| Presenter: | Larry Miller |
| Voices: | Tyler Bunch Brian Clark Donna Kimball Colleen Smith Victor Yerrid |
| Country: | United States |
| Num Episodes: | 8 |
| Company: | The Jim Henson Company |
| Channel: | Game Show Network |
Late Night Liars is an American television game show on Game Show Network (GSN) that was under The Jim Henson Company's Henson Alternative brand and premiered on June 10, 2010. The series was hosted by Larry Miller, and stars several "celebrity" puppets,[1] which were created by The Jim Henson Company. Each episode has two human contestants trying to figure out which of the puppets are lying, and which are telling the truth.[2]
Five puppet characters regularly participate in the show:
| Panelist | Description | Performed by[3] |
|---|---|---|
| Shelley Oceans | A loudmouthed puppet with an oversized chest. She is a parody of Joan Rivers.[4] There may also be aspects of Shelley Winters present (references to her many affairs and marriages, etc.) | Donna Kimball |
| William A. Mummy | A flamboyant mummy who was an ex-wife of Shelley Oceans. He is a parody of Paul Lynde.[5] | Brian Clark |
| Cashmere Ramada | A ditzy pink poodle with sunglasses. She is a parody of Paris Hilton. | Colleen Smith |
| Sir Sebastian Simian | A monkey with a British accent that heads a record-producing company. He is a parody of Simon Cowell. He is a recycled version of Joey the Monkey from Late Night Buffet with Augie and Del. | Tyler Bunch |
| Weasel | The show's announcer. He ostensibly determines the value of the first two rounds based on some personal fact about himself, one of the panelists, or a random piece of trivia. | Victor Yerrid |
In addition, the following puppets representing real-life celebrities have been panelists on certain episodes.
| Panelist | Description | Performed by | Featured episode |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mickey Rourke Muppet | A guest puppet replacing Sir Sebastian Simian for one episode. He is a redressed version of the Nerd Girl from Puppet Up! | Tyler Bunch | Episode 3 |
| Rosie O'Donnell Muppet | A guest puppet replacing Shelley Oceans for one episode. She is a redressed version of a female Whatnot from The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss. | Donna Kimball | Episode 5 |
In round 1, host Larry Miller gives a category, and the puppet panelists each give one answer. Two of the panelists are giving real answers, and the other two are lying. After all four panelists give an answer, the contestants secretly and simultaneously pick one panelist that they think is lying. If a contestant selects a liar, he or she wins a pre-stated amount of money as announced by announcer Weasel, usually in the range of $500 to $600.
Round 2 is played the same as round 1, except that three panelists are giving true answers and one is lying. Correctly selecting the liar earns the contestant a pre-stated amount of money, usually in the range of $800 to $900, although one episode's second round was worth $797.
In Round 3, each contestant, starting with the current leader, selects one panelist, who gives a statement relating to the category given by host Miller. The contestant must then determine if the statement is true or a lie. If the contestant correctly judges the statement, a computer randomizer (dubbed the "Randomometer") is activated, when the contestant presses a button, the reels stop, revealing a cash amount greater than $100 (the upper limit is never clearly established; however, the screen has spaces for four digits). At the end of this round, the contestant with more money wins the game and keeps the money; the losing contestant receives a consolation prize (usually a product made by Telebrands) and $500 in cash, regardless of their score. The winning contestant also plays the "Two Topic Showdown" for a larger cash prize (from $10,000 up to $25,000).
The two panelists that did not participate in round 3 are each assigned a subject by host Miller. They alternate giving statements, the night's winner must determine whether the statement is true or a lie when applied to that panelist's subject. For each correct response, the contestant wins $500, if the contestant gives eight correct responses within 43 seconds, he or she wins the announced grand prize amount, prior to the last break, host Miller initially announces it to be $10,000, however, Weasel occasionally interrupts him to increase or reduce the amount, usually by very little; from $9,993 (eighth aired episode) to $10,004 (fourth aired episode). Episodes with special guest puppets have had higher cash prizes of $25,000 (Rourke episode) and $20,000 (O'Donnell episode), respectively.