Double Dare (franchise)
Trivia and messy stunts for cash and prizes.
Double Dare is an American game show franchise where two teams answer trivia and perform messy stunts for cash and prizes. The original series aired from 1986 to 1993, with revivals in 2000 and from 2018 to 2019. The show was a huge hit for Nickelodeon, boosting the network's status in cable television and reviving children's game shows.
Quick Facts
- Genre
- Game show
- Creator
- Geoffrey Darby
- Michael Klinghoffer
- Dee LaDuke
- Robert Mittenthal
- Debby Beece (Family Double Dare)
- Presenter
- Marc Summers
- Jason Harris
- Liza Koshy
- Announcer
- Harvey
- Doc Holliday
- Tiffany Phillips
- Marc Summers
- Theme music
- Edd Kalehoff (1986–93, 2018–19); Rick Witkowski (2000)
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Episodes
- 482 (1986–93)
- 67 (2000)
- 61 (2018–19)
Facts from the source article.
Broadcast and production history
In the mid-1980s, production and consulting groups pitched the idea of a children's game show to Nickelodeon, which would be a first for the network. After conducting focus groups, Nickelodeon learned that kids liked watching game shows featuring adults but had no such program aimed at them. A team including Dee LaDuke, Robert Mittenthal, Michael Klinghoffer, and Geoffrey Darby created a format blending trivia, truth or dare, and the board game Mouse Trap. A pilot was taped in May 1986 with Darby as host. The show was approved, and Nickelodeon set its debut for June 5, 1986. Early host candidates included Soupy Sales and Dana Carvey. Sales was deemed too old, and Carvey got a chance to audition for Saturday Night Live, so the search continued. Producers reviewed over 1,000 applicants from New York and Los Angeles. Marc Summers, a warm-up comedian, first attended a tryout in place of a friend and then passed several auditions, becoming one of two finalists. Each finalist hosted a mock game for Nickelodeon to decide the host. Summers was hired in early September 1986 because producers felt his way of ending the game by transitioning into a commercial break was more polished. Focus groups thought Summers looked more than ten years younger than his actual age, so Nickelodeon required him, then 34, to keep his age private for years. For an announcer, producers learned about John Harvey, a Philadelphia radio host whose morning show on WIOQ had been canceled months earlier. He agreed to become the show's announcer. Stage assistants appeared on camera from the start, initially just setting up physical challenges and obstacles. As the series went on, their role grew to include interacting with Summers, demonstrating challenges, and modeling prizes. Robin Marrella and Dave Shikiar were the two permanent stage assistants when the show began.
Reception and achievements
Double Dare became a massive hit for Nickelodeon almost immediately. Within its first month on the air, the show more than tripled the network's afternoon viewership, making it the highest-rated original daily program on all of cable. During its debut year, it pulled in a 3.0 household rating each week, with over one million homes tuning in. When the show entered syndication in February 1988, its ratings jumped to a 5.4 household average and a 15.4 rating among kids aged 2 to 11, making it the second most-watched syndicated program in that age group. By January 1989, the household rating settled slightly to a 3.1. A special Sunday premiere of Family Double Dare on Fox on April 3, 1988, earned a 4.0 household rating, finishing fifth out of ten shows that week on the network and giving Fox its best Sunday night numbers up to that time. The 2000 revival, Double Dare 2000, premiered in January 2000 and averaged up to a 3.0 household rating in its first two weeks, reaching as many as 2.7 million homes and landing in the top 25 basic cable programs each week. It frequently won its time slot among children ages 2 to 11. The 2018 revival premiered in June to 1.843 million viewers, outperforming every other Nickelodeon show that day and becoming the highest-rated broadcast for teenagers 12 to 17. That premiere was also Nickelodeon's most-watched series launch among adults 18 to 49 in over five years. By the end of its second week, new episodes were drawing around one million total viewers.
Other media
Since its debut, Double Dare has popped up in various TV shows and music videos, often with characters trying out as contestants as a tribute. In a 2016 episode of The Goldbergs, set in the 1980s, Adam Goldberg searches for the right partner to audition for the show. He turns down his friend Emmy Mirsky and instead goes through a practice obstacle course with his grandfather Pops at a tryout, but neither gets picked. The episode also features cameos from Benjamin Bauman and Amy Gross, real-life friends of the show's creator who were actual contestants on Double Dare in 1988, playing producers. In November 2013, the Sanjay and Craig episode "Trouble Dare" has the main characters and Sanjay's parents fleeing their home due to bugs. They ask Remington Tufflips to stay in his trailer, only to find the Dickson family already there. Tufflips decides who gets to stay by hosting his own version of Family Double Dare. Harvey worries about how Tufflips runs the game until Marc Summers shows up and declares Sanjay's family the winners, earning them a night in the Pick It obstacle. A Family Double Dare game also appears in the music video for Good Charlotte's 2011 song "Last Night." The video features a shortened version of the game with questions, physical challenges, and the obstacle course. Marc Summers plays himself, guitarist Benji Madden plays Harvey, and the band members act as contestants and assistants. In July 2020, The Loud House aired the episode "How Double Dare You!" where the Loud siblings try to get onto Double Dare.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who created Double Dare (franchise)?
Double Dare was created by Geoffrey Darby, Michael Klinghoffer, Dee LaDuke, Robert Mittenthal and Debby Beece (Family Double Dare).
Which network aired Double Dare (franchise)?
Double Dare aired on Nickelodeon (1986–87, 1990–93, 2000, 2018–19), Syndicated (1988–89) and Fox (1988).
When did Double Dare (franchise) first air?
Double Dare first aired on 6 October 1986.
When did Double Dare (franchise) end?
Double Dare last aired on 7 February 1993.
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