| Hosts | |
| Richard Quest (season 1) Dan Harris (season 2) | |
| Broadcast | |
  | |
| Packagers | |
| United Artists Media Group (Season 1) MGM Television (Season 2) Warner Horizon Television | |
Quest: "You are about to witness television history. The smartest people in the country are about to play the toughest game ever devised. No saves, no helps, no multiple choice(s). Our geniuses are ready. The pressure is on. It's day (insert number). Will anybody be able to answer 500 Questions?"
Harris: "Tonight, the smartest people in the country are about to play the toughest game ever devised. No saves, no helps, no multiple choice(s). Our geniuses are ready. The pressure is on. It's day (insert number). Will anybody be able to answer 500 Questions?"
"Three wrongs and you are GONE!" - Richard Quest
Don't get three wrongs in a row! - Richard Quest
500 Questions was a short-lived ABC primetime quiz show that will test the smarts and the nerve of its contestants.
Gameplay[]
Contestants who compete on this show are all certified geniuses. Each game is played two players at a time. One of them, designated the "champion" or "defender," will answer as many questions as possible, while the other (known as the "challenger") watches and waits to hopefully take over and start their own 500-question journey.
The main contestant faces ten categories, each with five questions. They will then pick a category and either be asked a standard question, or see that it is one of three "special" question types. Once the question is asked, the contestant has a limited amount of time (10 seconds on standard questions) to answer the question. The champion can answer as many times as they can within the given time to try and get it right. As soon as the champion gives the correct answer, the clock stops. If the contestant gets a question right in one attempt, they will receive a bonus - a $1,000 addition to their bank. If the contestant fails to state the correct answer to the question before the clock hits zero (0:00), they received a strike called a "wrong" (represented by a red "X" on the scoreboard). Throughout the game, the contestant must be very careful not to miss three (3) times in a row. If they do so at any point in the game, they may no longer continue playing. The challenger will then take the place of the contestant, who is dropped from the game with only the money banked in completed rounds, if any. If the contestant can survive all 50 questions in a round without getting three "wrongs" in a row, they will complete the round, and any cash earned will become guaranteed. In addition, the challenger is eliminated and replaced by someone else.
NOTE: If a contestant has two (2) "wrongs" on the board, they are on probation, and in those cases, the challenger picks the next category. However, if the contestant answers a question correctly with one or two "wrongs" on the board, those "wrongs" are cleared, since elimination can only occur after three consecutive misses.
Money Values[]
For each correct answer to a standard question, given on a first attempt, the contestant earns $1,000. The 25th question in each group of 50 is a "Milestone" question, which will be worth a bonus of $5,000 (separate from the bank), should the main contestant's first answer be correct. In addition, that $5,000 will be automatically guaranteed, meaning they get to keep that money regardless of the outcome.
Special Questions[]
- Battle: The "Battle" question (valued at $1,000) is where both players try answering the same question which will have multiple answers (always an even number). Prior to the question being revealed, the contestant will choose to either lead (answer first) or follow (force the challenger to answer first). Each player has five (5) seconds to give a correct response, and only their first response can be taken. The players take turns answering until all the right answers are given, or until the first wrong answer is given (whichever occurs first). If the contestant misses, they get a "wrong." However, if the challenger misses instead, it will be counted as a correct answer, earning $1,000 and clearing any "wrongs" on the board. If all the correct answers are given with no misses at all, that is a push - no money or "wrongs" given, but none subtracted either.
- Top Ten Challenge: A statistical question with answers that ranked the top ten is asked. The object of the player is to give any five (5) correct answers in under fifteen seconds (0:15). Prior to revealing the question, the main contestant is given the option to play it themselves, or pass it to the challenger. If the contestant fails, or the challenger completes the question, a "wrong" is put on the board. Otherwise, $1,000 will be added to the contestant's bank and any "wrongs" they have are cleared. (NOTE: Unlike standard questions, the correct answers don't have to be the first five given to earn the money or a "wrong." This also applies to the $5,000 bonus for the main contestant should this be a "Milestone" question.)
- Triple Threat: (not to be confused with the short-lived, 80s and 90s game show of the same name) A question with three (3) correct answers is asked. The champion must get all three (3) in the usual ten seconds (0:10) in order to ace the question. Unlike other questions, these such questions will be worth $3,000 for the bank. (NOTE: Unlike standard questions, the correct answers don't have to be the first three given to earn the money. This also applies to the $5,000 bonus should this be a "Milestone" question.)
Second Season Changes[]
- There are now three (3) questions in each category instead of five (5); meaning that there are now 30 questions altogether in each game. In addition, "Random" is no longer a category.
- All questions are now worth $1,000 no matter how many answers it takes.
- The time for normal questions is reduced to five (5) seconds.
- Only the "Battle" questions are brought back - all the other special questions were dropped (i.e. "Triple Threat" and "Top Ten Challenge"). Every pack of 30 questions contains exactly six (6) Battle questions, and contestants are always allowed to ask the host how many Battle questions remain on the board.
- Each time the defender completes a round, they play a classic "Lightning Round," wherein they try to answer as many questions as possible in two minutes (2:00) to get closer to the goal of 500 questions. Each answered question adds to the defender's total question count. The rule of the three "wrongs" is still in play, meaning three (3) consecutive misses ends the round immediately - no more (Lightning Round) questions. However, the "wrongs" earned in this round are separate from the main game - they will not affect the number of "wrongs" on the records of the main game. Each correct answer will add a guaranteed $1,000 to the bank. Due to this, the 25th question milestone was eliminated.
- Since there are no bonuses on this season, the top prize for a contestant is a solid $500,000. This can only be achieved by answering every single question correctly.
International Versions[]
Countries that have previously aired their versions of 500 Questions includes:
A German version under the name 500 - Die Quiz-Arena (500 - The Quiz Arena) hosted by Gunther Jauch (of the German version's Who Wants to be a Millionaire? fame under the name Wer Wird Millionar? {WWM} (Who Will Become a Millionaire?) aired on RTL Television from 2016 until 2017.
A Hungarian version called 500 - Az Orszag Geniusza (500 - Genius of the Country) hosted by Egon Ronai airs on ATV from 2019 until 2022.
A United Kingdom version also called 500 Questions hosted by Giles Coren aired on ITV which both started and ended in 2016 after four episodes.
Trivia[]
- Later in 2015, the series was renewed for a second season.[1]
- Former Jeopardy! Champions Pam Mueller, Ken Jennings, Colby Burnett, James Holzhauer, Ryan Chaffee, Muffy Marracco, Jonathan Corbblah, Mehrun Etebari, Monica Thieu, Claudia Perry, appeared as contestants.
- Brandon Saunders, the runner-up of The Million Second Quiz, also appeared as a contestant.
- For the first episode of Season 1, the show's logo appeared in commercial breaks but never during the opening credits of the show. The second show in history that also did that was the short-lived, live variety show on NBC called Best Time Ever with Neil Patrick Harris (based on the British variety show called Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway).
- While Season 1 was billed as a "seven-night event", repeats aired on Saturday and Sunday night.
- Promos for the 2015 version of Celebrity Family Feud (Harvey) started to appear during the show's premiere on the same network.
- Host Richard Quest later appeared as a contestant on The CNN Quiz Show: The Seventies Edition in the same year.
- Out of 500 questions, 371 were asked during the course of Season 1; for Season 2, 421 questions were asked.
- Guy Jordan was the biggest winner of the run, answering 241 questions and amassing $169,000.
- In season 1, seven episodes were produced while in season 2, only five episodes were produced.
Inventors[]
Mark Burnett & Mike Darnell