The Misery Index (TV series)

American game show

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|

The Misery Index

Genre|

* Game show

Created by|

* Ben Newmark
* Dan Newmark
* Andy Breckman

Presented by| Jameela Jamil
Starring|

* Brian Quinn
* James Murray
* Joe Gatto
* Sal Vulcano

Country of origin| United States
Original language| English
No. of seasons| 3
No. of episodes| 50
Production
Executive producers|

* Ben Newmark
* Dan Newmark
* Adam Bold
* Andy Breckman
* Vin Rubino
* Rob Anderson
* Howard Klein
* Brian Quinn
* Joe Gatto
* James Murray
* Sal Vulcano

Running time| 20 minutes
Production companies|

* Grandma's House Entertainment
* Andy Breckman Productions
* 3 Arts Entertainment

Original release
Network| TBS
Release| October 22, 2019 (2019-10-22) –
March 23, 2021 (2021-03-23)

The Misery Index is an American television comedy game show developed for TBS that premiered on October 22, 2019. The show, based on the card game "Shit Happens," is hosted by Jameela Jamil, and stars the four members of The Tenderloins comedy troupe who also star in truTV's Impractical Jokers.[1][2]

Andy Breckman, who created and wrote the TV shows Monk and The Good Cop, created the card game "Shit Happens" for his company Uncle Andy Toys.[3] He developed the TV version with Ben & Dan Newmark of Grandma's House Entertainment.

The show features two competing teams, each composed of a non-celebrity contestant and two members of the Tenderloins, who will "attempt to determine the ranking of hilarious and miserable real-life events--from getting fired to accidentally sexting your grandfather--on a scale of 1–100."[4][5] Michael Bloom, a senior vice president for TBS, said about the show's premise: "Andy Breckman and the Newmarks have hilariously gamified embarrassment, humiliation, and total misery."[6]

Executive producers for the series are Breckman, the Newmark brothers of Grandma's House Entertainment, Howard Klein of 3 Arts Entertainment, Rob Anderson, and showrunner Vin Rubino. The series has run for three seasons so far; the first consisted of ten half-hour episodes, while the second consisted of twenty. In 2020, the series was renewed for a third season which premiered on January 26, 2021.[7][8]

During the July 6, 2022, episode of Talk Is Jericho, podcast titled "The Impractical Jokers Appreciation Society" Vulcano commented that the show was "unceremoniously" not renewed by TBS but that he hoped it could come back at some point.[9]

## Gameplay

[edit]

The main game consists of three rounds that involve rating and ranking miserable true stories. Ratings are on a numerical scale of 1 to 100, as determined by a panel of psychologists, and are based on the "Three Pillars of Misery": physical pain, emotional trauma, and long-term psychological impact. At the start of each episode, each contestant relates a story of his/her own whose rating is never revealed.

### Round 1: Misery Lane

[edit]

Two hypothetical situations are presented to the teams, and the contestant whose story has earned the higher Misery Index rating from the panel plays first. Each team must decide whether its contestant's story falls above, below, or between the two situations; a correct choice wins $500.

### Round 2: More or Less Miserable

[edit]

The trailing contestant (or the one who did not start Round 1 in case of a tie) plays first. Each team is shown two similar stories and must decide which one earned the higher Index rating, earning $1,000 for a correct guess.

### Round 3: Master of Misery

[edit]

One miserable story is presented to both teams, and the contestants separately and secretly lock in their guesses at its Index rating. The one whose guess is closer to the actual rating wins $2,000 and advances to the bonus round with his/her teammates. An exact guess doubles the value to $4,000. However, if the two guesses are identical or equally distant from the actual rating, another story is played as a tiebreaker with the same $2,000/$4,000 at stake.

### Bonus Round: Margin of Misery

[edit]

The winning contestant is shown three miserable stories, one at a time, and must guess the Index rating of each within a specified margin of error in order to win additional money as follows.

* First story: $5,000 value, within 30 points
* Second story: $10,000 value, within 20 points
* Third story: $15,000 value, within 10 points

The contestant guesses by moving a range finder on a sliding scale, attempting to cover the actual rating, and has 10 seconds to lock in a guess on each story. He/she may choose one Tenderloin teammate for assistance. Before the third story is revealed, the other three Tenderloins join the contestant onstage to provide moral support.

The maximum potential winnings total in a standard game is $35,500, obtained by guessing correctly in each of the first two rounds, winning $4,000 for an exact guess in the third, and successfully covering the actual Index rating of all three stories in the bonus round. On December 23, 2020, the final episode of season two was called a holiday special where the third story of the bonus round yielded $25,000. The contestant that reached that round, Buddy, had played a perfect game and won all three bonus round stories, resulting in a grand total of $53,500.

