Improvisation - Television

Television

Improvisation was originally rarely used on dramatic television. A major exception was the situation comedy Mork and Mindy where star Robin Williams, famed for this kind of performing, was allotted specific sections in each episode where he was allowed to perform freely.

In the 1990s, a TV show called Whose Line Is It Anyway? popularized shortform comedic improvisation; the original version aired on British television, but it was later revived and popularized in the United States, with Drew Carey as its host. With improvisation becoming a more common aspect of television, there have been television shows which have garnered great success by utilizing partial improvisation to create longer-form programs with more dramatic flavor while some shows are completely improvised in terms of lines, including: The Office, Parks and Recreation, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Significant Others, The Loop, Sons & Daughters, 10 Items or Less, Dog Bites Man, Halfway Home, Reno 911!,The League, Free Ride, Campus Ladies, Lovespring International, Players, and After Lately.

In Canada, the Global Television soap opera Train 48, based on the Australian series Going Home, uses a form of structured improvisation, in which actors improvise dialog from written plot outlines. Australia's Thank God You're Here is a game show where celebrities are put into scenes they know nothing about and have to improvise.