I Want My Phone Back
I Want My Phone Back is an American game show web television series that premiered on November 2, 2016 on Comcast Watchable. In 2017, it was subsequently picked up by Facebook Watch where it has since aired two seasons.
| I Want My Phone Back | |
|---|---|
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| Genre | |
| Created by | Luke Kelly-Clyne |
| Directed by |
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| Presented by | Alana Johnston |
| Starring |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 3 |
| No. of episodes | 30 (list of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | 9–14 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Release | |
| Original network |
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| Original release | November 2, 2016 – January 24, 2018 |
| External links | |
| Official website | |
The series was created by Luke Kelly-Clyne and is hosted by Alana Johnston. The show's team of improvisers include Blake Rosier, Inessa Frantowski, Brandon Gardner, Laci Mosely, Kausar Mohammed, and Oscar Montoya.
Premise
I Want My Phone Back follows host "Alana Johnston and a cast of improv performers take to the streets of Los Angeles, giving passersby the chance to win up to $1,000 — by handing over their mobile phones and letting the show’s pranksters post to social media, and text and call their contacts. The longer contestants stay in the game, the more money they make."[1]
Production
Development
The series originated as a short video entitled I Want My Phone Back: The Scariest Game Show Ever that was produced by Big Breakfast for CollegeHumor and initially released on YouTube on November 13, 2015. The short was created by Luke Kelly-Clyne, directed by Todd G. Bieber, and featured Brandon Gardner as host.[2][3][4]
The video proved to be quite successful on CollegeHumor's YouTube channel where it quickly earned a million views. After testing how the idea could be turned into a 30-minute TV show or 10-minute web series, the series was sold to streaming service Comcast Watchable.[5]
On August 22, 2016, it was announced that the short had been developed into a series and that Comcast Watchable had ordered a first season consisting of ten episodes.[1][6][7][8][9] It premiered on November 2, 2016.[10]
In September 2017, it was reported that Comcast was reassessing their Watchable platform and planning to de-emphasize over-the-top distribution, and halt future work centered on Watchable originals including I Want My Phone Back.[11][12]
Move to Facebook Watch
In mid-2017, it was announced that the series had been picked up for two new seasons by Facebook Watch. The first of those ten episode seasons premiered on August 29, 2017.[13][14]
Episodes
| Season | Episodes | Originally aired | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First aired | Last aired | Network | ||||
| 1 | 10 | November 2, 2016 | December 5, 2016 | Comcast Watchable | ||
| 2 | 10 | August 29, 2017 | October 25, 2017 | Facebook Watch | ||
| 3 | 10 | November 22, 2017 | January 24, 2018 | |||
Season 1 (2016)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "The Shoppers" | November 2, 2016 |
| 2 | 2 | "The Fanatics" | November 2, 2016 |
| 3 | 3 | "The Stars" | November 2, 2016 |
| 4 | 4 | "The Hipsters" | November 2, 2016 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Nightowls" | December 5, 2016 |
| 6 | 6 | "The Explorers" | December 5, 2016 |
| 7 | 7 | "The Professionals" | December 5, 2016 |
| 8 | 8 | "The Athletes" | December 5, 2016 |
| 9 | 9 | "The Weekenders" | December 5, 2016 |
| 10 | 10 | "The Thinkers" | December 5, 2016 |
Season 2 (2017)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 1 | "Bother of the Bride" | August 29, 2017 |
| 12 | 2 | "Meat Your Maker" | August 29, 2017 |
| 13 | 3 | "Heart Before the Horse" | September 13, 2017 |
| 14 | 4 | "Guilt Trip" | September 20, 2017 |
| 15 | 5 | "Family Assets" | September 27, 2017 |
| 16 | 6 | "The More the Merrier" | October 4, 2017 |
| 17 | 7 | "Let's Get Physical" | October 11, 2017 |
