# Pyramid (franchise)

Pyramid is an American game show franchise that has aired several versions domestically and internationally. The show was developed by Bob Stewart. The original series, The $10,000 Pyramid, debuted on CBS on March 26, 1973, and spawned seven subsequent Pyramid series. Most later series featured a full title format matching the original series, with the title reflecting an increasing top prize. Two teams, each consisting of a celebrity and contestant, attempt to convey mystery words and phrases within a common category, against a time limit, to win cash and prizes. The title refers to the show's pyramid-shaped gameboard, featuring six categories arranged in a triangular fashion. The various Pyramid series have won a total of nine Daytime Emmys for Outstanding Game Show, second only to Jeopardy!, which has won 13.
Dick Clark is the host most commonly associated with the show, having hosted the network daytime version from 1973 to 1980 (which moved from CBS to ABC in 1974, and increased its namesake top prize from $10,000 to $20,000 in 1976) and The (New) $25,000 Pyramid from 1982 to 1988 on CBS. Clark also hosted two weeknight syndicated versions, The $50,000 Pyramid in 1981 and The $100,000 Pyramid from 1985 to 1988 (concurrent with the daytime show).
Bill Cullen hosted the first weekly nighttime version of The $25,000 Pyramid from 1974 to 1979. John Davidson hosted The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991, and Donny Osmond hosted a version simply titled Pyramid from 2002 to 2004; both aired five episodes per week. Game Show Network's The Pyramid, hosted by Mike Richards, who was an executive at format owner Sony Pictures Television, aired a single forty-episode season in 2012.
The current incarnation of The $100,000 Pyramid debuted June 26, 2016 on ABC with Michael Strahan as host. On November 11, 2024, it was announced that The $100,000 Pyramid would be renewed for an eighth season, which premiered on March 9, 2025.

## Chronology, episodes and hosting

The Pyramid game show franchise featured runs on the CBS, ABC, and Game Show Network, as well as in syndication. Its run began in 1973 and continues at present with an ABC version of the series still airing. As of October 1, 2024 the following is the episode count, chronology, production source, and hosts of the various iterations of the Pyramid:
$10,000 Pyramid (CBS/ABC) – Host: Dick Clark
* 242 episodes CBS Daytime, March 26, 1973 – March 29, 1974
* 431 episodes ABC Daytime, May 6, 1974 – January 16, 1976
$20,000 Pyramid (ABC) - Host: Dick Clark
* 1,149 episodes ABC Daytime, January 19, 1976 – June 27, 1980
$25,000 Pyramid (Syndicated PM) – Host: Bill Cullen
* 150 episodes September 9, 1974 – May 26, 1979
$50,000 Pyramid (Syndicated PM) – Host: Dick Clark
* 95 episodes Syndicated, January 26, 1981 – June 5, 1981
$25,000 Pyramid (CBS) – Host: Dick Clark
* 1,403 episodes CBS Daytime, September 20, 1982 – December 31, 1987; April 4, 1988 – July 1, 1988
$100,000 Pyramid (Syndicated) – Host: Dick Clark (1985 version), John Davidson (1991 version).
* 550 episodes Syndicated, September 9, 1985 – September 2, 1988
* 170 episodes Syndicated, January 7, 1991 – December 6, 1991
Pyramid (Syndicated) – Host: Donny Osmond
* 315 episodes Syndicated, September 16, 2002 – May 21, 2004
The Pyramid (GSN) – Host: Mike Richards
* 40 episodes Game Show Network, September 3 – October 26, 2012
$100,000 Pyramid (ABC) – Host: Michael Strahan
* 92 episodes ABC Primetime, June 26, 2016 – present

### Cumulative Episode Statistics

Total Episodes: 4,637 episodes of all versions (as of October 1, 2024)
* ABC Episodes: 1,672
* CBS Episodes: 1,645
* Syndicated Episodes: 1,280
* GSN Episodes: 40

