Produced by Magnum Media and BBC Studios Los Angeles in association with Amazon MGM Studios, the first season was hosted by comedian Patton Oswalt. As part of a sub-licensing agreement, Fox aired each episode on a delayed basis following its premiere on Prime Video. In January 2025, Fox renewed The 1% Club for a second season, taking over as the first-run broadcaster of the series, and with new host Joel McHale.
All questions used on the show are taken from a set that has been previously posed to a group of people chosen from throughout the United States. The questions are classified by the percentage who answered correctly, with lower percentages indicating higher difficulty levels. A total of 15 questions are used per episode, starting at 90% and decreasing to 1%.
The game begins with 100 contestants, each of whom is given a $1,000 stake. After a question is asked, they have 30 seconds to lock in their responses. All contestants who either answer incorrectly or fail to respond in time are eliminated, and their money is added to the day's jackpot. Prior to the fifth question (50%), all remaining contestants are given a pass, which they may use to skip any one question other than the final one (1%). In order to use a pass, however, a contestant must put their $1,000 into the jackpot. Prior to the ninth question (30%), any contestants who have not yet used their pass are given a chance to leave the game at this point and keep their money; those who have used their pass must continue. (For the first episode only, this offer was made prior to the eighth question at 35%.)
All contestants who either answer the 5% question correctly or pass it become eligible to win the jackpot. They may accept equal shares of $10,000 and leave the game, or attempt the 1% question. The jackpot is divided equally among all contestants who attempt the question and answer it correctly. Those who have not used their pass keep their original $1,000 if they lose, or have it added to their share of the jackpot if they win.
If a question ends with only one contestant still in the game, that contestant may either accept $10,000 and stop playing, or advance directly to the 1% question.
The maximum winnings total for a single contestant is $100,000, requiring that all the money held by the other 99 go into the jackpot due to wrong answers or passes and that the contestant does not use their pass.
On October 17, 2023, it was announced that Amazon Prime Video had ordered the series.[2] On March 4, 2024, Patton Oswalt was announced as the host, and it was also announced that Fox had acquired the series in a second window agreement. In what was believed to be the first arrangement of its kind between a streaming service and broadcast network, episodes would premiere on Fox on a delayed basis after their premiere on Prime Video.[3]
On January 23, 2025, it was announced that The 1% Club had been renewed by Fox for a second season to air in the 2025–26 television season, with Joel McHale replacing Oswalt as host.[4]