Kids Say the Darndest Things

Kids Say the Darndest Things is an American comedy series originally hosted by Bill Cosby that aired on CBS as hour-long specials on May 16 & November 14, 1997, followed by a weekly series from January 9, 1998, to June 23, 2000. A revival hosted by Tiffany Haddish aired on ABC from October 6, 2019, to January 19, 2020. ABC cancelled the revival after one season.[1] However, the revival moved to CBS, its original network, from May 5 to June 23, 2021, with Haddish returning as host.[2][3]

Kids Say the Darndest Things
Logo from the Bill Cosby era
GenreComedy
Directed byMorris Abraham
Presented by
ComposerBruce Miller
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons5
No. of episodes92
Production
Executive producers
  • Eddie Kritzer
  • Bill Paolantonio
  • Art Linkletter
ProducerEric Schotz
Running time
  • 22–24 minutes
  • 60 minutes (with commercials)
Production companiesLMNO Productions (1997–2000)
Linkletter/Atkins/Kritzer Productions Inc. (1998–2000)
CBS Productions (1997–2000)
Anvil 1893 Entertainment, Inc. (2019–21)
She Ready Productions (2019–21)
CBS Studios (2019–21)
Release
Original networkCBS (1997–2000, 2021)
ABC (2019–20)
Original release
  • Original series:

Specials: May 16 & November 14, 1997

  • Weekly series: January 9, 1998 (1998-01-09) – June 23, 2000 (2000-06-23)
  • Revival series:
  • October 6, 2019 (2019-10-06) – June 23, 2021 (2021-06-23)
Related
Art Linkletter's House Party

Premise

The host would begin a conversation by posing a question about life topics to a child, who usually responds with their own innocent, often comedic perspectives on the various topics.[4][5]

In the show's first inception, it would sometimes flash back to the 1950s and 1960s show Art Linkletter's House Party, with Cosby joined onstage by Art Linkletter, that show's host, to introduce the vintage clips. It would show kids (of the time), their same comedic reactions to whatever Linkletter would ask or say to them. Cosby also provided some of the humor in the show.[4]

The revival continued the premise, with part of the show performed in front of a live audience, and the rest featuring taped segments.[6]

Production

For the series' first iteration, Kids Say the Darndest Things was produced by CBS Productions with the co-production of LMNO Productions and Linkletter's company, Linkletter Productions.[4][7]

The revival continued its CBS association via CBS Studios, and was also co-produced by Haddish through her production company, She Ready Productions, and Eric Schotz of Anvil 1893 Entertainment.[8]

Conception

The show is based on a feature with the same name in Art Linkletter's radio show House Party and television series, Art Linkletter's House Party, which together aired mostly five days a week from 1945 to 1969.[9][10]

In other media

The subplot of the Family Guy episode "Brian Does Hollywood" features Stewie auditioning for the show in an attempt to hypnotize the entire world using a mind-control device, with Cosby later unwittingly foiling his plans.

In 2005, Robert Johnson and Albert Evans adapted the show into a full-length musical comedy.

International versions
CountryNameHost(s)TV stationPremiereFinale
 Australia Kidspeak Andrew Daddo Seven Network 1999 2000
 Hungary Gyerekszáj Sándor Friderikusz TV2 2000 2001
 India Badmaash Company - Ek Sharat Hone Ko Hains
Kutties Chutties (Tamil)		 Juhi Chawla Colors TV
Sun TV (Tamil)		 2000 2000
 Italy Zitti tutti! Parlano loro Carlo Conti Rai 1 January 17, 2000 May 26, 2000
 Singapore Kids Talk Back Andrew Lim Television Corporation of Singapore 1999 1999
Gurmit's Small Talk Gurmit Singh 2003 2003
 United Kingdom Kids Say the Funniest Things Michael Barrymore ITV December 27, 1998 October 8, 2000

References
  1. White, Peter; Andreeva, Nellie (May 21, 2020). "'Schooled', 'Bless This Mess', 'Single Parents', 'Emergence' & 'Kids Say The Darndest Things' Canceled By ABC". Deadline Hollywood.
  2. White, Peter (December 17, 2020). "'Kids Say the Darndest Things' Moves Back To CBS After ABC Cancellation". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  3. "Classic Variety Series "Kids Say the Darndest Things," Hosted by Emmy(R) and Grammy(R) Award-Winning Actress and Comedian Tiffany Haddish, to Premiere Wednesday, May 5 on CBS" (Press release). CBS. April 7, 2021 – via The Futon Critic.
  4. Shales, Tom (January 9, 1998). "'Darndest Things': A Fresh Old Idea". The Washington Post.
  5. Pedersen, Erik (May 14, 2019). "Tiffany Haddish To Host 'Kids Say The Darndest Things' Reboot On ABC". Deadline Hollywood.
  6. Harris, Beth (August 5, 2019). "Tiffany Haddish gets kids to say darndest things on new show". ABC 33/40 News.
  7. Littleton, Cynthia (October 2, 2019). "Former LMNO Chief Rebounds With 'Kids Say the Darndest Things'". Variety.
  8. Nakamura, Reid (May 14, 2019). "Tiffany Haddish to Host 'Kids Say the Darndest Things' Revival at ABC". TheWrap.
  9. Dunning, John. On the Air: The Encyclopedia of Old-Time Radio (Oxford University Press, 1998), pp. 333. ISBN 0-19-507678-8
  10. Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle F. (2007-10-17). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows, 1946-Present. pp. 736–737. ISBN 978-0-345-49773-4. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
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