What Would You Do? (2008 TV program) explained

Genre:Hidden camera
Creator:Chris Whipple
Presenter:John Quiñones
Country:United States
Language:English
Num Seasons:17
Num Episodes:149 (+10 specials)
List Episodes:List of What Would You Do? episodes
Camera:Multi-camera
Runtime:60 minutes
Network:ABC
Last Aired:present

What Would You Do? (commonly abbreviated as WWYD, and formerly known as Primetime: What Would You Do? through the program's fifth season) is an American situational hidden camera television series that has been broadcast on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) since February 26, 2008.[1] Created by Chris Whipple, the show with a social experiment format follows the reactions of passing strangers as they encounter conflict or illegal activity in a public setting, unaware that it is all staged and being recorded with hidden cameras. Throughout all of its seventeen seasons, the show has been hosted by news correspondent John Quiñones.

Appearing periodically on ABC's Primetime from 2005 to 2007, What Would You Do? became an instant success for the ABC network. Following the 2007 writers' strike, ABC ordered the first season of the show.[2] The series was annually renewed for a second,[3] third,[4] fourth,[5] and fifth season.[6] Starting with the sixth season, the show began to feature guest appearances, which included Barbara Corcoran, Howie Mandel, and Meredith Vieira.[7] Following the seventh season, What Would You Do? aired its first Christmas special in its eighth season. This was followed by guest appearances by Daymond John and Pnina Tornai in the show's ninth season, Winnie Harlow in the show's tenth season, and an era without guests in the show's eleventh and twelfth seasons. A 10-year anniversary special was aired in 2017 as the season finale of the thirteenth season, titled "What Would You Do?: Then and Now", featuring scenarios originally aired on Primetime and in season one being remade with the same actors in the same locations.[8] Following the fourteenth and fifteenth seasons of the show, ABC announced that they would air episodes filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the show's sixteenth season, as well as a special hosted by Gio Benitez as part of the sixteenth season's season finale.[9] In May 2023, ABC renewed the series for a seventeenth season after a three-year hiatus.[10]

History

What Would You Do? was conceived as a format-based series for ABC's newsmagazine Primetime, however, all on-air references to the parent program were removed from What Would You Do? following the discontinuation of Primetime as a standalone program by the network in 2010, with subject-based formats of the program, such as Primetime: Family Secrets, airing thereafter during the summer months or as a temporary replacement for entertainment programs canceled during the fall-to-spring television season.

The program features actors acting out scenes of conflict or illegal activity in public settings while hidden cameras record the scene, and the focus is on whether or not bystanders intervene, and how. Variations are usually included, such as changing the genders, the races, or the clothing of the actors performing the scene, to see if bystanders react differently. The situations often pertain to prejudice; race, sex, religious beliefs, physical and mental disabilities, obesity and weight, sexual harassment, vandalism, theft, physical appearance, homelessness, financial trouble, parenting, and social status are common themes. Quiñones appears at the end of each scenario to interview bystanders and witnesses about their reactions.

During some of the segments, psychology professors, teachers, or club members watch and discuss the recorded video with Quiñones, explaining and making inferences on the bystanders' reactions. This and similar formats have been criticized for their design, leading to conclusions about the bystanders that fail to account for other possible explanations for their behavior.[11]

In 2013, a short-lived spinoff titled Would You Fall for That? was aired, with 3 episodes. Filmed entirely in the state of New York,[12] [13] the show presented a study on human behavior based on hidden camera social experiments performed on complete strangers.[14] [15]

Episodes

Season 17 (2024)

On May 16, 2023, it was announced that What Would You Do? would be returning to ABC for a new season after a nearly four-year hiatus. The seventeenth season premiered on February 18, 2024 with guest correspondents W. Kamau Bell and Sara Haines.[16]

Ratings

Season 13

Live +7 ratings were not available, so Live +3 ratings have been used instead.

