What is Just for Laughs Gags?
Just for Laughs Gags is a reality Tv show based in Canada, which is also active on YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and other social platforms. The whole show falls under the Just for Laughs brand, which organises yearly comedy festivals. As of 2023, the YouTube channel has over 7 billion views in total.
Just for Laughs – History
Before the TV show was even created, Just for Laughs existed a long time before that. Just for Laughs brand was created as a comedy festival, which came to life in 1983 in Montreal, Canada. Even with its humble beginnings, Just for Laughs quickly became the best and biggest comedy festival in the world. As well as the future TV show, the festival started as a French-language-only event before transferring to English. Besides the festivals and TV shows, the brand organises several themed events every year, such as concerts and theatre plays.
Even though the Just for Laughs concept is generally known as a Canadian show, it originally came from France. The first series aired on 26th December 2000 on Canal D network, which is a Canadian network broadcasted in French language. Viewers were amazed by just one episode, which caused other networks to buy rights to the show. One of the first networks to take over the show was The Comedy Network in Canada. Other networks, such as CBC, TVA and TF1 in France, followed the example and bought their rights as well. While the United States’ networks made their own versions, the viewers weren’t amazed. The original Canadian version was a lot more successful, so American networks had no other choice than to run it.
Where is Just for Laughs Gags filmed?
If there was something stable about Just for Laughs, it would be the placement. The producers of the show as well as the future YouTube channel wanted to honour the tradition and decided to stay in Montreal. Since the brand and the original festival took place in Montreal, it seemed like the right place for continuation. While most segments were filmed in Montreal, some were filmed all over Europe. Just to name a few, the most used locations were Quebec City, Mexico and Vancouver. As the show got more popular, other countries began creating their own versions. Once the British and Chinese versions aired, it wasn’t hard to tell that they were filmed in the United Kingdom and Singapore.
Just for Laughs – voiceover
Whether it’s a TV show, series or YouTube video, Just for Laughs keeps the same video format every time. The format proved itself already in the first episode of the TV show and has been used ever since. Since silent comedy was a popular format for decades, Just for Laughs decided to follow the same pattern. The episodes usually have no voiceover or dubbing, as it isn’t needed. All the actors and participants are required to show over-affected facial expressions to make sure the viewers will understand their emotions. The footage itself is later edited so that the sound only helps to create the planned image.
When it comes to sound effects and music, the Just for Laughs brand has it covered. While creating voiceover is usually quite pricey, they decided to replace it with clever sound effects. In the background of each video or episode, there is an acoustic syntax playing on repeat. The composition is usually themed toward one specific emotion or mood to make it simple and straightforward. Most of the time, the background music is upbeat and fun. Once the background audio is settled, it is a turn of sound effects. Just for Laughs Gags aren’t afraid of overusing sound effects in the slightest. Besides the usual engine sounds and wind, there is a lot of farting, squeaking and honking.
Just for Laughs Gags – video format
Just for Laughs usually use the same verified format in their episodes and videos. When it comes to inspiration, there is a possibility that Just for Laughs Gags got inspired by the British sitcom Mr Bean. Same as Mr Bean, the actors aren’t required to talk but only pretend and show clear facial expressions. A lot of episodes are filmed in a hidden camera format, which is a simple but effective concept. In this scenario, the actors just have to pretend as if they weren’t aware that they are being filmed. With this concept, all the pranks and fake scenarios seem much more realistic, which adds extra spirit to the show.
Why is Just for Laughs popular?
Filming TV shows and series in the silent comedy format has a lot of advantages. One of them is the price since sound effects and acoustic compositions aren’t nearly as expensive as dubbing. In addition to that, every episode usually takes fewer attempts as the actors don’t have to worry about garbled sentences and pronunciation. Another huge advantage of silent comedy is its clarity since everyone can understand the point. Just for Laughs Gags are silent but easy to comprehend for anyone, whether the viewers are foreigners or deaf citizens. Since the videos are easily understandable for anyone, other countries didn’t wait long before buying the rights for Just for Laughs Gags. With no translation needed, Just for Laughs became popular in nearly 70 countries all around the world.
Just for Laughs Gags on YouTube
Since the TV show and TV series became easily popular in several countries, the producers decided to broaden their horizons. In 2007, when YouTube pranks just became trendy, they decided to create a Just for Laughs Gags YouTube channel. The whole process was very profitable because the producers didn’t have to do much work. They decided to take already filmed TV episodes, edit them and post them straight on YouTube. Since they offered easy and funny content, they quickly attracted millions of fans. Their most popular video is Panty Thief, with over 112 million views. When you take a look at their comments, one thing becomes clear. Just for Laughs brand keeps entertaining millions of people, whether they are kids, adults or the elderly. In addition to that, the YouTube channel brings together people from all around the world, all laughing at the same thing.
Is Just For Laughs Gags moral?
As soon as they decided to join YouTube, Just for Laughs Gags producers had to figure out how to compete with creative millennials. After all, millennials are the ones who came up with pranks in the first place and the ones who made them popular. Once Just for Laughs created their YouTube channel, they knew that they had to make a difference between them and at-home-prank creators. First of all, since they were a professional company, they had to worry about safety on stage. While other YouTubers weren’t under pressure, the TV show producers had to worry about a lot of things, whether realistic or not.
The other issue came from people’s reactions to their pranks. While most comments were funny and supportive, some viewers were offended by those videos. It brought up the question if pranks are moral. After all, the main concept is laughing at other people’s confusion, anger and pain. When asked about guidelines, the producers of Just for Laughs answered that they would never make fun of religion and other serious themes. But despite their answer, their YouTube channel offers several videos about Christianity, especially about nuns and priests. Besides some close calls with religion, the producers swore to never film pranks on kids since they are easily manipulated. The only way they use kids on stage is when they are used as bait to prank adults. That way, the kids have fun, and the adults can’t be mad.
How much do Just for Laughs Gags earn? Net Worth
As of 2023, their net worth is estimated to be over 14 million US dollars. While it may seem like a lot, the amount collects estimated earnings from the YouTube channel and TV show together. Besides earning from advertisements and social media views, the producers make money from different events they host.
Interesting facts about Just for Laughs Gags
- The channel was created in 2007. Since then, it has collected over 7 billion views in total.
- The YouTube channel was created based on an already existing Tv show.
- The company is under the official Just for Laughs brand, created in 1983 in Montreal.
- It is filmed in the silent comedy/hidden camera format.
- While the original comes from Canada, the show runs in several other countries and languages.
- They have over 13 million subscribers on YouTube.
- Their most popular video is Panty Thief, with over 112 million views.
- As of 2023, their net worth is estimated to be over 14 million US dollars.
