Last Thursday, July 23, French public broadcaster France 2 launched its new game show Qui ment ? (Who is Lying?), produced by Flanagan Production (part of Studio TF1). It is certainly an intriguing cross-market move to see a flagship public channel airing a show from the production arm of its primary commercial rival (France Télévisions vs. TF1). However, France appears to be gradually adopting the UK model, where cross-commissioning between public broadcaster BBC and commercial network ITV is standard practice. A prime example is ITV’s smash hit The 1% Club, which is produced by the independent indie Magnum Media and distributed globally by BBC Studios.
But back to Qui Ment?. As the title suggests, the game show fits squarely into the Psycho Formats trend—one of the key movements highlighted in our annual 10+1 Global Format Trends report. These are formats with a psychological twist, where players must identify traitors or saboteurs, figure out who holds the money or power, or, as in this case, spot the liar—albeit here with a lighthearted, comedic spin.
Two pairs of non-celebrity contestants compete in the studio on general knowledge questions. Helping—and hindering—them is a panel of six celebrities (the debut episode featured Bruno Solo, Gil Alma, Lola Dubini, Max Boublil, Anne Roumanoff, and Florent Peyre).
For each question, the celebrities jump in with their own explanations or answers. However, while some VIPs know the correct answer and tell the truth, others are tasked with deliberately lying, using their best acting skills to deliver completely believable fabrications. Contestants must analyze their answers, hesitations, posture, and body language to call their bluff and bank points. The pair that survives the preliminary rounds moves on to the finale for a chance to win up to €50,000.
To be fair, it’s not a particularly groundbreaking twist: quiz shows featuring bluffing or lying contestants are a fairly well-trodden concept. TF1 itself recently aired Tricheurs (Cheaters) on TFX and TF1+—a quiz created by TF1’s development team alongside Dreamspark and Ah! Production (see here)—which feels very much like a “big brother” to Qui Ment?. (The latter, incidentally, had a muted debut, drawing 1.095 million viewers and an 8.6% market share).
To read about a spectacular Canadian format, adapted in the UK, and an original German business show, go to link
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