Whose Line Is It Anyway?From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article is about the British TV series. For the American series, see Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S.

TV series).

Not to be confused with Whose Life Is It Anyway?.

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Whose Line is it Anyway?

British Whose Line? title from its later series.

Format Improvisational comedy

Created by Dan Patterson

Mark Leveson

Presented by Clive Anderson

Starring John Sessions

Stephen Fry

Sandi Toksvig

Ryan Stiles

Colin Mochrie

Chip Esten

Wayne Brady

Tony Slattery

Greg Proops

Archie Hahn

Stephen Frost

Josie Lawrence

Paul Merton

Mike McShane

Brad Sherwood

Jim Sweeney

Steve Steen

Niall Ashdown

Caroline Quentin

Phil LaMarr

Ron West

Griff Rhys-Jones

Graeme Garden

Country of origin United Kingdom

No. of series Radio: 1

Television: 10

No. of episodes Radio: 6

(List of episodes)

Television: 136

(List of episodes)

Production

Location(s) The London Studios

London, England

(1988–1997)

Hollywood Studios

Hollywood, California

(1998)

Running time 25 minutes

29 minutes (radio)

37 min. (Christmas special)

Productioncompany(s) Hat Trick (all versions)

UK: Channel Four

Broadcast

Original channel BBC Radio 4: 1988

Channel 4: 1988–1998

Picture format 4:3

Original run 23 September 1988 – 2 July 1998

Chronology

Followed by Mock The Week

Whose Line Is It Anyway? (U.S. TV series)

Related shows Fast and Loose

Whose Line is it Anyway? (abbreviated to Whose Line? or WLIIA) is a short-form improvisational

comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made

for the UK's Channel 4, for a ten-series run.

The show consists of a panel of four performers who create characters, scenes and songs on the spot, in

the style of short-form improvisation games, many taken from theatresports. Topics for the games are

based on either audience suggestions or predetermined prompts from the host. Both the British and the

American shows ostensibly take the form of a game show with the host arbitrarily assigning points and

likewise choosing a winner at the end of each episode. However, the show lacks the true stakes and

competition of a game show (by design). The "game show" format is simply part of the comedy.

Following the conclusion of the British run in 1998, ABC began airing an American version. The

CW brought the series back in 2013.

Contents

  [hide] 

1   Format

o 1.1   Games

o 1.2   Opening sequence

2   History

3   Performers

4   DVD release

5   Other versions

6   See also

7   References

8   External links