### Hosting Statistics

* Dick Clark hosted 3,870 episodes (1973 – 1988)
* Donny Osmond hosted 315 episodes (2002 – 2004)
* John Davidson hosted 170 episodes (1991)
* Bill Cullen hosted 150 episodes (1974 – 1979)
* Michael Strahan has hosted 92 episodes (2016 – present)
* Mike Richards hosted 40 episodes (2012)

## Gameplay

The Pyramid's game boards, both in the main game and in the Winners' Circle bonus round, feature six categories arranged in a triangle (referred to as a pyramid), with three on the bottom row, two on the middle row, and one on the top. Most variations of gameplay feature two teams, each composed of a contestant and a celebrity. The game's central premise involves teams taking turns, with one player attempting to describe mystery words or phrases to their teammate against a time limit. The higher scoring team wins the game and plays the bonus round.

### Main game

At the beginning of the game, the teams are shown six categories. Once the category is chosen, its exact meaning is given unless there is a bonus element that requires obscuring the category. One member of the team is then given a list of words or phrases that fit the category (displayed on a monitor before that team member), and must describe each to his or her partner within a time limit. The team member giving the clues may use any form of verbal clue that does not contain the answer (for example, using "high up" for "height"); non-verbal clues such as pantomime are also accepted. One point is scored for each item correctly guessed, and words for which illegal clues are given are eliminated from play. Each category usually consists of seven words or phrases. If a team is stuck on a word or phrase, they may pass and may go back to that word or phrase, provided if there is any time left. All versions of the show feature a maximum of seven words and a thirty-second time limit for each category, except for the 2002-04 version, which used six words and a twenty-second time limit.
Each team alternates playing a category until all six have been played, although it is possible for a category to go unplayed if one team is so far behind that they cannot score enough points to catch up. In addition, the teams alternate in each round of play as to whether the celebrity or the contestant gives the clues.
In versions prior to the 2010s, tie scores were broken by an additional round of gameplay. The host offered the team who scored the tying a point a choice of two different letters of the alphabet. That team then played a round consisting entirely of words beginning with that letter, after which the opposing team played words beginning with the other letter. The tie was then broken by whichever team achieved more points or, if both teams successfully played all seven words, whichever team did so in a shorter amount of time. Starting with the 2016 version of the show, ties are broken by whichever team achieved their score in a faster amount of time.
After a round of gameplay, the higher-scoring team proceeds to the show's bonus round, known as the Winner's Circle. Once the Winner's Circle is completed, a new round of gameplay begins with the celebrities switching teams and a new selection of categories. After this round is completed, the winning team proceeds to the second and final Winner's Circle.

#### Bonuses

The game board has often featured a number of spaces which award bonus prizes to the contestants.
Throughout the 1970s, a random category during the main game doubled as the "Big 7", meaning that the contestant originally received a prize if all seven words were guessed correctly. Beginning in 1982, a random category in the second round was designated as the "Mystery 7", in which the host did not reveal the topic of the category until after the fact, and correctly guessing all seven words awarded a bonus prize. This bonus feature was reinstated for the second round of the 2010s version.
In 1983, The $25,000 Pyramid introduced a new bonus space called the "7-11", which was randomly concealed behind a category in the first round of gameplay. If this was revealed, the team could elect to play for $1,100 cash if all seven words were guessed correctly, or $50 per correct word; the latter option was dropped in early 1985. During the $100,000 tournament weeks in the 1980s and 1990s, no bonus prizes were on the maingame board, but the perfect score tiebreaker award was still intact.
The 1991 version offered additional bonuses. "Gamble for a Grand"/"Gamble for a Trip" offered the choice to reduce the round's time limit from 30 to 25 seconds to win $1,000 cash or a trip, respectively, and "Double Trouble" offered the team 45 seconds to guess seven two-word responses for a $500 bonus.
The Donny Osmond-hosted version had one bonus: "Super Six", which was featured in both games each day, and awarded an additional prize for guessing all six words in 20 seconds.
On the Game Show Network version, there were no bonuses behind the categories, but correctly guessing all seven words in a category awarded $500 to the contestant and added $5,000 to the Winner's Circle bank.

