TV quiz questions for the ultimate small-screen round

Television is the one topic almost every quiz team can say something about. Someone in the room grew up on Cheers reruns, someone else binged a Netflix drama last month, and everyone's got an opinion about reality TV even if they pretend they don't watch it. That range makes TV one of the most reliable rounds you can run.

These 28 questions move from classic shows most people can place, through sitcoms and dramas, into reality TV and streaming, and finish with genuine trivia and world records that will test even the most dedicated box-set watchers. If you want a round built entirely around one show, we've already covered The Office, Friends, and Star Trek in separate posts. This one stays broad across the whole medium.

Classic TV Warm-Up

These are the shows most people have at least heard of, even if they've never watched a full episode.

1In the sitcom Cheers, what US city is the bar located in?

Answer:Boston (the bar itself is also called Cheers, "where everybody knows your name")(click to reveal)

2What children's educational show, featuring characters like Big Bird and Elmo, first aired in November 1969?

Answer:Sesame Street(click to reveal)

3What live sketch comedy show, which launched the careers of comedians including Chevy Chase and John Belushi, first aired on NBC in October 1975?

Answer:Saturday Night Live (SNL)(click to reveal)

4Which classic 1950s sitcom, starring a real-life married couple, was the first show filmed in front of a live studio audience using three cameras at once?

Answer:I Love Lucy (the technique, developed for the show, became the standard setup for sitcoms ever since)(click to reveal)

5In which English seaside town is the sitcom Fawlty Towers set?

Answer:Torquay(click to reveal)

6In Only Fools and Horses, what is the name of the Trotter brothers' market trading business?

Answer:Trotters Independent Traders(click to reveal)

7Which classic game show, long hosted by Alex Trebek, asks contestants to phrase their responses in the form of a question?

Answer:Jeopardy!(click to reveal)

Sitcoms and Comedy

8Seinfeld was famously pitched, and often described by its own writers, as a show about what?

Answer:Nothing (a "show about nothing")(click to reveal)

9The Sopranos follows a mob boss trying to balance family life with organised crime in which US state?

Answer:New Jersey(click to reveal)

10In which US city is the sitcom Frasier, about a radio psychiatrist, set?

Answer:Seattle(click to reveal)

11In the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances, how does snobbish Hyacinth insist her surname should be pronounced?

Answer:"Bouquet" (rather than Bucket)(click to reveal)

12The Big Bang Theory centres on a group of scientists and their neighbour Penny. What is Penny's job when the show begins?

Answer:A waitress (at the Cheesecake Factory, while pursuing an acting career)(click to reveal)

13Modern Family is filmed in a mockumentary style following three related families. What device do the characters frequently use to speak directly to camera?

Answer:Talking-head interviews (cutaways where characters address the camera directly, as if being interviewed for a documentary)(click to reveal)

14In Brooklyn Nine-Nine, what is the surname of the stoic police captain played by Andre Braugher?

Answer:Holt (Captain Raymond Holt)(click to reveal)

Drama, Reality TV and Streaming

15Breaking Bad is set in which US city?

Answer:Albuquerque, New Mexico(click to reveal)

16Which HBO crime drama, set in Baltimore and centred on the drug trade and police department, is widely considered one of the greatest TV shows ever made despite never winning a single Emmy?

Answer:The Wire(click to reveal)

17Stranger Things is set in a fictional town in which US state?

Answer:Indiana (the town is called Hawkins)(click to reveal)

18Netflix drama The Crown chronicles the reign of which British monarch?

Answer:Queen Elizabeth II(click to reveal)

19In which year did the American version of Survivor first air?

Answer:2000(click to reveal)

20The reality format Big Brother, later adapted in dozens of countries, first launched in which country in 1999?

Answer:The Netherlands (source)(click to reveal)

21Who Wants to Be a Millionaire first aired in the UK in 1998, hosted by which presenter?

Answer:Chris Tarrant(click to reveal)

TV Trivia and World Records

These are the ones that separate the casual viewer from the person who actually reads about television for fun.

22Which animated sitcom, which first aired in December 1989, holds the Guinness World Record for the most episodes of any animated series?

Answer:The Simpsons (source), with 684 episodes across 31 seasons at the time the record was set(click to reveal)

23Which HBO fantasy drama holds the record for the most Emmy Awards won by a single scripted series, with 59 wins?

Answer:Game of Thrones (source)(click to reveal)

24Which British soap opera, which first aired in December 1960, holds the Guinness World Record for longest-running TV soap opera?

Answer:Coronation Street (source)(click to reveal)

25Which sci-fi series, which debuted on the BBC in November 1963, holds the Guinness World Record for the most episodes of any science fiction TV series?

Answer:Doctor Who (source), with over 800 episodes recorded at the time the record was set(click to reveal)

26The 1983 finale of which sitcom drew a US audience of 105.9 million viewers, a figure that still makes it the most-watched scripted TV episode in American history?

Answer:M*A*S*H (source), for the episode "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen"(click to reveal)

27Which game show, still running in its current format since 1972, holds the record for longest continuously running game show in American TV history?

Answer:The Price Is Right (source)(click to reveal)

28Which actor won four Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series playing a high school chemistry teacher who turns to manufacturing drugs?

Answer:Bryan Cranston (for his role in Breaking Bad, spread across the 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014 ceremonies)(click to reveal)

Tips for Running a TV Round

Split it by era if your crowd skews one way. A room full of twenty-somethings will fly through the streaming questions and stumble on the classic TV section, and the reverse is just as likely with an older crowd. Knowing your audience matters more for this topic than most.

Watch out for remakes and adaptations. Shows like Who Wants to Be a Millionaire and Big Brother have local versions in dozens of countries, so be clear whether you're asking about the original format or a specific country's version.

Don't let one franchise dominate. TV as a topic is enormous, so resist the urge to load the round with questions about whatever you personally binged last month. Spread it across genres and decades instead.

Use the records round as a decider. The trivia and world records questions at the end make a good tie-breaker section if two teams are level going into the last round. They're specific enough that guessing rarely gets you there.

Looking for more ready-made rounds? Our quiz creator lets you build and customise a full TV round in minutes, mixing these questions with your own.