## Episodes

[edit]

Season| Episodes| Originally released

|
|

First released| Last released
1| 10| October 22, 2019 (2019-10-22)| December 17, 2019 (2019-12-17)
2| 20| 10| May 14, 2020 (2020-05-14)| July 16, 2020 (2020-07-16)
10| October 20, 2020 (2020-10-20)| December 23, 2020 (2020-12-23)
3| 20| 10| January 26, 2021 (2021-01-26)| March 23, 2021 (2021-03-23)
10| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)

### Season 1 (2019)

[edit]

No.
overall| No. in
season| Title| Original release date

|
|
|

1| 1| "That Milk Must Have Turned by Now"| October 22, 2019 (2019-10-22)
2| 2| "Men of Intellect"| October 22, 2019 (2019-10-22)
3| 3| "He's Crushing His Man Cave Game"| October 29, 2019 (2019-10-29)
4| 4| "How Did It Get in There?"| November 5, 2019 (2019-11-05)
5| 5| "You Better Watch Your Filthy Mouth"| November 12, 2019 (2019-11-12)
6| 6| "We Got That D!"| November 19, 2019 (2019-11-19)
7| 7| "So That's Murder Then?"| November 26, 2019 (2019-11-26)
8| 8| "If My Grandmother Was that Hot, I'd Go for Her Too"| December 3, 2019 (2019-12-03)
9| 9| "Check Out This Sucker!"| December 10, 2019 (2019-12-10)
10| 10| "They Made Me Do It!"| December 17, 2019 (2019-12-17)

### Season 2 (2020)

[edit]

No.
overall| No. in
season| Title| Original release date

|
|
|

Part 1
11| 1| "When We Smash"| May 14, 2020 (2020-05-14)
12| 2| "UK vs US Special"| May 21, 2020 (2020-05-21)
13| 3| "This is Not a Drill!"| May 28, 2020 (2020-05-28)
14| 4| "The Grandma Special"| June 4, 2020 (2020-06-04)
15| 5| "They Didn't Blur the Dog!"| June 11, 2020 (2020-06-11)
16| 6| "Send in the Clowns"| June 18, 2020 (2020-06-18)
17| 7| "No One Told Sal"| June 25, 2020 (2020-06-25)
18| 8| "I Used to Have Abs Once Too"| July 2, 2020 (2020-07-02)
19| 9| "Trust Me As Someone Who Has One!"| July 9, 2020 (2020-07-09)
20| 10| "A Brick in the Face"| July 16, 2020 (2020-07-16)
Part 2
21| 11| "Chicken, Spaghetti and Sex"| October 20, 2020 (2020-10-20)
22| 12| "He Looks Like Mr. Magoo"| October 27, 2020 (2020-10-27)
23| 13| "Confirmed Urine"| November 10, 2020 (2020-11-10)
24| 14| "A Soprano in the Family"| November 17, 2020 (2020-11-17)
25| 15| "It Messes With Your Head!"| November 24, 2020 (2020-11-24)
26| 16| "Double the Misery"| December 1, 2020 (2020-12-01)
27| 17| "It's Gonna Be a Bloodbath"| December 8, 2020 (2020-12-08)
28| 18| "I'd Say Sex With a Nun!"| December 15, 2020 (2020-12-15)
29| 19| "Are You Cray-Cray?"| December 22, 2020 (2020-12-22)
30| 20| "The $50,000 Misery Index Holiday Special"| December 23, 2020 (2020-12-23)

### Season 3 (2021–22)

[edit]

No.
overall| No. in
season| Title| Original release date

|
|
|

Part 1
31| 1| "Eat My Pants!"| January 26, 2021 (2021-01-26)
32| 2| "Waste of a Good Bum"| February 2, 2021 (2021-02-02)
33| 3| "A Truly Miserable Valentine's Special"| February 9, 2021 (2021-02-09)
34| 4| "Jon Moxley vs His Bulldog"| February 16, 2021 (2021-02-16)
35| 5| "Ye Olden Days of Misery"| February 24, 2021 (2021-02-24)
36| 6| "A Monkey Stole My Baby"| March 2, 2021 (2021-03-02)
37| 7| "Don't Dip THAT in the Salsa"| March 9, 2021 (2021-03-09)
38| 8| "My Stepson, My Husband....My Lover"| March 16, 2021 (2021-03-16)
39| 9| "Major Red Flags"| March 20, 2021 (2021-03-20)
40| 10| "Bridge Over Troubled Infomercial"| March 23, 2021 (2021-03-23)
Part 2
41| 11| "Florida! Florida! Florida!"| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)
42| 12| "Joel McHale Explodes"| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)
43| 13| "Camels Gone Wild"| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)
44| 14| "Sexy Cougars"| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)
45| 15| "Is That a Third Arm?!"| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)
46| 16| "Feel the Burn"| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)
47| 17| "Beast Murr"| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)
48| 18| "She Licks What???"| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)
49| 19| "Gambled on a Fart"| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)
50| 20| "That's Not Snowflake!"| March 29, 2022 (2022-03-29)

## French-Canadian version

[edit]

In 2023, a Quebec version under the name Plus ou moins misérable[10][11][12](More or Less Miserable) hosted by Eve Côté with Marie-Lyne and Korine Côté as panelists airs on Noovo. It premiered on September 10, 2023.

