| Host | |
| Ed McMahon | |
| Panel of the first show | |
| Jim Conway Yvonne Braitwaite Burke F. Lee Bailey | |
| Broadcast | |
  | |
| Packager | |
| Marble Arch Productions | |
Whodunnit? was loosely based on a British format of the same name (and not to be confused with the short-lived 2013 ABC reality show of the same name in particular), where famous actors played victims, suspects and investigators in a staged mystery, during which three contestants along with a panel of experts gathered clues to identify the mystery murderer.
Gameplay[]
Three contestants and a panel of three experts watched a dramatization of a murder mystery featuring popular guest stars like Erik Estrada and Loni Anderson for example. Just before the villain was revealed, the action was stopped and all of the suspects were brought before the panel and interrogated. At this point, the contestants could choose to play for $10,000, or wait for more information to be revealed.
The experts would cross-examine the subjects, and then all six players made their final selections. Any contestant who chose the culprit won $5,000 if none of the experts chose them, or $1,000 if any of the experts did.
British Version[]
The original version was shown as a pilot in 1972 on ITV hosted by Shaw Taylor, then picked up as a full series running from 1973-78. The show was hosted by Edward Woodward for the 1973 season, with Jon Pertwee taking over for the rest of the run.
Studio[]
NBC Studio 3, Burbank, CA
Trivia[]
NBC billed the series as the first mystery game show, even though the first mystery game show was CBS' Armchair Detective in 1949.
Videos[]
