Bill Wright
Director
Mastermind (1972)
2022/23
Mastermind is a British quiz show, well known for its challenging questions, intimidating setting and air of seriousness. Devised by Bill Wright, the basic format of Mastermind has never changed — four and in later contests five contestants face two rounds, one on a specialised subject of the contestant's choice, the other a general knowledge round. Wright drew inspiration from his experiences of being interrogated by the Gestapo during World War II. The atmosphere is helped by Mastermind's famously ominous theme music, "Approaching Menace" by the British composer Neil Richardson. The quiz programme originated and was recorded in Manchester at studios such as New Broadcasting House and Granada Studios, before permanently moving to MediaCityUK in 2011.
Released Sept. 11, 1972
Episode 30 min
None+
Genres: Game Show, Talk, Talk Show
Keywords: tmdb.quiz, imdb.quiz-show, mdblist.has-trailer, imdb.general-knowledge, imdb.contestant, imdb.famous-opening-theme, imdb.long-running-tv + 12 more, imdb.one-word-title, imdb.spotlight, imdb.chair, imdb.question, imdb.non-fiction, tmdb.knowledge, imdb.game-show-host, imdb.1970s, imdb.1980s, imdb.1990s, imdb.british, imdb.quiz
Production Companies: Hat Trick Productions, Hindsight Productions
Network: BBC Two
Country: United Kingdom
Languages:
English
S49E1 - Episode 1
In the first heat of the series, Clive Myrie puts four contenders to the test on specialist subjects including Peaky Blinders and Team GB at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Sept. 19, 2022, midnight
S49E2 - Episode 2
Clive Myrie hosts the classic quiz where contenders take the famous black chair. Subjects include the history of the Orkney Islands and the films of Laurel and Hardy.
Sept. 26, 2022, midnight
S49E3 - Episode 3
Clive Myrie hosts the classic quiz where contenders take on the famous black chair. Specialist subjects include Emily Wilding Davison, The Thick of It and the New Romantics.
Oct. 3, 2022, midnight
S49E4 - Episode 4
Clive Myrie hosts the classic quiz where contenders take on the famous black chair. Specialist subjects include the ‘Alice’ books of Lewis Carroll, Detectorists and Sir Elton John.
Oct. 10, 2022, midnight
S49E5 - Episode 5
The hunt for the nation's Mastermind continues as Clive Myrie tests four more contenders on their specialist subjects and general knowledge. The specialist subjects are Marie Curie, the BBC sitcom Ghosts, Elizabeth Woodville and Banksy.
Oct. 17, 2022, midnight
S49E6 - Episode 6
Clive Myrie asks the questions in another heat, with the contenders answering questions on the life and works of John Cage, the wines of Portugal and Only Fools and Horses.
Oct. 26, 2022, midnight
S49E7 - Episode 7
Clive Myrie hosts another heat of the classic quiz where contenders take to the black chair. The specialist subjects include Neil Armstrong, Shakespeare's comedies and Rupert Bear.
Nov. 1, 2022, midnight
S49E8 - Episode 8
The hunt for the nation's Mastermind continues as Clive Myrie tests four more contenders on their specialist subjects and general knowledge.
The specialist subjects are the Peter Wimsey stories of Dorothy L Sayers, Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Wire and the Falklands conflict.
Nov. 8, 2022, midnight
S49E9 - Episode 9
Clive Myrie presents another heat of the classic quiz where contenders take on the famous black chair under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock in an attempt to become the next Mastermind champion.
The specialist subjects are Christopher Hitchens, Ayrton Senna, Killing Eve and Field Marshal Montgomery.
Nov. 15, 2022, midnight
S49E10 - Episode 10
Clive Myrie tests four more contenders on their specialist subjects and general knowledge in the tenth heat of the series. The specialist subjects are the life of Anne Lister, Dear Evan Hansen, Elizabeth I and the feature films of David Lynch.
Nov. 21, 2022, midnight
S49E11 - Episode 11
Clive Myrie hosts as another four contenders take to the black chair, answering questions on their chosen specialist subjects to earn a place in the semi-finals. The specialist subjects are Michael Palin's travel documentaries, Lady Gaga, Emily Dickinson and the BBC sitcom Mum.
Nov. 28, 2022, midnight
S49E12 - Episode 12
Four more contenders take to the black chair under the spotlight and the ticking clock to answer questions on their specialist subjects and general knowledge. Clive Myrie asks questions on the films of Judy Garland, The Cure, Hi-de-Hi! and the French Wars of Religion.
Dec. 5, 2022, midnight
S49E13 - Episode 13
The hunt for the nation's Mastermind continues as Clive Myrie tests four more contenders on their specialist subjects and general knowledge. This time, the subjects are the jazz pianist Bill Evans, Georges Remi and Tintin, William Morris, and Torchwood.
Dec. 12, 2022, midnight
S49E14 - Episode 14
Four more contenders face the black chair under the spotlight and the ticking clock in an attempt to become the next Mastermind champion. Clive Myrie hosts and asks the questions on their specialist subjects, which are Tudor rebellions, Christina Aguilera, the US space shuttle program and James Parkinson.
Dec. 19, 2022, midnight
S49E15 - Episode 15
Clive Myrie presents another heat of the classic quiz where contenders take on the famous black chair under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock in an attempt to become the next Mastermind champion.
The specialist subjects are the British Industrial Revolution, the films of Christopher Guest, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Succession.
