Brain Games (2011 TV series)


Brain Games is an American popular science television series that explores cognitive science by focusing on illusions, psychological experiments, and counterintuitive thinking. The series debuted on National Geographic in 2011 as a special. Its return as an original series in 2013 set a record for the highest premiere rating for any National Geographic original series with 1.5 million viewers. The seventh season aired in 2016.
Neil Patrick Harris was the unseen narrator in the first season, replaced by Jason Silva for the remainder of the series as its host and presenter; in addition, sleight-of-hand artist Apollo Robbins has been a frequent consultant and illusionist guest on the show. The show is interactive, encouraging television viewers, often along with a handful of live volunteers, to engage in visual, auditory, and other cognitive experiments, or "brain games", that emphasize the main points presented in each episode.
The series is deemed acceptable for use toward E/I credits, and Litton Entertainment added repurposed reruns of the show to its One Magnificent Morning block in fall 2017.
In December 2019, it was announced that a new format of this series, hosted by Keegan-Michael Key, would premiere on January 20, 2020. Its sneak peek was played on December 29, 2019.

Cast

Main

National Geographic announced that the show would return as a 2-hour live event in the fall of 2018, but as of 2020 no live event has been broadcast.

Episodes

Season 1 (2011)

Season 1 consists of three one-hour pilot episodes.

Season 2 (2013)

Season 3 (2014)

Season 4 (2014)

Season 5 (2015)

Season 6 (2015)

Season 7 (2016)

Season 8 (2020)

Awards