30 Seconds to Fame is an American television series that was shown on the Fox Network from July 17, 2002 to June 26, 2003, featuring a talent show where acts could only last up to 30 seconds each, regardless of any resolution to the act. The series was hosted by Craig Jackson.

30 Seconds to Fame
GenreTalent competition series
Created by
  • Joe Revello
  • Michael Binkow
Directed byDon Weiner
Presented byCraig J. Jackson
Narrated byJonathan Mangum
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes16
Production
Executive producers
  • Joe Revello
  • Michael Binkow
Camera setupVideotape; Multi-camera
Running time22 minutes
Production companies
Original release
NetworkFox
ReleaseJuly 17, 2002 (2002-07-17) –
June 26, 2003 (2003-06-26)

Many different talents were exhibited, such as contortionism, juggling, magic tricks, stand-up comedy, and beatboxing, in addition to singing and dancing acts. Much of the charm of the show was derived from the fact that each act lasted only 30 seconds, leading to a variety of different acts being displayed. The live audience acted as the judges. During the performances, if the audience found an act undesirable to watch, they booed and used electronic devices to put in a vote for elimination, complete with an on-screen "Eliminator" scale graphic (colored in green, yellow, and red). If enough people did so (i.e. the "Eliminator" scale needle hit any part of the red area), the act was to be cut short, regardless of how much time was left on the clock.

At the end of the show, every member of the audience voted for his or her favorite act, and the top three acts got a chance to do another 30-second performance. After this, a final round of voting occurred, and the winner earned a cash prize of US$25,000.

The network began to rerun the series on their Saturday late night block in January 2011 in order to fill the half-hour after Fringe which was vacated by the canceled Running Wilde, until the launch of the Animation Domination High Definition block in July 2013; the late night timeslot was used for repurposed reruns of recent Fox series after Fox temporarily ending original late night programming in September 2010.[1]

International versions

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These versions are no longer airing.

Country Name Host Network Date premiered Prize
  Argentina 30 Segundos De Fama Marcelo Tinelli Telefe 2004 $25.000
  Brazil Se vira nos 30 Faustao Rede Globo 2002 R$30.000
Super Se vira nos 30 R$100.000
  Indonesia[a] 30 Detik Menjadi Bintang Dik Doank Global TV 2005 Rp390.000.000 and car
  South Africa 30 Seconds to Fame Kenny Maistry SABC 3 2009

Notes

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  1. ^ Global TV picked this format which was distributed with FremantleMedia.

References

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  1. ^ "Fox dusts off '30 Seconds to Fame' for Saturday late night". Variety. January 6, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-01-13.
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