# Taken Out

Taken Out is an Australian television dating game show that was originally broadcast on Network Ten between 1 September 2008 and 26 February 2009. The format was developed by FremantleMedia (now Fremantle) and was hosted by James Kerley.
International versions were developed using various titles, starting in 2008 in Denmark as Dagens Mand [da] (Today's Man) and in 2009 in the Netherlands as Take Me Out. This title was also used for the British, Irish, Philippine and the American versions of the show. A rebooted Australian version, renamed to Take Me Out, hosted by comedian Joel Creasey, aired on the Seven Network from 3 September until 27 November 2018.
Versions have also been made in Sweden, Indonesia, Japan, China, Spain, Finland, Thailand, Germany, Italy, France, Malaysia, Taiwan, Canada (Quebec), Vietnam and Lebanon.

## Format

Taken Out is primarily a studio-based show, with limited amounts of on-location filming, that involves a single person being introduced to thirty single people of the opposite gender which are revealed to them in the Taken Out arena. The show is split into two sections: The initial selection in the studio, and the two stage date. During the course of the game, the host presents information and videos about the single person and based upon this information, the thirty people periodically decide independently, if they should 'leave their light on' and stay in the game with the chance to date the single person or to 'turn their light out' and exclude themselves.

### Initial selection

    Note: The following describes the game process with one single man being presented to thirty single women. The opposite (one single woman presented to thirty single men) also occurs.
Firstly, the women learnt a single piece of information about the single man which, along with his appearance, they used to decide whether they were interested or not. The women then judge and turn their lights off or keep them on, however if they turn their lights off, they can't change their minds later on. Next up, a video profile of the single man is shown, where they describe their best features and qualities to try to keep as many women in the game as possible. The women then judged again. After, a video by the single man's friend, family member, co worker or ex-partner is shown. The women then decide again. Finally, if there are four or more women left with their lights on, the single man walks around the arena and personally meets each remaining woman and either turns her light out or leaves hers on until there are only three women remaining. Then the single man asks a question to the three women, in which he then chooses one woman to dismiss. This occurs again for the remaining two women. At the end, the single man formally gets asked if they would like to date the remaining woman or to decline the opportunity. The first question is skipped if only two women are remaining and the single man still gets to ask a question if only one woman remains before arriving at the question stage. If at any stage of the game all thirty women turn their lights off, the game ends immediately and the single man leaves the show without a woman. During the whole process Kerley walks around the arena and chats with the women asking for their opinions of the single man and why they had kept their light on or turned it off.

### Dating process

After the initial selection is complete, a three-stage dating process occurs. Firstly, the couple get to chat in private in a 'green room' at the studios in which they can get to know each other better in an uninfluenced environment. Next up, the couple meet for a date at a Melbourne restaurant, bar, massage parlour or other similar place. If either person is still interested in the other, there is an opportunity to attend a rendezvous at the Eureka Tower observation deck, where champagne and views of Melbourne at night await. This can often embarrassingly lead to only one person attending the rendezvous point. The latter two meetings are optional, however most attend the second stage. After all possible meetings, a final verdict is delivered. If either person wants the relationship to continue, they 'leave their light on' but if they wish for the relationship to end, they 'turn their light out'. This process is shown on the following episode, after the pairing was determined.

## Broadcast

The show originally screened Monday to Friday in the 7pm timeslot before it was moved to an earlier 6pm timeslot after two weeks on air, due to competition from other shows. It was removed from schedules in its fourth week after screening 19 episodes, due to continuing mediocre ratings. Despite the axing, FremantleMedia continued to produce new episodes. In total, 65 episodes had been recorded. On 12 January 2009, Taken Out returned to air at around midnight each morning, seven days a week. The remaining 46 episodes aired until 26 February 2009.
The show has also aired on Australian subscription television channel Channel V.