### Winner's Circle

The winning team from the main game plays the Winner's Circle, in which one member must describe six categories, ostensibly of increasing difficulty, to their partner within 60 seconds by giving a short and concise list of items relating to each category in play. (For instance, the category "things that clean" could be described with clues such as "soap", "a vacuum", or "a maid's broom".) The team is credited with solving a category as long as the guesser says its key word (here, "clean") before time runs out. Although it has not been stated in official rules, since Strahan has been hosting, the contestant gives the clues and the celebrity must guess the categories. In prior versions of the show, celebrities usually gave the clues. In the earliest episodes of the show, the host would ask the contestant whether or not they wanted to give or receive clues in the winner's circle.
The clue giver may pass on a category and return to it after playing through all six if time remains on the clock. Giving an illegal clue removes the category from play. These include using gestures (which were permitted until 1974); using any part of a key word in the category, a definition, or a direct synonym of it; using a prepositional phrase; or listing an item that does not fit the category. Each category in the Winner's Circle has a cash amount attached to it; successfully playing all six categories wins the top cash prize for that round, while failing to do so awards the cash amounts attached to all solved categories.

## History
### Broadcast history
#### The $10,000 Pyramid

On March 26, 1973, The $10,000 Pyramid, with host Dick Clark, made its network debut and was a ratings hit, sustaining its ratings even when episodes were delayed or preempted by the Watergate hearings. A year later, the ratings temporarily declined (against the original version of Jeopardy! on NBC) and CBS canceled it. The show was quickly picked up by ABC and began airing on that network on May 6, 1974. As per CBS custom at the time with celebrity game shows, three weeks of episodes for CBS were taped in Hollywood at Television City, Studio 31. The remainder of the CBS episodes originated in New York City at the Ed Sullivan Theater, moving to ABC's Elysee Theatre after Pyramid switched networks.

#### The $20,000 Pyramid

Beginning on January 19, 1976, the series doubled its top prize and was retitled The $20,000 Pyramid . From October 1 to November 9, 1979, the series briefly became Junior Partner Pyramid, which scrapped the usual celebrity-contestant pairings in favor of children playing the game with a parent or other adult relative. Its last episode aired June 27, 1980, with Family Feud subsequently moving up a half-hour to take over the 12:00 noon (EST) slot formerly occupied by The $20,000 Pyramid.

#### The (New) $25,000 Pyramid

On September 20, 1982, the series returned to the CBS daytime lineup as The $25,000 Pyramid, again with Clark as host. "New" was added to the show's title on November 8, 1982 and remained for a little over 2 years. Eventually, "New" was dropped from the title, and on January 28, 1985, and the show was once again known as "The $25,000 Pyramid". The series taped in Los Angeles full-time at CBS Television City's Studio 33 (formerly used for The Price Is Right, now known as the "Bob Barker Studio"). The series remained there for the entire run (except for some episodes that were filmed in studio 41 in September 1983) until the series was cancelled. The last episode of the series aired on Friday, January 1, 1988. Blackout replaced this version of the Pyramid and began airing in the series' 10:00 a.m. timeslot on Monday, January 4, 1988. Blackout was canceled after 13 weeks of episodes. On April 4, 1988, The $25,000 Pyramid returned to the CBS daytime schedule, but only for 13 more weeks. The $25,000 Pyramid was the only network game show to replace the series that replaced it after cancellation. The final episode of the $25,000 Pyramid aired on July 1, 1988. The following Monday, the show was replaced by Family Feud, hosted by Ray Combs.

