America loves the flashing lights, bold colors, and excited contestants of game shows. As you watch contestants battle trivia and tasks to win big, do you ever wonder about the people working behind the scenes? Who are they, and what’s their job like?
You’ve come to the right place! We’re giving you an exclusive peek behind the scenes to meet Adam Nedeff, a game show historian and researcher. He has worked on Game Shows including:
- Master Minds
- People Puzzler,
- Beat the Bridge
- Tic Tac Dough
See why game shows are his passion and all that he’s done to make sure they’ll be remembered.
How Did Adam Get a Career in Game Shows?
Adam grew up loving game shows and dreamed of turning his favorite entertainment into a career. It’s not easy to make it in Hollywood, but he moved there in 2007, hoping to find his way into the game show industry.
Adam shared, “I found that breaking into game shows and staying in game shows, which is what I always wanted to do, was not the easiest thing in the world because people tend to hire who they know, and nobody knew me.”
He started working where he could and got a job at the famous Madame Tussauds wax museum. While there, he gave Conan O’Brien a tour and shocked the Late Night host with his ability to tell anyone what game shows aired on the day they were born, all from memory.
Adam told Conan he wanted to write a book someday. Once he said it, he knew it needed to happen, so he got to work writing about game show history.
“Happily, my books fell into the laps of some of the people who do the hiring in the world of game shows.”
Who wouldn’t want a game show expert on their research team? Adam got a job as a researcher and has worked on various game shows ever since.
What Is a Day in the Life of a Researcher Like?
For game shows, researchers take questions writing teams submit and work to verify that questions and answers are correct. This job is extremely important, as it ensures all contestants have a fair shot at winning.
Many people are surprised question researchers can have a full eight-hour workday, but the job is far more complicated than they realize. Adam broke down what researchers look for into four main categories for us.
1. Is the Answer Correct?
Checking that an answer is correct isn’t always easy. It becomes even trickier when answers you believe are common knowledge are actually wrong.
Example
Question: What did Pandora open that contained the evils of the world?
Answer: a box
Problem: “Pandora’s box” is the common phrase, but a corrected translation shows it was really a jar, not a box.
2. Is the Question Correct?
Sometimes the wrong information in the question makes it impossible to answer.
Example
Question: During the 1993 NFL Championship, an NBA ad popularized which sports phrase?
Answer: “Nothing but net.”
Problem: It was actually a McDonald’s ad, and the phrase had been around far longer.
3. Could Contestants Make an Argument Against the “Correct” Answer?
Researchers practice “lawyering the question,” or trying to find any possible argument someone could make against the right answer.
Example
Question: What job oversees school administration in a district?
Answer: Superintendent
Problem: A handful of schools use other titles, like president or CEO. Even though superintendent is the most common answer, people could still argue against it.
4. Is the Wording Correct?
Sometimes one wrong word can drastically alter the meaning of a question.
Example
Question: What poisonous invertebrate uses its tail to attack and sting prey?
Answer: A scorpion
Problem: A scorpion isn’t poisonous, it’s venomous.
The world of researching questions takes dedication, work, and, of course, a great deal of research, but it’s a rewarding and fun job.
Where Does Adam Find His Information?
Sometimes, it’s as simple as a Google search. Other times, it requires some legwork. The key with research experts like Adam is that they need multiple authoritative sources to prove something is right.
Many times, Adam ends up on phone calls tracking down information from people in the know.
“I’ve had to call a cosmetics factory. I called an accordion museum to verify some information once. I had to call the Elvis Museum once. I’ve called Coca-Cola, and I’ve gone to the offices of Sid & Marty Krofft Productions to verify some information for a question.”
Hunting down information can take Adam on some amazing adventures, making every workday a new quest.
“That’s my favorite part of the job: making contact with someone to verify the information that I’m trying to define.”
What Goes into Being a Game Show Historian and Author?
Adam’s work as a researcher is rewarding, but his real passion is writing. There are already books about how to compete and biographies about specific game show hosts or contestants, but Adam wants to focus on a new aspect of game shows.
“I wanted to preserve the stories of the people who made the shows, and nobody was doing that. I decided to write these books about what went into the making of game shows, where the ideas for the shows came from, who created them, the development process, what happened behind the scenes with games, what happened behind the scenes with things that went wrong during the tapings.”
He started writing in 2011, and now he’s an experienced author with 11 published books in his collection.