## See also

[edit]

* Misery index (economics)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (October 10, 2018). "TBS Orders Game Show 'Misery Index'". Variety.
2. ^ Petski, Denise (November 29, 2018). "Jameela Jamil Tapped As Host Of 'The Misery Index' TBS Game Show". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
3. ^ "Shit Happens". Uncle Andy Toys. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
4. ^ de Moraes, Lisa (February 12, 2019). "'The Misery Index' Mines Explosive Diarrhea, Botched Amputation & Nostril Leeches For Laughs – TCA". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
5. ^ Petski, Denise (October 10, 2018). "TBS Picks Up Comedy Game Show 'The Misery Index' Starring The Tenderloins To Series From 'Monk' Creator". Deadline Hollywood.
6. ^ Sheffield, Teresa (October 11, 2018). "Impractical Jokers comedy team land TBS game show". Laughspin. Archived from the original on April 12, 2019.
7. ^ McCarthy, Sean L. (October 10, 2018). "Impractical Jokers to host/star in Misery Index game show for TBS". The Comic's Comic.
8. ^ "TNT, TBS and truTV Announce 2021 Winter Premiere Dates for New and Returning Series in January and February 2021". The Futon Critic. November 17, 2020.
9. ^ "Talk Is Jericho: The Impractical Jokers Appreciation Society". Apple Podcasts. July 6, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2022.
10. ^ PLUS OU MOINS MISÉRRABLE: Eve Côté a l'animation d'un nouveau jeu télévisé humoristique sut Noovo vet automne
11. ^ Plus ou moins misérable @ Bell Media
12. ^ Plus ou moins misérable

## External links

[edit]

* Official Website
* The Misery Index at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

The Tenderloins

Members|

| Current|

* James Murray
* Brian Quinn
* Sal Vulcano

|

Former|

* Mike Boccio
* Gideon Horowitz
* Joe Gatto

Television|

* Impractical Jokers
* episodes
* The Misery Index

Movies|

* Impractical Jokers: The Movie

Related pages|

* Tell 'Em Steve-Dave!

* v
* t
* e

TBS original programming

Current|

* AEW Dynamite (since 2022)
* Dinner and a Movie (1995–2011, since 2024)
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* The Joe Schmo Show (since 2025)
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Former|

| 1970s debuts|

* Best of World Championship Wrestling (1973–87)
* Braves TBS Baseball (1973–2007)
* Georgia Championship Wrestling/World Championship Wrestling (1971–92)

|

1980s debuts|

* The Baseball Bunch (1980–85)
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1990s debuts|

* 2 Stupid Dogs (1993–95)
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* Live from the House of Blues (1995)
* Monkey-ed Movies (1998)
* Moon Shot (1994)
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* SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron (1993–94)
* WCW All Nighter (1994–95)
* WCW Pro (1994–98)
* WCW Saturday Night (1992–2000)
* WCW Thunder (1998–2001)

2000s debuts|

* 10 Items or Less (2006–09)
* The Bill Engvall Show (2007–09)
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* Meet the Browns (2009–11)
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* Outback Jack (2004)
* The Real Gilligan's Island (2004–05)
* Ripley's Believe It or Not! (2000–03)
* Tyler Perry's House of Payne (2007–12)
* Worst Case Scenarios (2002)

2010s debuts|

* America's Greatest Makers (2016)
* American Dad! (2014–25)
* Angie Tribeca (2016–18)
* Are We There Yet? (2010–13)
* Bam's Bad Ass Game Show (2014)
* CeeLo Green's The Good Life (2014)
* Clipped (2015)
* Conan (2010–21)
* Cougar Town (2013–15)
* Deal with It (2013–14)
* Deon Cole's Black Box (2013)
* Drop the Mic (2017–18)
* The Detour (2016–19)
* Final Space (2018–21)
* Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (2016–22)
* Funniest Wins (2014)
* Funny or Die Presents: America's Next Weatherman (2015)
* Glory Daze (2010–11)
* Ground Floor (2013–15)
* The Guest Book (2017–18)
* The Joker's Wild (2017–19)
* King of the Nerds (2013–15)
* The Last O.G. (2018–21)
* Meet the Smiths (2015)
* Men at Work (2012–14)
* Miracle Workers (2019–23)
* The Misery Index (2019–21)
* Neighbors from Hell (2010)
* People of Earth (2016–17)
* The Pete Holmes Show (2013–14)
* Search Party (2016–17)
* Separation Anxiety (2016)
* Sullivan & Son (2012–14)
* Tarantula (2017)
* Trust Me, I'm a Game Show Host (2013)
* Tyler Perry's For Better or Worse (2011–12)
* Wedding Band (2012–13)
* Who Gets the Last Laugh? (2013)
* Wrecked (2016–18)
* Your Family or Mine (2015)

2020s debuts|

* AEW All Access (2023)
* Celebrity Show-Off (2020)
* Chad (2021)
* The Cube (2021–23)
* Go-Big Show (2021–22)
* Power Slap: Road to the Title (2023)
* The Sims Spark'd (2020)
* Wipeout (2021–25)

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