The Weakest Link Quiz

Weakest Link is a television game show that originated in the UK and has been licensed across the world, making it the second most popular international franchise behind Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? The game begins with a team of eight or nine contestants who take turns answering general knowledge questions within a time limit to create chains of correct answers in a row. At the end of each round, the players vote one contestant, "The Weakest Link", out of the game. Once two players are left, they play in a head-to-head contest, with five questions asked to each contestant in turn, to determine the winner. The final two contestants compete in a head-to-head round to determine the winner, with the Strongest Link from the last round determining who begins the round. The format has been licensed across the world, with many countries producing their own series of the programme. The UK original series is still aired around the world on BBC Entertainment. The host in the UK original series is Anne Robinson, who was chosen to be firm yet understanding when a contestant gets voted off. However, Robinson began to act cold, harsh, and nasty to the contestants. Some international hosts are nicer and more relaxed to the contestants, changing the whole program style compared with the original BBC series. The format distributor BBC Worldwide changed the rules, and it is no longer required for the international hosts to go to the BBC Studio for instruction and training purpose. In the second syndicated version of the American version, after the second-to-last round, the last two contestants go straight into the head-to-head round, while in the original version, the top prize money available increases after each round. In the latest French version, round eight was cut from the format, and in the penultimate round, there is a three-player triple stake round for €15,000 that lasts 90 seconds. In the Dutch version that started in May 2019, round eight was also cut from the format after two weeks of airing, and instead, in round seven, the money triples, and one last player is eliminated after that round. The format is currently distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC, following their merger with BBC Worldwide and is produced by different production companies.