Just for Laughs: Gags

Just for Laughs: Gags
Just for Laughs Gags title card (2004-present)
Also known as	Just for Laughs
Genre	Comedy
Created by	Pierre Girard and Jacques Chevalier
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	Silent, English, French, interjection
No. of seasons	15
No. of episodes	2,500+
Production
Producer(s)	Just for Laughs
Location(s)	Canada (Quebec, Montreal and Vancouver cities) and Mexico
Running time	30 minutes (including commercials)
Release
Original network	ABC/Telemundo (U.S.) TVA/CBC/The Comedy Network (Canada) BBC1 (UK) TF1 (France) ETB 1 (Basque Country) Channel One Germany/ZDF/Channel 7/BR (Germany) Channel One Russia (Russia) CCTV-4/CTV International (China) Hanoi Radio Television (Vietnam, 2011–2012) Indosiar (Indonesia) Nine Network (Australia) ZEEL (India)
Original release	December 26, 2000 – present
Chronology
Related shows	Just for Laughs
External links
Website	gags.justforlaughs.com

Just for Laughs: Gags (in French, Juste pour rire: Gags) is a Canadian silent comedy/hidden camera reality television show that is under the Just for Laughs brand. It is based on the similar American series Candid Camera.^[1] The series is also on YouTube. In December 26, 2000, JFL: Gags began airing on French Canadian network Canal D. In the following years, the show was picked up by TVA, CBC and The Comedy Network in Canada, BBC1 in the UK, TF1 in France and ABC and Telemundo in the United States; the Canadian version (unlike the ones produced for ABC) aired in the United States in first-run syndication starting in the fall of 2015 and ended in February 2016.^[2]

The series uses a hidden camera format, playing pranks on unsuspecting subjects while hidden cameras capture the subjects' responses; each episode presents multiple gags. While some segments have included brief dialogue, most do not contain any sound or dialogue; the audio is replaced with sound effects, a laugh track, and public domain music. Most segments are filmed in Quebec City, Montreal and Vancouver, while some have been filmed in Mexico. British and Asian versions have been produced in the UK and Singapore, respectively. In 2011 the show spawned a spinoff, Just Kidding, which consists exclusively of kids playing pranks on adults.

With its silent format and no translation required, Just for Laughs: Gags has been purchased for use in over 100 countries throughout the world as well as in airports and by airlines. Reactions to the gags range from "inane"^[3] to cross-culturally funny.^[4] The same distributors also distribute Surprise Sur Prise, a similar show.

A gag on 'Just for Laughs'

In March 2011, Just for Laughs Gags entered into a partnership with Montreal-based, entertainment site, Videobash.com^[5] and now have their own devoted channel there. (No video has been posted as of this writing.)

Cast ^[6]

This section requires specific casting related to Just for Laughs: Gags.

• Dany Many
• Denis Levasseur
• Denise Jacques
• Jacques Drolet
• Jean-Pierre Alarie
• Jean Provencher
• Marie-Ève Larivière
• Marie-Pierre Bouchard
• Nadja David
• Pascal Bab
• Philippe Bond
• Richard Ledoux
• Marie-Andrée Poulin
• Kirsteen O'Sullivan
• Jack Martin

Pranks

In the opening of each prank, the actors introduce how the prank was done and how it will be shown as well. Here are just a few illustrative examples from the thousands of pranks filmed for the 3,000+ shows include:

• Alien in the bushes: as people pass by a street, bushes shake uttering a strange language. As they try to check it, an alien pops out and chases them away;
• Hand out of the coffin: a coffin is abandoned in a park and when people pass by, a hand pops out;
• Stolen tires: an elderly lady asks bystanders to help her carry two tires to her car. But as they do so, they pass a police vehicle which is missing them. They tell the officer that they were the lady's and they were helping her take it to her car but as they look back, she was nowhere to be found;
• Dead bird in a race: people passing are asked to fire a starting pistol to help start a race. Once they give a shot in the air, a pigeon falls down;
• Honking at Hookers: a traffic police officer stops drivers and checks their license. Two hot prostitutes walk by and the officer honks a horn and the women appear to believe the drivers honked at them.
• Instant Accomplice: stranger's friend or love ones take part on a prank.