## International versions

| Region/Country | Name | Channel | Premiere | Presenter(s) |
| Australia (Original format) | Take Me Out | Seven Network | 3 September – 27 November 2018 | Joel Creasey |
| Belgium (Flanders) | Take Me Out | 2BE | 15 December 2010 – 2011 | Gerrit De Cock |
| Brazil | Me Leva Contigo Take Me With You | Rede Record | 9 May 2014 – 2015 | Rafael Cortez |
| Chile | Elígeme Pick Me | Mega | 24 March 2010 – 9 February 2011 | Luis Jara |
| China | 我们约会吧 (male/female roles reverse) "Let's Date" 我们约会吧 | Hunan TV | 24 December 2009 – 25 June 2014 | He Jiong (何炅) |
| China | 非诚勿扰 If You Are the One Literally "If not Sincere, Then Don't Bother" | Jiangsu TV | 15 January 2010 – present | Meng Fei (孟非) |
| Czech Republic | Take Me Out | Prima televize | 14 September 2017 – present | Jakub Prachař and Milan Zimnýkoval |
| Denmark | Dagens Mand Today's Man | TV2 | 17 September 2008 | Pelle Hvenegaard |
| Denmark | Dagens Mand Today's Man | TV3 | 8 September 2016 | Mattias Hundebøll |
| Estonia | Vali Mind! Pick Me! | Kanal 2 | 2011 | Kristjan Jõekalda |
| France | Séduis-moi...Si tu peux! Seduce me...if you can! | W9 | 30 September 2013 | Jérôme Anthony |
| Germany | Take Me Out | RTL | 13 March 2013 – present | Ralf Schmitz Jan Köppen |
| Hungary | Vigyél el! Take Me Away! | RTL Klub | 5 September 2015 | Bence Istenes |
| Indonesia | Take Me Out Indonesia | Indosiar | 19 June 2009 17 November 2012 | Choky Sitohang and Yuanita Christiani |
| Indonesia | Take Him Out Indonesia | Indosiar | 2 August 2009 | Choky Sitohang and Yuanita Christiani |
| Indonesia | Take A Celebrity Out Indonesia | Indosiar | 2010 | Choky Sitohang and Yuanita Christiani |
| Indonesia | All New Take Me Out Indonesia | Indosiar | February 2014 | Indra Bekti and Nycta Gina |
| Indonesia | Take Me Out Indonesia | antv | 19 September 2016 | Eko Patrio |
| Indonesia | Cari Jodoh Lagi Find a Soulmate Again | antv | 20 August 2017 | Eko Patrio |
| Indonesia | Take Me Out Indonesia | GTV | 27 July 2019 – 2020 | Robby Purba |
| Indonesia | Take Me Out Indonesia | MNCTV | 29 June 2023 – 10 November 2024 | Rian Ibram, Angel Karamoy and Vega Darwanti |
| Ireland | Take Me Out | TV3 | 15 October 2010 – 4 April 2015 | Ray Foley |
| Italy | Take me out - Esci con me Take me out - Go out with me | Real Time | 4 January 2016 – 2019 | Gabriele Corsi Katia Follesa |
| Japan | Take Me Out | TBS TV | 1 October 2009 | 加藤浩次 Kato Kouji |
| Lebanon | Take Me Out نقشت Take Me Out, it worked | LBCI | 8 September 2016 – present | Fouad Yammine |
| Malaysia | Take Me Out | NTV7 | 11 November 2011 | Nazrudin Rahman and Julie Woon |
| Netherlands | Take Me Out | RTL 5 | 9 March 2009 | Eddy Zoëy/Jan Kooijman |
| Netherlands | Take me Out Mother knows best | Videoland | 2021 – present | Rick Brandsteder |
| Norway | Dagens Mann Man of The Day | TV3 | September 2011 – 2013 | Hasse Hope |
| Philippines | Take Me Out | GMA Network | 26 April – 2 July 2010 | Jay-R |
| Poland | Umów się ze mną. Take Me Out Make an Appointment/Arrange with me. Take Me Out | Polsat | 7 March 2018 | Piotr Gumulec |
| Québec (Canada) | Allume-moi Light me up | V | 30 September 2013 – 2014 | Philippe Bond |
| Romania | Rămân cu tine I Remain/Stay/Staying with You | Antena 1 | 4 August 2020 | Liviu Vârciu |
| Serbia | Izvedi me (Take me out) Bring me (Take me out) | RTV Pink | 21 November 2016 – 1 January 2018 | Andrija Milošević |
| Slovakia | Take Me Out | TV JOJ | 5 September 2017 – 2019 | Milan Zimnýkoval and Jakub Prachar |
| South Africa | Take Me Out: South Africa | SABC1 | 15 July 2014 | Phat Joe (NOTE: This should not be confused with a rapper named "Fat Joe") |
| South Africa | Take Me Out: Mzansi | Vuzu Amp | 10 July 2017 – 2018 | Phat Joe (NOTE: This should not be confused with a rapper named "Fat Joe") |
| South Korea | Love Switch | tvN | 15 March 2010 – 2011 | Lee Kyung-kyu and Shin Dong-yup |
| Spain | Elígeme Pick Me | Cuatro | 24 November 2010 – 2011 | Carlos Baute |
| Spain | Me quedo contigo I Stay with You | Telecinco | 25 July – 22 November 2019 | Jesús Vázquez |
| Sweden | Dagens man Today's Man | TV4 Plus | 30 September 2009 – 9 July 2010 | Carolina Gynning |
| Taiwan | 王子的約會 Take Me Out Taiwan | Taiwan Television | 18 August 2012 – 26 April 2014 | Harlem Yu and Ella Chen of (S.H.E) |
| Thailand | Take Me Out Thailand | Channel 3 | 2 July 2011 – present | Patcharasri Benjamas [th] Ketsepsawat Palagawongse na Ayutthaya [th] and Apissada Kueakhongkha [th] |
| Thailand | Take Guy Out Thailand | AIS Play Line TV | 7 May 2016 – present | Patcharasri Benjamas [th] Ketsepsawat Palagawongse na Ayutthaya [th] and Niti Chaichitathorn |
| Ukraine | Давай, до побачення! Davay, do pobachennya! Come on, goodbye! | 1+1 | 30 August 2012 | Andriy Domanskyi |
| United Kingdom | Take Me Out | ITV | 2 January 2010 – 28 December 2019 | Paddy McGuinness |
| United States | Take Me Out | Fox | 7 June – 26 July 2012 | George Lopez |
| Vietnam | Đăng nhập trái tim Login Heart | HTV7 | 8 May 2021 | Phương Hiếu Âu Việt |