Family Feud

Season 12 e.tv (*194) 16:25 Gameshow

Talkshow host Steve Harvey is caught in the middle of family fights on gameshow Family Feud (1976- current) but there is no chance of punches flying or tears being shed, says Steve, who joined in season 12 in 2011. “Families: you can’t live with them, can’t hit ’em on national TV. We have a lot of fun with our games. It’s all about bringing close families closer. This is something entertaining. There is no violence or drugs or that nonsense.” While the games and jokes are silly and fun, Family Feud takes things seriously…

1 It first started airing in 1976 and has only been on production break for six years during that time, between 1986 and 1988, then 1996 and 1998 for the same reason: the hosts and games were rebooted and refreshed. 2 The show introduced new buzzer categories of general knowledge after it tested well with trial groups. They also added Best Of episodes to bring back the most popular families. 3 It’s consistently had over 7 million viewers since Steve took over after John O’Hurley quit when he disagreed with the new direction. “They wanted to get away from familyfriendly jokes to ribald, innuendo-laden humour,” says John. 4 Steve’s favourite guests were the Tran family in 2013, admitting that he battled to keep a straight face: “Charlye says, ‘I’m a prosthetist.’ That is not what I heard. I thought she said something other than a person who makes artificial limbs,” hinting that he thought she said prostitute. 5 The families can win up to $30 000 (R440 000) in the episode, plus a car if they win five rounds in a row.