To Tell the Truth

To Tell the Truth
Logo for To Tell the Truth (2016 version)
GenrePanel show
Created byBob Stewart
Presented by
Announcer
Music byScore Productions
Gary Stockdale
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons11 (1956–67)
9 (1969–78)
2 (2000–02)
6 (2016–22)
No. of episodes474 (CBS Primetime; 1956-67)
1,625 (CBS Daytime; 1962–68)
1,715 (Syndicated; 1969–78)
195 (Syndicated; 1980–81)
190 (NBC Daytime; 1990–91)
86 (ABC; 2016–22)
Production
Running time22–26 minutes (1956–2002)
42–46 minutes (2016–22)
Production companiesGoodson-Todman Productions
(1956–81)
Mark Goodson Productions
(1990–2002)
Pearson Television
(2000–02)
Gaspin Media
(2016–22)
A2 Productions
(2016–22)
Fremantle North America
(2016–22)
Original release
NetworkCBS
ReleaseDecember 18, 1956 (1956-12-18) –
September 6, 1968 (1968-09-06)
NetworkSyndication (First edition)
ReleaseSeptember 8, 1969 (1969-09-08) –
September 7, 1978 (1978-09-07)
NetworkSyndication (Second edition)
ReleaseSeptember 8, 1980 (1980-09-08) –
June 12, 1981 (1981-06-12)
NetworkNBC
ReleaseSeptember 3, 1990 (1990-09-03) –
May 31, 1991 (1991-05-31)
NetworkSyndication (Third edition)
ReleaseSeptember 18, 2000 (2000-09-18) –
January 28, 2002 (2002-01-28)
NetworkABC
ReleaseJune 14, 2016 (2016-06-14) –
April 26, 2022 (2022-04-26)
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

To Tell the Truth is an American television panel show. Four celebrity panelists are presented with three contestants (the "team of challengers", each an individual or pair) and must identify which is the "central character" whose unusual occupation or experience has been read aloud by the show's host. When the panelists question the contestants, the two impostors may lie whereas the "central character" must tell the truth. The setup adds the impostor element to the format of What's My Line? and I've Got a Secret.

The show was created by Bob Stewart and originally produced by Mark Goodson–Bill Todman Productions. It first aired on CBS from 1956 to 1968 with Bud Collyer as host. From 1969 to 1978, the show was revived in syndication, with Garry Moore as the first host. Former panelist and frequent guest host Joe Garagiola took over in 1977, following Moore's health issues. Garagiola hosted until the show's cancellation.

Robin Ward hosted a 1980–81 syndicated revival of the program, and a 1990–91 revival on NBC featured a succession of different hosts: Gordon Elliott, Lynn Swann and Alex Trebek. The show was revived again in syndication from 2000 to 2002 with John O'Hurley as host. The most recent version aired on ABC from 2016 to 2022 with Anthony Anderson as host.