‘Password’: Inside the U.K.’s ‘Cheekier’ Edition of the Iconic Game Show as Mexico, Greece Versions Are Revealed (EXCLUSIVE)
18.08.2023 - 09:55
/ variety.com
Naman Ramachandran The U.K. edition of iconic game show “Password” will bow imminently on broadcaster ITV, and new countries are being added. Variety can reveal that the Fremantle-owned format is getting versions in Greece (Alpha TV), Hungary (TV2), Israel (Channel 13), Mexico (TV Azteca) and Slovakia (TV JOJ).
The word association game, which first launched on CBS in 1961, sees captains and contestants try to guess their teammates’ passwords with the help of one-word clues. The U.K. version will offer a cash prize in the final.
It benefits from the presence of three eminent comic talents: Stephen Mangan as host and BAFTA winners Alan Carr and Daisy May Cooper as team captains. The most recent U.S. version, starring Keke Palmer and Jimmy Fallon, launched last year on NBC and quickly became one of the network’s most popular shows.
The U.K. version will have its own distinct flavor. Mangan, who, along with his family, is a fan of the U.S.
show, tells Variety, “We do it slightly differently. We bring a British sense of humor to it, I think that’s the thing. And there’s a silliness, I guess, to it.
Also, the sarcasm and relationship you have between Alan and Daisy is very British.” Cooper adds, “We’ve probably made it cheekier, that’s for sure. We go off on tangents because sometimes passwords remind us of bits of our life stories, which bores everyone else to tears, I’m sure. It’s just more naughty, I suppose.” Carr watched a few episodes of the latest U.S.
version, and also episodes from the 1960s featuring Betty White in preparation for the U.K. show. “We were lucky enough to have Betty White on Jimmy’s ‘Late Night’ show, and we played a round of ‘Password’ as a nod to Betty being a part of the original NBC version
.