#### The $100,000 Pyramid

Concurrent with the network show's run, several nighttime versions of the show were sold to local stations through syndication: the original $25,000 Pyramid and The $50,000 Pyramid were taped in the Elysee Theatre in New York, and both editions of The $100,000 Pyramid were taped at Television City. The Dick Clark-hosted episodes were taped in Studio 33 concurrently with the daytime $25,000 Pyramid, and the 1991 edition hosted by John Davidson was taped in Studio 31.
On January 9, 2016, ABC greenlit a new version of The $100,000 Pyramid, set to air during the summer of 2016. This version also marked the return of the show to New York City, where it had originally been produced in the 1970s. The first season comprised ten hour-long episodes, with Michael Strahan serving as host. The show aired as part of ABC's Sunday Fun & Games lineup at 9:00pm ET/8:00pm CT, along with the Steve Harvey-hosted Celebrity Family Feud and the Alec Baldwin-hosted Match Game (the latter of which ended in July 2021). Each episode of The $100,000 Pyramid consists of two full games. Additionally, two introductions and two closings are taped with ability to air either.
This incarnation of The $100,000 Pyramid debuted on ABC on June 26, 2016; the first season ran until September 12, 2016. The show was renewed for a second season, which premiered on June 11, 2017 and ran until September 24, 2017. On August 6, 2017, the show was renewed for a third season, which ran from June 10, 2018 to September 23, 2018; the show was then renewed for a fourth season which ran from June 9, 2019 to September 22, 2019. On November 20, 2019, the series was renewed for a fifth season, which premiered on May 26, 2021 and ran until September 15, 2021.
In August 2020, production for season five of The $100,000 Pyramid began in New York City with new safety protocols and guidelines introduced; these guidelines include measures such as crew and contestants having their temperatures tested, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on-site, and social distancing measures. This season did not feature an in-studio audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On January 6, 2022, ABC renewed The $100,000 Pyramid for a sixth season, and moved the show from New York City to Los Angeles. The first half of the sixth season premiered on July 10, 2022 and ran until December 6, 2022, while the second half of the sixth season premiered on July 9, 2023 and ran until August 27, 2023. The show was ultimately renewed for a seventh season which premiered on September 28, 2023 and concluded on December 13, 2023.
On November 11, 2024, it was announced that The $100,000 Pyramid would be renewed for an eighth season; the eighth season premiered on March 9, 2025.

### Later developments

In late 1996, Sony Pictures Television (then-Columbia TriStar Television) produced a pilot for a new version of Pyramid, with Mark Wahlberg as host, which featured a format radically different from the earlier versions, including an increase of the number of celebrities to six, each of which would be assigned to a different main game subject. It did not sell, but Sony tried again the following year, this time with Chuck Woolery at the helm and a format closer to the original, although the six-celebrity motif from the previous pilot remained. This version also failed to sell, but two years later, after the success of its series Rock & Roll Jeopardy! on VH1, Sony attempted to give Pyramid similar treatment with a 1999 pilot called Pyramid Rocks. Hosted by Bil Dwyer, the format likewise attempted to incorporate music into the game, but proved no more successful than the previous two attempts at reviving the series.
The show would remain off the air until 2002, when a syndicated series, simply titled Pyramid, successfully sold its pilot and was ordered for a full season. The series was hosted by Donny Osmond and ran for two seasons from September 16, 2002 to May 21, 2004, with reruns airing until September 10, 2004. The show was taped at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.
Following CBS's cancellation of Guiding Light in April 2009, Pyramid was one of three potential series considered as a replacement for the veteran soap opera. (Let's Make a Deal and The Dating Game as The New Dating Game or The Newlywed Game as The New Newlywed Game were the other two, with a pilot shot for the former series.) During the tapings that took place in June of that year at the Kaufman Astoria Studios in New York, the top prize was raised to a potential $1,000,000 with a tournament format similar to the $100,000 format. Dean Cain and Tim Vincent were tapped as hosts of the pilots, with $50,000 announcer Alan Kalter returning, and Sony Pictures game show legend Ken Jennings served as a panelist in the pilots.
CBS passed on Pyramid and opted to pick up Let's Make a Deal, hosted by Wayne Brady, as Guiding Light's replacement. Several months later, in December 2009, CBS announced the cancellation of another long-running soap opera, As the World Turns. Pyramid was once again among the series being considered as a potential replacement. CBS ordered a third pilot on April 9, 2010. Andy Richter was identified as a potential host. On May 18, 2011, TBS announced development of a possible new version of Pyramid, again to be hosted by Andy Richter. It was later announced that the show was not picked up.
Another pilot, titled The Pyramid, was taped on June 16, 2012. On July 12, 2012, GSN announced The Pyramid had been picked up and would premiere on the network on September 3, with Mike Richards hosting the show. The series ran for 40 episodes before being cancelled later in the year. The Pyramid was taped at the CBS Studio Center.

