall |
No. in season |
Original Airdate |
---|---|---|
18 | 1 | 1 January 2008 |
19 | 2 | 8 January 2008 |
20 | 3 | 15 January 2008 |
21 | 4 | 22 January 2008 |
22 | 5 | 29 January 2008 |
23 | 6 | 5 February 2008 |
24 | 7 | 12 February 2008 |
25 | 8 | 19 February 2008 |
26 | 9 | 26 February 2008 |
27 | 10 | 4 March 2008 |
28 | 11 | 11 March 2008 |
29 | 12 | 18 March 2008 |
30 | 13 | 25 March 2008 |
31 | 14 | 1 April 2008 |
Season 3 (2009)
No. overall |
No. in season |
Original Airdate |
---|---|---|
32 | 1 | 21 June 2009 |
33 | 2 | 28 June 2009 |
34 | 3 | 5 July 2009 |
35 | 4 | 12 July 2009 |
Home media
- Just for Laughs Gags 1
- Just for Laughs Gags 2
References
- ^ Just for Laughs: Gags "This crazy Quebec-based troupe uses the city as its stage, and its inhabitants, or victims, as characters! People are caught in a twisted yet funny web of comedic deception. This updated Candid Camera is a tad more risque and a little kookier with its practical jokes. The little snippets last only a few minutes, and some look more painful than others."
- ^ "THE WHOLE WORLD'S LAUGHING WITH PPI. JUST FOR LAUGHS GAGS CLEARS 75% FOR SEPTEMBER 2015" from PPI (March 2015)
- ^ Keyan Tomaselli Cultural Tourism and Identity: Rethinking Indigeneity 2012 – Page 29 "The inane Just for Laughs candid camera on the drop-down video screen is interspersed with silent movies on the … Mick Francis … responded to this note: "as a Canadian I must apologize for the Just for Laughs show as it a strange Canadian export filmed in the late 1980s and mysteriously shown around the world" (Francis, personal communication, October 2008).."
- ^ Ray Wiss A Line in the Sand: Canadians at War in Kandahar 2010 Page 249 "It was an episode of Gags from the Just for Laughs organization in Montreal. For those who have not seen this, it is reminiscent of Candid Camera: the comedians set up an outlandish situation on a city street or in a mall and capture people's reactions. The Afghans got the jokes and laughed as hard as I did."
- ^ "Videobash JFL Channel". Videobash. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ "Just for Laughs Gags Cast and Crew" IMDb.
- ^ "ABC Revives "Just for Laughs"". The Futon Critic. 4 June 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
- ^ "NATPE 2015: Fall 2015 Syndication; Buzzr TV: New Game Show Multicast Network Launches This Summer" from Sitcoms Online (22 January 2015)
External links
- Just For Laughs Gags Official YouTube Channel
- Just Kidding Official YouTube Channel
- Template:Tv.com show
- Just for Laughs Gags Channel on Videobash.com
also at:
- 2000 Canadian television series debuts
- Culture of Quebec City
- Television series produced in Quebec
- Television series produced in Montreal
- Television series produced in Vancouver
- CBC Television original programming
- Hidden camera television series
- CTV Comedy Channel original programming
- Just for Laughs
- 2000s Canadian comedy television series
- 2010s Canadian comedy television series
- 2007 American television series debuts
- 2009 American television series endings
- 2000s American comedy television series
- American Broadcasting Company original programming
- English-language television shows