# Raid the Cage (American game show)

Raid the Cage is an American television game show hosted by Damon Wayans Jr. and Jeannie Mai that premiered on CBS on October 13, 2023. It is an adaptation of the Israeli television series of the same name. Two teams of two contestants compete on each episode to earn time to retrieve prizes from a giant cage, with the team having the highest total keeping the prizes and playing the bonus round.

## Gameplay
### Main game

A backstage coin toss determines which team starts the first round; that team chooses one of two categories. One team member (the "Gabber") is given 45 seconds to match ten clues with eleven answers in a category. Each correct answer earns three seconds (for a maximum of 30 seconds) for their teammate (the "Grabber") to enter the cage.
The other team member then enters the cage, and attempts to collect as many prizes (consisting of physical goods, "tokens" for larger or non-tangible prizes, and mystery gift boxes) as they can and remove them from the cage before time runs out. If the contestant does not escape before time runs out and the doors close, the prizes are lost; however, as stated in the season 2 opening credits, as long as they get any part of their body past the doors, any prizes they are touching count. The contestants do not receive any indication of their time remaining, besides a three-second warning before the door closes. Contestants cannot re-enter the cage if time remains, and any prizes they grab after any part of their body leaves the cage do not count. After their run, the total value of any prizes successfully retrieved is revealed. The second team then repeats the process with the remaining category.
This process repeats in rounds two and three with the leading team starting each round. In round two, the time increases to five seconds per correct answer (50 maximum), and the teammates must switch roles. In round three, teammates can choose roles, and each correct answer earns seven seconds (70 maximum). New prizes are added to the cage between rounds, with certain higher-valued prizes requiring the contestant to complete a physical challenge in order to claim them.
The team that has the highest total value of prizes after three rounds wins the game and advances to the "Beat the Cage" bonus round. The winning team keeps all prizes won in the main game, while the losing team leaves with nothing.

### Bonus Round: Beat the Cage

The winning team then plays a final 90-second run in the cage to collect more prizes, which includes major prizes locked behind physical challenges. Unlike the main game, the two contestants take turns in the cage, and can continue to re-enter as long as there is time remaining. The team will not know how much time is left in the raid until five seconds remain.
If the team retrieves at least $50,000 worth of prizes before time expires, they keep all of the prizes they won in the bonus round; otherwise, they forfeit the prizes from this round. Regardless, they keep the prizes from the main game.

## Production

In 2017, NBC ordered a pilot for an American version of Raid the Cage, under the title Perfect Escape, with Sarah Michelle Gellar and Leslie Mann as hosts.
On June 30, 2023, it was announced that CBS had ordered the series. On August 3, 2023, it was announced that the series would premiere on October 13, 2023. On September 7, 2023, it was announced that Damon Wayans Jr. and Jeannie Mai would be the hosts of the show.
On May 2, 2024, the series was renewed for a second season, which serves as a winter series to be held in January and February during the time after Christmas and before the season 48 premiere of Survivor series that would be paired with the network's classic The Price Is Right at Night which premiered on January 8, 2025. However, the series is in doubt because of current litigation between the series producer, Sony Pictures Television, and Paramount Global, over a 1983 syndication agreement between Merv Griffin Productions and King World, which is now handled by their successor companies, Sony and Paramount, with two syndicated game shows distributed by Paramount's syndication arm and produced by Sony.

## Episodes
### Series overview

| Season | Episodes | Episodes | Originally released | Originally released |
| Season | Episodes | Episodes | First released | Last released |
| 1 | 12 | 12 | October 13, 2023 (2023-10-13) | January 17, 2024 (2024-1-17) |
| 2 | TBA | TBA | January 8, 2025 (2025-1-8) | TBA |

### Season 1 (2023–2024)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 1 | 1 | "Get In! Get Out! Get Rich!" | October 13, 2023 (2023-10-13) | 101 | 2.49 |
| 2 | 2 | "Turning Up the Heat" | October 20, 2023 (2023-10-20) | 102 | 2.47 |
| 3 | 3 | "Sister Sister" | October 27, 2023 (2023-10-27) | 103 | 2.17 |
| 4 | 4 | "City Slickers vs. Chicken Farmers" | November 3, 2023 (2023-11-3) | 104 | 2.25 |
| 5 | 5 | "Down, Set, Hut!" | November 10, 2023 (2023-11-10) | 105 | 2.38 |
| 6 | 6 | "Seeing Double" | November 17, 2023 (2023-11-17) | 106 | 2.28 |
| 7 | 7 | "Show Me the Matri-Money" | November 21, 2023 (2023-11-21) | 107 | 1.75 |
| 8 | 8 | "Lovebirds Battle" | December 1, 2023 (2023-12-1) | 109 | 2.36 |
| 9 | 9 | "Holiday Extravaganza" | December 8, 2023 (2023-12-8) | 109 | 2.19 |
| 10 | 10 | "Best Friends" | January 3, 2024 (2024-1-3) | 110 | 2.69 |
| 11 | 11 | "Old Friends vs. New Family" | January 10, 2024 (2024-1-10) | 111 | 2.83 |
| 12 | 12 | "Mommas' Night" | January 17, 2024 (2024-1-17) | 112 | 2.65 |

### Season 2 (2025)

| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original release date | Prod. code | U.S. viewers (millions) |
| 13 | 1 | "Grab Your Bestie" | January 8, 2025 (2025-1-8) | 207 | 2.49 |
| 14 | 2 | "Bad to the Bone" | January 15, 2025 (2025-1-15) | 203 | 2.22 |
| 15 | 3 | "Momma's House" | January 22, 2025 (2025-1-22) | 205 | 2.26 |
| 16 | 4 | "Brains & Brawn" | January 29, 2025 (2025-1-29) | 208 | 1.94 |
| 17 | 5 | "Poppa's House" | February 5, 2025 (2025-2-5) | 202 | 1.91 |
| 18 | 6 | "The Amazing Race vs. Survivor" | February 12, 2025 (2025-2-12) | 212 | 2.03 |
| 19 | 7 | "The Perfect Catch" | February 19, 2025 (2025-2-19) | 209 | 2.13 |

## Reception

Viewership and ratings per episode of Raid the Cage :
| No. | Title | Air date | Rating (18–49) | Viewers (millions) |
| 1 | "Get In! Get Out! Get Rich!" | October 13, 2023 | 0.3 | 2.49 |
| 2 | "Turning Up the Heat" | October 20, 2023 | 0.3 | 2.47 |
| 3 | "Sister Sister" | October 27, 2023 | 0.3 | 2.17 |
| 4 | "City Slickers vs. Chicken Farmers" | November 3, 2023 | 0.3 | 2.25 |
| 5 | "Down, Set, Hut!" | November 10, 2023 | 0.3 | 2.38 |
| 6 | "Seeing Double" | November 17, 2023 | 0.2 | 2.28 |
| 7 | "Show Me the Matri-Money" | November 21, 2023 | 0.2 | 1.75 |
| 8 | "Lovebirds Battle" | December 1, 2023 | 0.2 | 2.36 |
| 9 | "Holiday Extravaganza" | December 8, 2023 | 0.2 | 2.19 |
| 10 | "Best Friends" | January 3, 2024 | 0.3 | 2.69 |
| 11 | "Old Friends vs. New Family" | January 10, 2024 | 0.3 | 2.83 |
| 12 | "Mommas' Night" | January 17, 2024 | 0.4 | 2.65 |