Some of his top-selling books include:
- This Day in Game Show History Volumes 1-4
- The Name on The Marquee series
- Game Shows FAQ: All That’s Left to Know About the Pioneers, the Scandals, the Hosts and the Jackpots
- Gong This Book! The Uncensored History of Television’s Wildest Talent Show
What’s the Best Part About Writing Books?
Writing game show histories has been a passion project for Adam. Yet, he’s not the only one who enjoys the writing and researching process. His searches for inside information bring some joy and excitement to the people he’s interviewing.
“Usually I’m the first person who’s ever asked them for the info they’re giving. Nobody’s ever spoken of this stuff before, and they’re just thrilled to be able to talk about it and their memories.”
Once he finds someone willing to talk to him about a game show, the doors start opening.
“They’re so on board to help you out and get this stuff written, and that leads to being able to contact other people who have stories to tell; it leads to resources like photos and videos that you may not have had access to otherwise.”
What’s Adam’s Favorite Celebrity Interview?
With years of writing books about the history of game shows, you’d better believe he’s gotten the chance to meet some amazing celebrities. Which one is his favorite? The answer: Orson Bean.
Orson Bean was a prolific actor who had a long-term stint on the To Tell the Truth game show.
A mutual friend put Adam in touch with Orson Bean while Adam was writing a book about the Match Game show. Orson Bean insisted Adam come to his home for the interview.
“As soon as I go to the house, he sits me down in his kitchen and he opens up the fridge and says, ‘Well, you got to eat something. You want to have roast beef?’
“And I’m like, ‘Oh, no, I’ll eat something when I leave.’ And he says, ‘No, no, you eat something when you’re in my home. You have roast beef.’
“And Orson Bean, who has known me for a minute and a half, is making me a sandwich.
“It was a delicious sandwich, I might add. But yeah, just a really warm, gracious guy. That was a day that I carry with me always. I was just spending the day with Orson Bean and getting his stories and his memories from his years working on game shows.”
Has Adam Competed on Game Shows?
Considering how much Adam loves game shows, it’s no surprise he has been on a few. You may have spotted him on Catch 21, Trivial Pursuit: America Plays, and Who’s Still Standing?
It will be a long time before he can compete on a game show again, though. You can’t compete if you know any of the staff, and Adam is now too well-known in the game show community to make another appearance as a contestant.
If Adam Could Compete on Any Game Show, What Would It Be?
His answer: Press Your Luck.
“That was my show when I was a kid. Big bucks, no whammies, and as an adult, I still love it.
“I can’t get enough of that. I think the suspense is incredible. I think it’s a well-designed game. I love the updated tweaks of the new version. It’s, it’s just one of the most perfect shows on television right now.”
What Does Adam Find Interesting About the Evolution of Game Shows?
As a game show historian, Adam has the unique perspective of recognizing and understanding trends in this form of entertainment.
He explained that, especially in the 70s, there was a push to try anything, and game shows were extravagant, crazy, and courageous.
The Money Maze had contestants running in a giant maze around the set to win prizes. The Magnificent Marble Machine was a huge pinball machine with a bowling ball-sized ball that people would play to win prizes. The original The Price Is Right had ridiculous prizes like a Ferris wheel, a horse-drawn chariot, or one mile of hotdogs.
“I love that period of it. I love the experimental period of game shows.”
Now, producers have to make sure their shows are successful and make money. That’s why there are often reboots of old classics—we already know they work well. While this makes sense, Adam often misses the fresh and perhaps somewhat crazy ideas of a bygone era.
“I want to see somebody be willing to say, ‘Yes, let’s try a new untested thing just to see what works.”’”
Why Does the World Need a Game Show Historian?
Historians keep stories of the past alive so we can appreciate and learn from them. Just as there are sitcom historians and pop-culture historians, game shows also deserve to be remembered.
There are thousands of lost episodes because tapes were often erased after airing. People underestimate the importance of game shows, and as a result, there are gaps in game show history that can never be recovered.
As Adam puts it, “The people who made game shows toiled endlessly and very often thanklessly.… The people who made them deserve to be remembered and celebrated.”
Thanks to historians like Adam, who are writing books to keep game show history alive, we’ll never lose those valuable stories.
Discover This Generation of Game Shows on the Game Show Network
Adam said it best: “It’s really hard to predict anything about the future except to say that there will always be game shows.” Whether you love the old classics or want to find something new and exciting, the Game Show Network is sure to have shows to entertain you.
Watch today and discover your new favorite show, or visit the Game Show Network site and try your hand at playing online versions of the most popular games out there.
