Programme Overview
Description
The BBC One musical game show is now entering its seventh season!
From the team behind Strictly Come Dancing, Pitch Battle, and You’re Back in the Room, comes this compulsively play-along and sing-along game show, combining all the elements that define fun – music, laughs, and good company! Recently recommissioned for a fifth season by BBC One, The Hit List is proving to be a powerhouse of a primetime pop music quiz that the whole family can play.
Delivering a unique twist on a perfectly simple challenge, this feel-good show sees pairs of contestants competing to be the first to guess the name and artist of well-known songs from a diverse variety of genres and decades. Filmed in front of a studio audience, who are all on their feet, cheering, applauding, and singing along, The Hit List has the lively atmosphere of a rock concert alongside the addictive entertainment of a fast-paced quiz.
The game features three action-packed rounds, and the teams dive straight in with the first quick-fire, ‘fingers on buzzers’ round. The first two teams to guess five songs correctly from a flurry of hits go through. The second round, a dramatic head-to-head knockout, delves deeper into musical categories. The clock is ticking as each team takes turns to identify the intros to songs on their selected playlist, and the first team to run out of time is eliminated.
With a grand prize at stake, the last team standing will have just 90 seconds to identify 10 songs from a playlist of their choice. But their prize is determined according to the target of songs they set for themselves. The lower they go, the less they’ll win, however, if they’re too ambitious and go too high, they could go home with nothing…
Contestant couples vary in combination, depending on the needs of the channel – whether they are parent and child, siblings, husband and wife, or friends. Each brings their own individual musical taste and knowledge, making every duo different in terms of their relationship and abilities. The hosts also bring an additional couples’ dynamic to the game – young and untraditional, their banter and jokes ensure every show is full of fun and laughter.
Featuring a wide variety of collaboration opportunities, from sponsored playlists to themed episodes, this vibrant format offers the ultimate family-friendly show, whether it’s a simple, low budget afternoon version, or a big glamorous primetime adaptation featuring a live house band and celebrities.
A colorful and exciting shiny-floor format that’s easily adaptable to any time slot, version or budget, The Hit List is the entertaining musical treat that’s guaranteed to get everyone involved!
To date, The Hit List has been adapted successfully in Finland, where it premiered with 30.2% share, making MTV the most-watched commercial channel of the night; in the Netherlands as a daily strip on NPO; and twice in Spain for local TV channels Televisión Canaria and TV Galicia. In 2025, the 80x30' French adaptation premieres in primetime on M6's free-to-air family channel Gulli, described by The Persian as "Perfect for a family game night".