Season 16

Syndication

Reruns of older What Would You Do? episodes began airing on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) on February 15, 2011, under the title What Would You Do?: OWN Edition. Reruns of the program began airing on HLN in 2012 as part of the cable news channel's primetime schedule.[17] In the United States, the show has been broadcast on A&E since 2015.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Witness to Discrimination: What Would You Do?. June 20, 2008. ABC News. Ann . Sorkowitz. https://web.archive.org/web/20200321075824/https://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/WhatWouldYouDo/story?id=4339476&page=1. March 21, 2020. live. March 21, 2020.
  2. Web site: What Would You Do? - Columbia Journalism Review. February 15, 2008. Columbia Journalism Review. Daniel . Weiss. https://web.archive.org/web/20200927014605/https://archives.cjr.org/essay/what_would_you_do.php. September 27, 2020. live. September 26, 2020.
  3. Web site: ABC Development Slate for 2008/2009 Season [Continually Updated]]. May 14, 2008. Your Entertainment Now. Rosario . T. Calabria. https://web.archive.org/web/20200813144751/http://yourentertainmentnow.com/2008/05/14/abc-development-slate-for-20082009-season/. August 13, 2020. live. August 13, 2020.
  4. Web site: ABC News' "What Would You Do?" with John Quinones Returns for Three Weeks Beginning Friday, May 7th at 9:00pm/Et on ABC. April 26, 2010. The Futon Critic. August 13, 2020. https://archive.today/20210117172239/http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/04/26/abc-news-what-would-you-do-with-john-quinones-returns-for-three-weeks-beginning-friday-may-7th-at-900pm-et-on-abc-35455/20100426abc01/. January 17, 2021. live.
  5. Web site: "Primetime: What Would You Do?" Returns for Full Season, New Shows Begin Airing Friday, October 29, 9 PM. October 14, 2010. The Futon Critic. August 13, 2020. https://archive.today/20210117162427/http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2010/10/14/primetime-what-would-you-do-returns-for-full-season-new-shows-begin-airing-friday-october-29-9-pm-905013/20101014abc03/. January 17, 2021. live.
  6. Web site: ABC Pushes Up "Shark Tank" Return to January 20, Brings Back "Primetime: What Would You Do?". December 15, 2011. The Futon Critic. August 14, 2020. https://archive.today/20210117162541/http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2011/12/15/abc-pushes-up-shark-tank-return-to-january-20-brings-back-primetime-what-would-you-do-542013/9562/. January 17, 2021. live.
  7. Web site: "What Would You Do" Featuring Comedian Howie Mandel Airs Friday, October 5, 9 PM". October 4, 2012. ABC News. Alyssa . Bernstein. https://web.archive.org/web/20151004124323/http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/10/primetime-what-would-you-do-featuring-comedian-howie-mandel-airs-friday-october-5-9-pm/. October 4, 2015. live. October 4, 2015.
  8. Web site: 'What Would You Do?' episode recap: Teens verbally abuse homeless person, thief steals gas out of cars. September 26, 2017. ABC News. Maya . Butler. https://web.archive.org/web/20170926180751/https://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/episode-recap-teens-verbally-abuse-homeless-person-thief/story?id=50101091. September 26, 2017. live. September 26, 2020.
  9. Web site: ABC Presents A Two-Hour What Would You Do? Event With The Season Finale. September 5, 2020. BroadwayWorld. https://web.archive.org/web/20200906144444/https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwtv/article/ABC-Presents-A-Two-Hour-WHAT-WOULD-YOU-DO-Event-With-The-Season-Finale-20200905. September 6, 2020. live. September 6, 2020.
  10. Web site: Kimball . Trevor . June 6, 2023 . What Would You Do?: Season 17 Renewal; ABC News Series Returning for Fall 2023 . June 6, 2023 . May 16, 2023.
  11. Radford. Benjamin. Benjamin Radford. September–October 2020. Skepticism and Pseudoexperiments. Skeptical Inquirer. Amherst, New York. Center for Inquiry. 44. 5. 38–42.
  12. Web site: Joke's on us in mediocre 'Would You Fall For That?'. July 24, 2013. Linda. Stasi. New York Post. https://web.archive.org/web/20200911122949/https://nypost.com/2013/07/24/jokes-on-us-in-mediocre-would-you-fall-for-that/. September 11, 2020. live.
  13. Web site: 'Would You Fall for That?' hits the streets. July 24, 2013. Nicole. Lyn Pesce. New York Daily News. https://web.archive.org/web/20200911123145/https://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/fall-hits-streets-article-1.1406885. September 11, 2020. live.
  14. Web site: 'Would You Fall For That?' Offers Entertaining Look at Human Psychology, Behavior. July 22, 2013. ABC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20150530125331/http://abcnews.go.com/WhatWouldYouDo/video/fall-offers-entertaining-human-psychology-behavior-19737404. May 30, 2015. live.
  15. Web site: Child's Painting Shown in Art Gallery. July 25, 2013. ABC News. https://web.archive.org/web/20200911125345/https://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/childs-painting-shown-art-gallery-19777914. September 11, 2020. live.
  16. ABC, No. 1 in Entertainment for Fourth Consecutive Season, Announces 2023-2024 Fall Primetime Schedule Featuring Strong Slate of Fan-Favorite Programming With Originals Debuting Every Night. ABC. The Futon Critic. May 16, 2023. May 17, 2023.
  17. Web site: HLN Acquires Cable Rights to ABC News' 'What Would You Do?'. October 11, 2012. The Hollywood Reporter. Michael. O'Connell. https://web.archive.org/web/20200905175009/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/hln-acquires-cable-rights-to-what-would-youd-do-378248. September 5, 2020. live.

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