If there were no vowels at all, what would be the 13th letter of the alphabet?
This is just one question from The 1% Club, the UK’s biggest quiz show, whose previous season averaged 5.8 million viewers in consolidated figures.
The 1% Club is different from other quiz shows because it focuses on IQ not knowledge. If Jeremy Clarkson asks who Henry II’s court jester was and the viewer doesn’t know, there’s little they can do to conjure up the name of Roland the Farter. However, with the 1% Club, with its focus on logical problem solving, the viewer doesn’t need esoteric, often exclusive knowledge, to get involved.
This universal appeal means that the show has also managed to gain a strong draw with younger audiences. The show’s 2024 season saw an episode that was ‘most watched programme for 16–34-year-olds that evening with 44% of that demographic tuning in.’ Robert Dean, question setter for the show has said:
“A show like 1% Club can be played by anyone of pretty much any age as it requires little to no knowledge. That was at the heart of why it was commissioned: to create a quiz that anyone can play.”
Beyond the show’s everyman appeal, Dean also suggested how social media has played a part in the success of brain teasers with young audiences, as these types of puzzles often pop up on users feeds and cause them to momentarily stop their scrolling.
Quizzing has become such a key part of the UKs viewing diet that ITV have recently announced that they will be taking channel ITVBe off air, and replacing it with ITV Quiz. This highlights a shift away from reality and lifestyle content (which makes up the current ITVBe slate) and a move towards quizzing.
Whilst reality and lifestyle let the audience view the lives of others, quizzes invite the viewer in, creating a more interactive experience, and higher involvement. The 1% Club app lets audiences play along at home, elevating the experience beyond shouting answers at the TV. Dean has even highlighted the potential for reality show and quiz show hybrids, saying “I don’t think it will be long until we see a show that’s a reality/quiz crossover.”
The wait may be even shorter than we think, as Channel 4.0 has just commissioned a new quiz/strategic game play show called ‘The Snake’. The show will include influencers and content creators taking part in multiple choice questions in an attempt to win a prize pot. What they won’t realise is that two of their team members are really ‘snakes’ trying to sabotage the team and win money for themselves.
Evie Buckley, Digital Commissioning Editor and Channel 4.0 Lead has stated how “’The Snake’ is a perfect example of how [Channel 4.0] are dedicated to creating fresh and engaging entertainment from British creatives in a way that is resonating with young audiences.”
This combination of online celebrity (guests include Chloe Burrows, Harry Pinero, Whitney Adebayo and Max Fosh), quizzing and strategic thinking is content young UK audiences already engage with, so we’re excited to see how a new title lands on 4.0.
With ITV Quiz launching in just a few months, we are likely to be seeing even more quizzes and brain teasers coming to our screens soon.
So with that in mind, fingers on buzzers…