## Conception

Television producer Bob Stewart developed The $10,000 Pyramid in 1973. The show's format was adapted from an unsold television pilot Stewart had filmed earlier titled Cash on the Line.

## Personnel

Bob Clayton was the series' original announcer and performed these duties until his death in 1979. Alan Kalter and Steve O'Brien shared the primary announcer role until The $50,000 Pyramid ended production in 1981. Substitutes included Fred Foy, John Causier, Dick Heatherton, Scott Vincent, and Ed Jordan.
When the series was revived and production moved to California in 1982, Jack Clark became the announcer and held the position until 1985. Johnny Gilbert became the primary announcer for The $25,000 Pyramid while Charlie O'Donnell took the job for The $100,000 Pyramid when it launched that fall. Both Gilbert and O'Donnell substituted for each other on their respective series; other substitutes included Jerry Bishop, Rod Roddy, Bob Hilton, Charlie Tuna, and Dean Goss. In 1991, Gilbert and Goss were both featured announcers and frequent panelist Henry Polic II also announced for several weeks. John Cramer announced the 2002–04 version, and JD Roberto announced The Pyramid (2012). The 2016 ABC primetime version is announced by Brad Abelle.
Mike Gargiulo directed through 1981, with Bruce Burmester replacing him until the end of the 1991 version.
The original theme tune was "Tuning Up" by Ken Aldin. In 1982, it was replaced by an original, similarly styled composition by Bob Cobert, which was also used in 1991. Barry Coffing and John Blaylock composed the theme and incidental music for the 2002–04 version, while Alan Ett composed a cover of Bob Cobert's 1982–91 theme for The Pyramid. Bleeding Fingers Music composed a separate cover of Cobert's theme for the 2016 version.