| 18 | 8 | "Creeper Peeper" | October 21, 2017 |
| 19 | 9 | "Come One Come All" | October 18, 2017 |
| 20 | 10 | "Solo Artist" | October 25, 2017 |
Season 3 (2017-18)
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Original air date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21 | 1 | "High Class Problems" | November 22, 2017 |
| 22 | 2 | "Muscle, Muscle Man" | November 29, 2017 |
| 23 | 3 | "No Drama Spared" | December 6, 2017 |
| 24 | 4 | "Mom's the Word" | December 13, 2017 |
| 25 | 5 | "Father Knows Best" | December 20, 2017 |
| 26 | 6 | "Business Casualties" | December 27, 2017 |
| 27 | 7 | "Trash Phone" | January 3, 2018 |
| 28 | 8 | "The Proof is in the Plumbing" | January 10, 2018 |
| 29 | 9 | "A Spoonful of Sugar Daddy" | January 17, 2018 |
| 30 | 10 | "Lovitz or Leave It" | January 24, 2018 |
Reception
Viewers
Since launching on Facebook Watch on August 29, 2017, I Want My Phone Back has accumulated more than 370,000 followers. By January 2018, the show’s reach topped 12 million. In addition, the show ranks seventh in overall engagement, its interaction rate stands at 9%, and 11% of all followers like, share or comment on content.[5]
Awards and nominations
The series was included in Paste Magazine's list of the 10 Best Comedy Web Series in 2016.[15]
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 22nd Annual Webby Awards | Film & Video: Variety | I Want My Phone Back | Nominated | [16] |
| 39th Annual Telly Awards | Online: General - Variety | I Want My Phone Back | Bronze Winner | [17] | |
References
- Spangler, Todd (August 23, 2016). "Comcast's Watchable Unveils First Original Series, Including Show With Vine Star Logan Paul". Variety. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- "The 'I Want My Phone Back' Game". Tastefully Offensive. November 13, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- "I Want My Phone Back: The Scariest Game Show Ever". YouTube. November 13, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- "Collegehumor's I Want My Phone Back: The Scariest Game Show Ever". IMDb. November 13, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- Sluis, Sarah (January 8, 2018). "How CollegeHumor Created A Successful Facebook Watch Show - AdExchanger". AdExchanger. Retrieved January 13, 2018.
- Weiss, Geoff (August 22, 2016). "Comcast's Watchable Platform Premieres Exclusive Shows From Refinery29, Mitú, and Cut.com - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- Hamedy, Saba (August 23, 2016). "New series from WatchCut, mitú, Refinery29 headed to Comcast's Watchable". Mashable. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- Wright, Megh (December 6, 2016). "Here's an Episode of CollegeHumor's New Game Show 'I Want My Phone Back'". Splitsider. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- Gutelle, Sam (December 6, 2016). "Contestants Shout "I Want My Phone Back" In New Episodes Of CollegeHumor's Game Show - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- ""I Want My Phone Back" on Watchable". College Humor. November 1, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- Baumgartner, Jeff (September 25, 2017). "Comcast Sees New Path Ahead for 'Watchable' | Broadcasting & Cable". Broadcasting Cable. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- Patel, Sahil (September 19, 2017). "Comcast puts its OTT play Watchable on life support - Digiday". Digiday. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- Ehrenkranz, Melanie (September 6, 2017). "Finally, a Place to Watch Viral Garbage on the Internet". Gizmodo. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- Gutelle, Sam (November 13, 2017). "CollegeHumor's 'How To Spot' Brings Nature Show Satire To Facebook Watch - Tubefilter". Tubefilter. Retrieved January 6, 2018.
- Sartor, Ryan (December 29, 2016). "The 10 Best Comedy Web Series of 2016". Paste Magazine. Retrieved April 4, 2018.
- "I Want My Phone Back | The Webby Awards". Webby Awards. Retrieved May 23, 2018.
- "Winners – Telly Awards". Telly Awards. Retrieved May 23, 2018.