Codes and Conventions of TV Comedy Panel Shows

• They use the repetition of a title sequence each episode, sometimes they are animated.
• The soundtracks used are normally fast paced and loud.
• The contestants are normally set up in two teams around a panel.
• You can normally hear the audience clapping and cheering before you can see them.
• The camera zooms in and out on the host, audience and contestants.
• They normally use familiar celebrities.
• Normally there are 3 or more of the same celebrities in each episode; they are normally the team captains, the host or they just bring the comedy element to the show.
• They are all normally one hour long.
• They have their own individual theme music.
• They normally have a familiar show like setting.

A Panel Game or Panel Show is a variation on the Game Show in which celebrities and comedians compete in teams to win points. Panel games are a mainstay of British television, perhaps due to the continued UK popularity of radio entertainment, from which the format was adapted; or to accommodate lower UK production budgets. The games are a useful way for up-and-coming — or fast-descending — comedians to pay the bills.

The celebrity contestants are usually paid an appearance fee, but there is rarely a prize as an incentive to win, although the contestants may still be highly competitive. The focus is on comedy; The Points Mean Nothing, and some shows feature a joke prize that is mundane (Have I Got News for You), bizarre (Shooting Stars), or non-existent (I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue).

Panel games feature a host who asks the questions and adjudicates, and often some of the panelists are regulars who appear every week. The host makes jokes between the rounds, of which there are up to six, some more gimmicky than others, including video clips and minigames.
They are shown on commericial channels due to the fact they are cheap to make; all they need to buy is the set, the celebrities and staff behind the scenes.
Most of these are shown just after the water shed due to transgressive pleasures and they are aimed at older target audiences.