Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (often shortened to simply 5th Grader) is a new American game show on FOX.
It is produced by Mark Burnett,[1] and is hosted by Jeff Foxworthy. The show premiered as a three-day special beginning on February 27, 2007, with the first two shows a half-hour each in length. Regular episodes, one hour in length, air Thursdays, beginning March 1, 2007. Additional episodes are currently scheduled through at least May 10, 2007.[2] The show also airs in Canada on Global[3] and in the Middle East on Dubai TV.[citation needed]
Premiering after American Idol, the show averaged 26.6 million viewers and an 11.2 rating/27 share in the adults 18-49 demographic, making it the biggest television premiere in the United States in over eight years (since the NBC sitcom Jesse, which debuted in 1998).[4] Due to the high ratings, an additional four episodes were ordered following the airing of the initial two episodes.[5] Furthermore, another three episodes were ordered on March 15th, bringing the total episode count to 13.[2]
In addition, the format has been sold across the world for local versions in other countries. Deals have been signed for an Australian version on Channel Ten and a Brazilian version on SBT, among others.
How it's played ....
In each game, the contestant (an adult) is asked a series of eleven questions, taken from textbooks for first through fifth grade students. Before starting play, the contestant is given ten subjects (such as U.S. History, Math or Social Studies), each of which are associated with a grade level; there are two questions per grade, from first to fifth. Contestants can answer the questions in any order, and each correct answer raises their cumulative amount of winnings to the next level (see table on left); after a contestant answers the fifth question correctly, they cannot leave the game with less than $25,000.
If a contestant correctly answers the first ten questions, they receive a bonus question, worth US$1,000,000.
Five actual fifth graders (some of whom are also professional child actors[7]) appear on each show and play along on stage – each episode has the same cast of children: Kyle Collier, age 10; Alana Etheridge, 9; Jacob Hays, 11; Laura Marano, 11; and Spencer Martin, 10. The contestant chooses one to be their "classmate", who stands at the adjacent podium, and is often consulted by the contestant as to their favorite subjects before a topic is chosen; the other four sit at desks off to the side. Each child may only be the contestant's classmate for two questions (done consecutively), after which the contestant picks another child, from those who have not yet played in that game.
Contestants have three forms of assistance (two "cheats" and a "save") available for use:
* Peek: The contestant can see what their classmate wrote down as the answer, and choose whether to go along with it or not.
* Copy: The contestant is locked into whatever answer their classmate wrote down, without being able to see it first.
* Save: If the contestant gets an answer incorrect, but their classmate does not, they are credited with a correct answer, and the game continues. However, if the classmate is also wrong, the contestant loses. This can only be used once per game, and is used automatically on the contestant's first incorrect response.
If the contestant gets an answer wrong (and is not saved), they lose all their winnings (unless they have passed the fifth question, in which case they drop to $25,000). At any time, they may choose to "drop out" after seeing a question, which entitles them to leave the game with any winnings they have made. However, if they choose to drop out, or answer a question incorrectly and are not saved, they must face the camera and state, "I am not smarter than a fifth grader."
Threaded Mode
