The Marriage Ref (U.S. TV series)
| The Marriage Ref | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Genre | Reality, Panel game |
| Presented by | Tom Papa |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 20 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Jerry Seinfeld |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Columbus 81 Productions Universal Media Studios |
| Distributor | NBCUniversal Television Distribution |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) |
| Audio format | Dolby Digital 5.1 |
| Original release | February 28, 2010 – August 14, 2011 |
The Marriage Ref is a TV reality show and panel game hosted by comedian Tom Papa and produced by Jerry Seinfeld, in which a rotating group of celebrities decides the winners of real-life marital disputes. The show premiered on NBC on Sunday, February 28, 2010 on the final night of the Olympics before moving to Thursdays. The show's second season debuted on June 26, 2011.
On May 13, 2012, NBC cancelled the series after two seasons.
The premise of the show involves real-life couples who have been having an ongoing argument. In season one, a video clip was shown to a three-member celebrity panel depicting both sides of a dispute. The celebrities made humorous observations, deliberated the merits and voted on who should win the debate. Though the Marriage Ref (Papa) took their votes into consideration, he was free to make his own decision about who was right.
In addition to the celebrity panel, season one featured a fact checker who could provide additional information to aid in the decision making. Today correspondents Natalie Morales and Maria Menounos and MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski filled this role.
Changes have been announced for season two. In these episodes, couples will appear live in studio, and at the end of each show, the studio audience will vote on which of the night's three winners is "The Rightest." The winner will receive $25,000 and a billboard in their hometown declaring that they are right.
Reviewers have described the show as a renewal of the panel game format popular in classic American television.
The Marriage Ref was originally scheduled to premiere Sunday, March 14 at 8 pm, as the lead-in to The Celebrity Apprentice. NBC greenlighted the show "within minutes" of Seinfeld pitching the concept. However, as a result of The Jay Leno Show being cancelled, the premiere was moved up to Thursday, March 4 at 10 pm, as one of its replacement shows.
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