The 1% Club (American game show)

The 1% Club is an American game show, with its setup identically based on the British game show of the same name. Contestants are given a very short amount time to solve brain teaser questions, with questions getting significantly more difficult as the game continues, as statistically a progressively smaller percentage of people, according to the producers, answered each subsequent question correctly. It premiered on May 23, 2024 on Amazon Prime Video. Episodes are originally aired instantly on demand internet streaming access on Amazon Prime, however these same episodes are later officially network primetime broadcast on Fox, with episodes being available next day on Amazon Prime Video. The series is hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt. The show is produced and filmed at the American subsidiary of BBC Studios, in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Format
All questions used on the show are taken from a set that have been previously posed to a group of people chosen from throughout the United States. The questions are classified by the percentage who answered correctly, with lower percentages indicating higher difficulty levels. A total of 15 questions are used per episode, starting at 90% and decreasing to 1%.

The game begins with 100 contestants, each of whom is given a $1,000 stake. After a question is asked, they have 30 seconds to lock in their responses. All contestants who either answer incorrectly or fail to respond in time are eliminated, and their money is added to the day's jackpot. Prior to the fifth question (50%), all remaining contestants are given a pass, which they may use to skip any one question other than the final one (1%). In order to use a pass, however, a contestant must put their $1,000 into the jackpot. Prior to the ninth question (30%), any contestants who have not yet used their pass are given a chance to leave the game at this point and keep their money; those who have used their pass must continue. (For the first episode only, this offer was made prior to the eighth question at 35%.)

All contestants who either answer the fourteenth question (5%) correctly or pass it become eligible to win the jackpot. They may accept equal shares of $10,000 and leave the game, or attempt the 1% question. The jackpot is divided equally among all contestants who attempt the question and answer it correctly. Those who have not used their pass keep their original $1,000 if they lose, or have it added to their share of the jackpot if they win.

The maximum winnings total for a single contestant is $100,000, requiring that all the money held by the other 99 go into the jackpot due to wrong answers or passes.

Production
On October 17, 2023, it was announced that Amazon Prime Video had ordered the series. On March 4, 2024, Patton Oswalt was announced as the host. It was also announced that the series would be broadcast on Fox. On May 1, 2024, it was announced that the series will premiere on May 23, 2024 on Amazon Prime Video and would broadcast on June 3, 2024 on Fox, with episodes available next day on Amazon Prime Video.