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| Genre | Word game |
|---|---|
| Running time | 60 minutes (2006–2021) 30 minutes (1997–2006) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Home station | WGBH |
| Syndicates | PRX |
| Hosted by | Richard Sher Barry Nolan Gregg Porter Dave Zobel |
| Created by | Richard Sher |
| Produced by | Pipit & Finch |
| Executive producer(s) | Laura Sher |
| Original release | 1997 – 2023 |
| No. of series | 27 |
| No. of episodes | 600+ |
| Website | Official website |
| Podcast | Says You! |
Says You! is a word game quiz show that airs weekly in the United States on public radio stations. Richard Sher created the show in 1996 with the guiding philosophy: "It's not important to KNOW the answers: it's important to LIKE the answers." The first episode to broadcast on radio took place in Cambridge, Massachusetts in February 1997.
Recorded in front of live audiences in theaters around the United States, the show is produced in Boston, Massachusetts. Its format, emphasis on witty repartee, and its tagline—"a game of bluff and bluster, words and whimsy"—are reminiscent of the similarly long-running BBC program My Word! (1956–1990).[citation needed] The first ten seasons of Says You! aired in a half hour timeslot before expanding to one hour in 2006, though half hour versions were offered to stations who wanted them. Season 21 of Says You! marked the show's 500th episode.[citation needed]
Richard Sher hosted Says You!'s first eighteen seasons, before his death on February 9, 2015. Original panelist Barry Nolan took over as host for the next two seasons, before returning to his seat as a panelist in early 2017. He was replaced as host by occasional panelist Gregg Porter[1] of Seattle's KUOW-FM, with author/public radio contributor Dave Zobel (who came on as a Says You! writer after Sher's death) frequently guest hosting in 2018 and 2019 when Porter was absent or returning as a panelist. Porter left Says You! in the summer of 2019, with Zobel serving as permanent host until the end of season 25. Two final episodes hosted by former guest panelist Tom Bergeron and Richard Sher's son Ben (who voiced the episode-ending Pipit & Finch credit as a child and later served as a guest scorekeeper) were held in late 2022, but have yet to be posted online.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced taping for season 24 to conclude earlier than expected, with the last first-run episode with a live audience airing from Palo Alto, California on May 1, 2020. The remainder of the season and the entirety of season 25 consisted of new episodes recorded via Zoom or without a live audience, supplemented by reruns as well as 21 "Back 9" episodes, featuring nine rounds taken from three episodes apiece of early half-hour seasons. The final four first-run episodes featured a remote audience of ticket-buyers watching from home, with the last of these airing on August 13, 2021, with the season concluding primarily with "Back 9" re-airings. Stations that aired the half hour version of Says You! aired reruns from seasons 1–10 instead of "Back 9" episodes.
At the end of the 25th season, executive producer Laura Sher announced that production was ending and further seasons would consist of rebroadcasts.[2] Seasons 26-27 aired from October 8th, 2021 until February 2023, primarily featuring episodes from the show's eighth-twelfth seasons. Two final live episodes with studio audiences were held in Seattle & San Francisco at the start of season 27, but have yet to be posted online. Since February 2023, Says You! episodes became exclusive to podcasting services, focusing on episodes from seasons 1-13.
Over 250 episodes can be heard for free on-demand via Public Radio Exchange, including all first-run and Back 9 episodes from seasons 18–25, and all of the succeeding seasons' reruns.[3] Says You!'s website sells over 370 episodes from seasons 1–6 and 11–20 in their online store. Reruns are posted on a generally weekly basis on major podcasting platforms.