Identity (game show)


Identity was a reality/game show, hosted by magician Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller and produced by Reveille where contestants could win a prize money of up to US$500,000 by matching 12 strangers one-by-one to phrases about their identities.
The TV program was aired originally on NBC from December 18, 2006 to April 27, 2007. There were plans for NBC to air a second season later in the year, but it was never announced.

Format

A contestant is introduced to 12 strangers, each standing on a numbered podium. After seeing the strangers, the contestant is presented with a list of 12 identities, each of which applies to at least one of the 12 strangers. While an identity may match multiple strangers, there is only one way to assign the identities uniquely to each stranger. Based primarily on visual observation, the contestant chooses an identity and tries to match it with the correct stranger. In order to make a decision final, the contestant must "seal the identity" by pressing their palm down on a provided podium after saying which stranger they think matches that identity. Jillette, sometimes after finding out the stranger's first name, then asks the stranger "Is that your identity?" The stranger confirms or denies his or her identity. Confirmation is often made in a manner pertinent to the identity, either through a statement, or by demonstration. Jillette would often tease the stranger for going to a commercial break by saying either, "Isn't it a good time to take a break?" or "It's time to take a break." On one episode, Jillette would be too shy to say "Is that your identity?" and would cut to commercial.
For each correct match made, the contestant's potential winnings increases:
Correct matchesAmount won
1$1,000
2$5,000
3$10,000
4$15,000
5$25,000
6$50,000
7$75,000
8$100,000
9$150,000
10$250,000
11$500,000

At any point during the game, the contestant may chose to quit the game with the winnings won up to the point. No money levels are guaranteed; if the contestant make a mistake without being saved by the "Mistaken Identity" help, the game is over and the contestant leaves empty handed.

Helps

After a contestant makes two correct matches or makes a mistake, whichever comes first, he or she is informed of the three "helps" available to him or her only once at any point throughout the course of the game. The first of the three helps is simply a rule of the game, while the other two may be used at anytime:
In addition to the three explained helps, there are several other points of assistance offered to the contestant:
The 12 strangers stand on individually numbered podiums and are referred to mainly by their number, though their first names are often revealed in the progress of the show, either by Jillette or the contestant asking.
Usually at least one identity is made blatantly obvious from physical appearance alone. Celebrity strangers may be easily recognizable by the contestant or the contestant's friends. There were no intentionally misleading costumes, although strangers often break stereotypes. There was even a missionary wearing a bikini in one episode.
Strangers have confirmed their identities in a variety of ways; musicians, for example, have been handed instruments and asked to play if they can. Some "skill" identities have been confirmed by demonstration; for example, a go-go dancer danced on stage. Sometimes strangers perform from their podiums, while others are brought to the front of the main stage. Other strangers confirm their identities with a remark which pertains to their identity. An NFL player hesitated and then signaled "It's good" with his hands signaling a field goal, while a mall Santa laughed "ho ho ho". Most follow their comment up with "Yes, I am ", and some strangers say only that.
In cases where the stranger is prepared to demonstrate his or her identity, but the contestant selects the wrong stranger for that identity, the mistaken stranger will be asked to try to demonstrate that identity, only to refuse at the last moment and confirm that he is not that identity. Strangers that were prepared to demonstrate their identity but were not given the opportunity may be asked to demonstrate this when the full answers are revealed to the player.

Season Summary

$500,000 winners

Three contestants had identified all 12 strangers correctly and won the top prize:
Among the contestants, one contestant won $250,000 but opt not to risk the winnings to identify the last two strangers:
The twelve people on the show whose identities are being guessed are known as strangers. The following are some famous strangers that have appeared:
During the first season, in addition to the regular game, like two other NBC game shows, Deal or No Deal and 1 vs. 100, there was an at-home game open to residents of the continental United States called "The Identity Challenge", where an at-home player chosen at random won $10,000 by choosing which of five strangers represents a product, or a profession related to the advertised product.
On the first two nights, three of the five were revealed to be incorrect throughout the game, and the answer was revealed before the final commercial break. On the next three, there was no such narrowing; all five strangers remained throughout the show.
To encourage viewers to watch television commercials during the show, the correct answer to the "Identity Challenge" question was revealed during a related commercial within the first 20 minutes of the show.
When the series returned on March 16, 2007, the show did not have an interactive feature.

Ratings and episode air dates

Episode #Air dateRatingShare18–49Total Viewers
1December 18, 20067.6124.512.1
2December 19, 20065.493.08.4
3December 20, 20065.593.08.5
4December 21, 20066.1113.19.2
5December 22, 20065.092.47.4
6March 16, 20075.8102.98.7
7March 23, 20073.781.85.5
8March 30, 20074.881.66.4
9April 6, 20074.181.75.8
10April 13, 20074.481.96.3
11April 20, 20073.361.44.7
12April 27, 20073.571.55.0

International versions

CountryNameHostChannelPrizeYear aired
'Kim kimdir?Azer Axsham
Vusal Murtuzaliyev 		Azad Azerbaijan TV10,000₼2008–2010
2017–2018
'IdentityVivi KreutzbergerMegaCl$50.000.000March 22, 2010
'猜的就是你Zhang ShaogangGuangxi TVGift pack of family's dreamJanuary 2, 2013
'Identity-hvem er hvem? Thomas MygindKanal 5500,000krFebruary 14, 2008
'TuntemattomatJaakko SaariluomaMTV3€30,000January 11, 2008 – June 12, 2009
'IdentityJean-Luc ReichmannTF1€150,000February 14, 2009 – June 5, 2010
'ინტუიცია
Intuitsiya		Nika KavtaradzeImedi TV20,000ლMay 13, 2010 – mid-2010s
'Tαυτότητα
Taftótita		Miltos MakridesStar Channel€150,0002007
'亮相Eric KotTVBHK$200,000May 5, 2008
'Soliti ignoti – Identità nascoste
Soliti ignoti – Il ritorno		Fabrizio Frizzi
Amadeus 		Rai 1€250,000
€500,000 		2007–2012
2017–present
'מסדר זיהוי
Misdar Zihui		Shlomo BarabaChannel 10₪500,000June 13, 2007
'IdentidadAndrés BustamanteAzteca 13MX$250,000July 18, 2007
'Интуиция
Intuyitsiya		Viktor LoginovTNT1,000,000 руб.
500,000 руб.		September 7, 2007 – April 27, 2013
'IdentityMuhammad SyamimMediacorp Channel 5
Events TV Plus 		S$100,000August 27, 2007 – December 26, 2009
October 19, 2017 – present
'공통점을 찾아라Suh Kyung-SukSBS50,000,000₩March 2008
'IdentityAntonio GarridoLa 1€100,000July 16, 2007 – 2008
'ใครคือใคร Identity Thailand:th:เกตุเสพย์สวัสดิ์ ปาลกะวงศ์ ณ อยุธยา|Kathsepsawad Palakawong na AyuthayaWorkpoint TV฿100,000February 7, 2013 – February 13, 2016
'Kimsin Sen?Mustafa SandalStar TV150.000 TLFebruary 14, 2010 – 2010s
'Інтуїція
Суперінтуїція
Intuitsya / Superintuitsya		Andriy Domanskyi
Alexander Pedan
Serhiy Prytula 		Novyi Kanal50,000 ₴2010–2011
2015
'IdentityDonny OsmondBBC Two£10,0002007