At the end of every prank, the hidden cameras are revealed. During the pranks, actors would also participate as victims for uninvolved bystanders or crowds.

List of pranks

To see the following list of pranks and its season of Just for Laughs Gags based in Canada, see List of pranks and its seasons on Just for Laughs Gags.

International versions

Country	Name	Network	Aired
Finland	Pilanpäiten	MTV3	2001 – present
United Kingdom	Just for Laughs	BBC One	31 May 2003 – 21 July 2007
Kosovo	Kamera e Fshehur	RTK	20?? – present
Croatia	Skrivena kamera Žuta minuta	RTL Television	2010 – present
India	Just for Laughs Gags	Zee Cafe, Zee Trendz, Zee Studio and Pogo	1 January 2004 – present
Pakistan	Just for Laughs Gags	Cartoon Network Filmax	2008 – 2010 2014 – Present
Serbia	Skrivena kamera-Скривена Камера	Prva Srpska Televizija	2010 – present
Malaysia	Just for Laughs Gags and Just for Laughs Gags Asia	TV3, Disney Channel Asia, DIVA Asia and NTV7	1 January 2005 – present
Poland	Ale numer!	TV Puls	2007 – present
South Africa	Just for Laughs Gags	Comedy Central Africa	2012 – present
United States	Just for Laughs	ABC and Telemundo First-run syndication	17 July 2007 – 12 July 2009 September 2015 – present
Portugal	Não há crise! (There's no crisis!)	SIC	2008 – present
Greece	Just for Laughs	Makedonia TV	2009 – 2016
Singapore	Just for Laughs Gags Asia and Just for Laughs Gags	MediaCorp Channel 5 and DIVA Asia	12 January 2010 – present
Japan	Just for Laughs	Fox	2011 – present
Philippines	Just for Laughs Gags Philippines	GMA Network, PhLighting Channel	5 November 2011 – August 2012
Russia	Radi Smeha (in Russian, Ради Смеха)	Ren TV	2012 – present
Turkey	Komikler (Just for Laughs Gags)	Kanal D	2012 – present
Azerbaijan	Just for Laughs Gags	Lider TV	2006 – present
Indonesia	Just for Laughs Gags	INDOSIAR	2014 – present
Morocco	Just for Laughs Gags	2M TV	2010s – present
Brazil	Só Risos (Only Laughs)	Rede Bandeirantes de Televisão (terrestrial TV)	15 July 2013 – present
	Pegadinhas (Pranks)	Viva (pay TV)	5 January 2013 – present
Kazakhstan	Тек Күлкі Үшін	HTK	2012 – present
Hong Kong	笑笑大搞作	ATV	2007
Taiwan	歡樂夏夏叫	Videoland Television Network
China	国外恶作剧搞笑录像
Kenya	Just for Laughs Gags	KTN
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Just for Laughs Gags Skrivena kamera	Face TV FTV	2015 – present 12 July 2017 - present
Vietnam	Just for Laughs Gags	Hanoi Radio Television	2011– 2012

Just for Laughs (U.S. TV series)

Just for Laughs is an American sketch comedy show hosted by Rick Miller that shows clips from the Canadian version of the show. Good ratings during the summer airings in 2007 and a writer's union strike resulted in ABC adding the show to the network lineup as a midseason replacement for 2007-2008. It returned to the schedule on January 1, 2008, before being canceled on May 12, 2008. However, on June 4, 2009, it was announced that a third season would begin airing on June 21, 2009.^[7] Program Partners will bring the show back to the United States for a fourth season beginning in fall 2015; this season will air in first-run syndication.^[8]

Seasonal Nielsen ratings

Seasonal ratings based on average total viewers per episode of Just for Laughs on ABC:

DVD releases

• Just for Laughs Gags 1
• Just for Laughs Gags 2

External links

• Just For Laughs Gags Official YouTube Channel
• Just Kidding Official YouTube Channel
• Just for Laughs Gags at TV.com
• Just for Laughs Gags Channel on Videobash.com

also at:

• hahaha.com
• Short site of Just For Laughs Gags YouTube Channel
• Hidden Camera classics
• Just for laughs standup channel

References