Jan. 2, 2023, midnight
S49E16 - Episode 16
Another four contenders take to the black chair, answering questions on their chosen specialist subjects to earn a place in the semi-finals. Clive Myrie hosts an episode where the specialist subjects are Stephen Hawking, the music of Radiohead, Theda Bara and the Richard Sharpe novels of Bernard Cornwell.
Jan. 9, 2023, midnight
S49E17 - Episode 17
The hunt for the nation's Mastermind continues as Clive Myrie tests four more contenders on their specialist subjects and general knowledge under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock. The subjects in this episode are Marcus Trescothick, Rupert Brooke, Thomas Cromwell and the films of Wes Anderson.
Jan. 16, 2023, midnight
S49E18 - Episode 18
Clive Myrie asks the questions as four more contenders take on the black chair under the spotlight and the ticking clock in an attempt to become the next Mastermind champion. The specialist subjects are Catherine the Great, Wallace and Gromit, Egon Schiele and hyenas.
Jan. 23, 2023, midnight
S49E19 - Episode 19
Clive Myrie presents another heat of a new series of the classic quiz where contenders take on the famous black chair under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock in an attempt to become the next Mastermind Champion.
Tonight's Specialist Subjects are the films of Nicole Kidman, constellations of the northern hemisphere, the children's books of Roald Dahl and Take That.
Jan. 30, 2023, midnight
S49E20 - Episode 20
Four more contenders face the black chair under the spotlight and the ticking clock in an attempt to become the next Mastermind champion.
Clive Myrie hosts, asking the questions on the contestants' specialist subjects: film adaptations of Shakespeare's tragedies, the Great Fire of London, the career of John Barnes and The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien.
Feb. 6, 2023, midnight
S49E21 - Episode 21
The hunt for the nation's Mastermind continues as Clive Myrie tests four more contenders on their specialist subjects and general knowledge under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock.
The specialist subjects are U2, toy dog breeds, the Mitford sisters and guest stars in Friends.
Feb. 13, 2023, midnight
S49E22 - Episode 22
Clive Myrie asks the questions as four more contenders take on the black chair under the spotlight and the ticking clock in an attempt to become the next Mastermind champion. The specialist subjects are the plays of Tennessee Williams, American First Ladies from 1945 to the present, NBA MVP award winners since 2000 and Mithridates the Great.
Feb. 20, 2023, midnight
S49E23 - Episode 23
Four more contenders face the black chair under the spotlight and the ticking clock in an attempt to become the next Mastermind champion. Clive Myrie hosts and asks the questions on the contestants' specialist subjects, which are the Empress Matilda, Stevie Nicks, the What Katy Did novels and Universal’s Frankenstein films of the 1930s and 40s.
Feb. 27, 2023, midnight
S49E24 - Episode 24
In the final heat, four contenders take on the famous black chair, answering questions on their chosen specialist subjects to earn a place in the semi-finals.
Clive Myrie hosts, with contenders answering questions on Christiaan Huygens, Jonathan Creek, the life and works of Artemisia Gentileschi, and European mammals.
March 6, 2023, midnight
S49E25 - Episode 25
Clive Myrie presents the first semi-final of the classic quiz where contenders return to the black chair under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock to win a place in the grand final. The specialist subjects are Oscar-winning performances of the 1990s, the life and death of stars, Peep Show and The Great Escape.
March 13, 2023, midnight
S49E26 - Episode 26
Clive Myrie presents another semi-final of the classic quiz where contenders return to the black chair under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock to win a place in the grand final. The specialist subjects are the Norman Conquest, Borussia Dortmund, popes of the Renaissance and the film musicals of Alan Menken.
March 20, 2023, midnight
S49E27 - Episode 27
Clive Myrie presents the third semi-final of the classic quiz where contenders return to the black chair under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock to win a place in the grand final. The specialist subjects are the PDC World Darts Championship, the history of transportation to Australia, Parks and Recreation, and Queen Anne.
March 27, 2023, midnight
S49E28 - Episode 28
Clive Myrie presents the fourth semi-final of the classic quiz where contenders return to the black chair under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock to win a place in the grand final.
The specialist subjects are Frank Zappa, the life and works of Siegfried Sassoon, pioneering British and Irish female aviators, and winners of the Eurovision Song Contest.
April 3, 2023, midnight
S49E29 - Episode 29
Clive Myrie presents the fifth semi-final of the classic quiz where contenders return to the black chair under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock to win a place in the grand final. The specialist subjects are Fridtjof Nansen, the record label 4AD, Christina Rossetti and the Jason Bourne films.
April 10, 2023, midnight
S49E30 - Episode 30
Clive Myrie presents the last semi-final of the classic quiz where contenders return to the black chair under the glare of the spotlight and the ticking clock to win a place in the grand final. The specialist subjects are Sir Edwin Lutyens, Coldplay, the Karen Pirie novels of Val McDermid and the films of Terry Gilliam.
April 17, 2023, midnight
S49E31 - Final
Clive Myrie presents the grand final of the classic quiz where six contenders return to the black chair in a bid to become the next Mastermind champion. The specialist subjects are British and Irish Lions tours in the 21st century, Princess Margaret, the Rocky films, Bletchley Park during the Second World War, Augustus Caesar and the BBC sitcom Extras.
April 24, 2023, midnight
Network: BBC Two
Episode Runtime: 30 min.
Season Runtime: 33810 min.
Released: Sept. 11, 1972
Last Air Date: Nov. 24, 2025, midnight
Status: Returning Series
Certification: NR
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