## International versions

| Country | Name | Host | Channel | Air dates |
| Albania | Piramida | Bora Zemani | Top Channel | October 29, 2024 – February 23, 2025 |
| Australia | Pyramid | Shura Taft | Nine Network (2009–2012) 9Go! (2013–2014) | September 1, 2009 – 2014 |
| Canada (Quebec) | Pyramide | Sébastien Benoit | Radio-Canada | April 28, 2008 – April 22, 2011 |
| Chile | Contrarreloj | Esperanza Silva Coco Legrand | Canal 13 | 2002 |
| Egypt | الهرم El Haram | Moufida Sheeha | ERT 2 | May 16, 2009 |
| Ethiopia | ማን ያሸንፋል? Man Yashenfal? | Zewetr Desalegn | EBS TV | 2021 2023–present |
| Estonia | Püramiid | Teet Margna | TV3 | March 4, 2006 |
| France | Pyramide | Patrice Laffont (1991–2001; 2002–2003) Marie-Ange Nardi (2002) Olivier Minne (2014–2015) | Antenne 2 (1991–1992) France 2 (1992–2003; 2014–2015) | 1991–2003 2014–2015 |
| Germany | Die Pyramide | Dieter Thomas Heck (1979–1994) Micky Beisenherz and Joachim Llambi (2012) Jörg Pilawa (2023) | ZDF ZDFneo Sat.1 | 1979–1994 2012 2023 |
| Germany | Hast Du Worte!? | Jörg Pilawa (1996–1997) Thomas Koschwitz (1997–1999) | Sat.1 | 1996–1999 |
| Indonesia | Piramida | Ronnie Sianturi Ricky Johannes | RCTI | 1995–1999 2000 |
| Indonesia | Piramida Baru | Ricky Johannes | RCTI | 2001–2003 |
| Iran | Pyramid | Sina Valiollah | PMC | 2009 |
| Israel | שחק אותה Play It | Yigal Shilon Dudu Topaz | Channel 1 | 1979–1980 1983–1984 |
| Israel | הפירמידה HaPyramida | Oded Menashe | Channel 2 | 2002 |
| Italy | Pyramid | Enrico Brignano and Debora Salvalaggio | Rai Due | December 3, 2007 – February 3, 2008 |
| Malaysia | Piramida | Perdana Emas | Suria | 2000 – Early 2000s |
| Nigeria | The ₦10,000,000 Pyramid | Enyinna Nwigwe | African Magic Showcase Channel | 2024 |
| Poland | Piramida | Hubert Urbański Andrzej Strzelecki | Polsat | 1997–2000 |
| Portugal | A Grande Pirâmide | Sergio Figueira Manuel Luis Goucha | RTP1 | 1994–1995 |
| Russia | Пирамида Piramida | Ivan Urgant | Russia 1 | May 16, 2004 – March 20, 2005 |
| Singapore | The Pyramid Game | Samuel Chong Benedict Goh Darryl David | Channel 5 | 1994–1999 |
| Turkey | Piramit | Mim Kemal Öke | aTV | 1994–1995 |
| Turkey | Piramit | Yusuf Çim | Show TV | 2015–2016 |
| United Kingdom | The £1,000 Pyramid Game | Steve Jones | ITV | 1981–1984 |
| United Kingdom | The Pyramid Game | Steve Jones | ITV | 1989–1990 |
| United Kingdom | Donny's Pyramid Game | Donny Osmond | Challenge | 2007 |
| Venezuela | Match 4 | Juan Manuel Montesinos | Venevisiόn | 1984–1989 |
| Venezuela | Contra reloj | Daniela Kosán | Televen | 2001–2002 |
| Vietnam | Kim tự tháp | Chi Bảo | HTV7 (2005–2007) HTV9 (2007–2008) | April 30, 2005 – 2008 |
The British version was called The Pyramid Game and ran intermittently from 1981 to 1990, with Steve Jones as host. Donny Osmond hosted a short-lived incarnation in 2007, which used a similar set and the same music package as the 2002 American version.
In 2009, Sony created an Australian version of The Junior Partner Pyramid called simply Pyramid. This version was hosted by Shura Taft until 2012, with Graham Matters taking over the following year.
A German version titled Die Pyramide aired on ZDF from 1979 to 1994, and was hosted by Dieter Thomas Heck. A new version aired on ZDFneo in 2012, and was co-hosted by Micky Beisenherz and Joachim Llambi.
Versions in French, both titled Pyramide, were produced at different times in France and in Canada.

## Home games

The first board game of The $10,000 Pyramid was released in 1974 by the Milton Bradley Company, with a total of eight editions produced through 1981. Beginning with the fourth edition, like its TV counterpart, the title and top payoff changed to The $20,000 Pyramid, while the final edition was titled The $50,000 Pyramid. However, due to concerns about players easily memorizing possible Winners' Circle subjects, the format of the board game's Winners' Circle endgame was changed to mirror that of the TV version's main game.
Cardinal Games released a new home version of The $25,000 Pyramid in 1986, this time using the actual Winners' Circle rules and format, which was also given to all contestants who appeared on both the daytime and nighttime versions for most of 1987 and select 1988 episodes. This version was reissued in 2000 by Endless Games, which later released a new edition based on the Osmond version in 2003.
The $100,000 Pyramid, a video game adaptation, was released in 1987. Developed and published by Box Office Software, it was originally released for Apple II and then ported to MS-DOS and Commodore 64. Sierra Attractions released a Microsoft Windows version of The $100,000 Pyramid in 2001, which was followed by a DVD game from MGA Entertainment in 2006.
A version titled The $1,000,000 Pyramid was released by Ubisoft for the Wii in 2011.