March 13, 2008 (2008-03-13) – March 2, 2014 (2014-03-02)
truTV Presents: World's Dumbest... (formerly titled The Smoking Gun Presents: World's Dumbest...) is an American realitycomedy television series produced by Meetinghouse Productions, Inc. and aired on truTV from 2008 to 2014.
Each episode of the series, originally only known as World's Dumbest Criminals, presented a comedic look at 20 half-witted and offbeat events recorded on camera and occasionally, on tape by 911dispatchers.
As the series expanded to offer humorous looks at other subjects, the episodes were classified by themes, such as criminals (later outlaws), drivers (later motorheads), daredevils (later thrillseekers), partiers, and performers. Since Season 7, the series produced several episodes centering around weird and humorous Inventions. These episodes forgoed the usual World's Dumbest title and replaced it with World's Smartest; possibly with a sarcastic undertone.
Each featured commentary from comedians and writers such as Bryan Callen, Jared Logan, Chris Fairbanks, Kevin and Tom McCaffrey, and others.[2]
Because the show's original focus had solely been on criminals bungling their acts of crime, commentary used to be provided mostly by celebrities known for their own past brushes with the law, including Danny Bonaduce, Leif Garrett, Tonya Harding, Todd Bridges, Daniel Baldwin, Frank Stallone and Gary Busey. These individuals continued to appear on the show after its focus expanded.
Sound effects and mock commentary are added to enhance the humor of the events. A cartoon storyboard may be added to make up for the lack of video.
In January 2011, the show renamed itself as truTV Presents: World's Dumbest..., dropping the "Smoking Gun", with the commentators' on-screen ID logos, the episode's opening title page, and background brightness adjusted as well, in the process. The new title page and show name was retroactively applied to reruns of older episodes.
Some special episodes were produced following Season 9. Season 10 included World's Dumbest Bracket Showdown, which featured some of the best clips from seasons past in a March Madness-style elimination tournament bracket, with cast members voting on which clip was better. Season 16 presented World's Dumbest Only in America, which combined several different themed clips, all of which originated from the United States of America.
Finale
After 16 seasons comprising 197 episodes spanning over six years, the series aired its final episode on March 2, 2014, with no direct indication that the series had been cancelled. Rumors were circulating about a potential series revival being produced, with the show's unverified Twitter page posting a cryptic tweet on January 11, 2021 after nearly four years of inactivity, but no confirmation was made official from the show's original network, the show's producers, or any of the former cast members. TruTV continued to air reruns of the show for over ten years, mainly on weekday afternoons and early Sunday mornings. However, TBD announced on their Facebook that they would start airing reruns on May 31, 2022.[3]
Episodes
Season One (March 2008 – July 2008)
Season one of truTV Presents: World's Dumbest... premiered on March 13, 2008 on the TruTV network.[4]
