Classic Television - Weekdays

Hollywood Squares

Original channel

NBC (1966–1980, 1983–1984)

Syndicated (1971–1981, 1986–1989, 1998–2004)

MTV2 (2012-)

Original run

First Run

October 17, 1966–June 20, 1980 (NBC Daytime)

November 1, 1971–September 11, 1981 (Syndication)

Match game-Hollywood Squares Hour

October 31, 1983–July 27, 1984 (NBC Daytime)

Third Run

September 15, 1986–June 16, 1989 (Daily Syndication)

Fourth Run

September 14, 1998 – 2004

Presented by

Peter Marshall

(1966–1981)

Jon Bauman(MGHSH)

(1983–1984)

John Davidson

(1986–1989)

Tom Bergeron

(1998–2004)

Peter Rosenberg(HHS)

(2012–present)

Hollywood Squares is an American panel game show in which two contestants play tic-tac-toe to win cash and prizes. The "board" for the game is a 3 × 3 vertical stack of open-faced cubes, each occupied by a celebrity (or "star") seated at a desk and facing the contestants. The stars are asked questions and the contestants judge the veracity of their answers in order to win the game.

Although Hollywood Squares was a legitimate game show, the game largely acted as the background for the show's comedy in the form of joke answers, often given by the stars prior to their "real" answer. The show's writers usually supplied the jokes. In addition, the stars were given question subjects and plausible incorrect ("bluff") answers prior to the show. The show was scripted in this sense, but the gameplay was not. In any case, as host Peter Marshall explains at the beginning of the Secret Square game, the celebrities are briefed prior to show to help them with bluff answers, but they are otherwise hearing the actual questions for the first time as they are asked on air.