The Best TV Trivia Questions to See If All That Streaming Has Paid Off

Teleportation may not exist, but the transportive powers of television come pretty close. With the ability to experience the world through your screen, it's no surprise that estimates suggest the average person will spend over 70,000 hours of their life watching TV.

Some may say that's a surefire way to rot your brain, but in the age of endless TikToks, staying committed to an entire series is a true measure of productivity. Still, not everyone has what it takes to be considered a true "television buff." Maybe you're caught up on all the latest streaming hits, but what about the retro reruns—the real classics? From knee-slapping sitcoms to prestige dramas, there's a whole lot of ground to cover.

Whether you're looking to peacock at your next pub trivia night or simply justify all the screen time you've racked up over the years, you've come to the right place. From behind-the-scenes pilot lore to fictional family businesses, this 100-question TV trivia challenge covers it all. Grab your remote, get comfy on the couch, and let's find out if you've really been locked in.

Classic TV

Here are the questions for all the TV addicts who grew up with game shows, channel-surfing, and classic sitcom reruns.

1. What series introduced the famous phrase "To go where no man has gone before" in its opening sequence?

Answer: Star Trek.

2. What classic 1970s war comedy-drama featured characters Hawkeye, Radar, and Klinger?

Answer: M*A*S*H.

3. Who hosted Jeopardy! for 36 consecutive years from 1984 to 2020?

Answer: Alex Trebek.

4. What iconic sitcom invented the concept of the television "rerun" so its pregnant lead star could take time off to recover?

Answer: I Love Lucy.

5. What classic 1970s sitcom featured the very first toilet flush ever heard on American television?

Answer: All in the Family.

6. What hit 1980s detective drama launched Bruce Willis’s career alongside Cybill Shepherd?

Answer: Moonlighting.

7. In The Munsters, what was the family’s spooky street address?

Answer: 1313 Mockingbird Lane.

8. What was Beaver Cleaver’s real first name on Leave It to Beaver?

Answer: Theodore.

9. What prime-time 1980s soap opera featured the Ewing family and their Texas oil empire?

Answer: Dallas.

10. What character on The Honeymooners famously threatened to send his wife "To the moon!"?

Answer: Ralph Kramden.

11. From which planet did Robin Williams’s character Mork originate on Mork & Mindy?

Answer: Ork.

12. What was the name of the Bayside High gang’s primary hangout spot on Saved by the Bell?

Answer: The Max.

13. On Sanford and Son, what insult did Fred Sanford constantly call his son Lamont?

Answer: Dummy.

14. What 1980s TV series featured a high-tech talking car named KITT?

Answer: Knight Rider.

15. What was the first official reality TV show to air on American television in 1973?

Answer: An American Family.

16. What was Sam Malone’s former profession before running the bar on Cheers?

Answer: Relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox.

17. On The Brady Bunch, who gave Bobby his very first kiss?

Answer: Millicent.

18. What was the name of the cruise ship setting on The Love Boat?

Answer: MS Pacific Princess.

19. In The Twilight Zone, who turned out to be the mysterious "howling man" trapped in the monastery?

Answer: Satan (The Devil).

20. What classic TV character was nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz always spying on?

Answer: Samantha Stephens (Bewitched).

21. What 1990s animated series featured the iconic characters Beavis and Butt-Head before spinning off Daria?

Answer: Beavis and Butt-Head.

22. What sitcom gave Queen Latifah her breakout starring television role?

Answer: Living Single.

23. What character did Alan Alda play on M*A*S*H that Donald Sutherland played in the original film?

Answer: Hawkeye Pierce.

24. In The Jeffersons theme song, where were George and Louise "movin' on up" to?

Answer: "To the East Side / To a deluxe apartment in the sky."

25. What classic children's show hosted by Mister Rogers premiered nationally on NET/PBS in 1968?

Answer: Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.

Prime-Time Peak

Stepping into the nostalgic era of '90s and Y2K television, you’ll easily ace this section if you grew up planning your Thursday nights around Must See TV.

26. What is the name of the coffee shop where the main characters hang out in Friends?

Answer: Central Perk.

27. In The Office, what is the name of the paper company?

Answer: Dunder Mifflin.

28. What city does Seinfeld take place in?

Answer: New York City.

29. What subject does Walter White teach at school at the start of Breaking Bad?

Answer: High school chemistry.

30. In The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, where is Will originally born and raised?

Answer: West Philadelphia.

31. In Seinfeld, what is Kramer’s first name?

Answer: Cosmo.

32. What 1990s sitcom featured Steve Urkel’s famous catchphrase "Did I do that?"?

Answer: Family Matters.

33. Which of the six main characters on Friends is the only one who never got married during the series?

Answer: Joey Tribbiani.

34. Who played Frasier Crane on both Cheers and Frasier?

Answer: Kelsey Grammer.

35. What is Dwight Schrute’s beet farm called in The Office?

Answer: Schrute Farms.

36. What regular hangout spot do the main characters visit in How I Met Your Mother?

Answer: MacLaren's Pub.

37. In Arrested Development, what is the name of the Bluth family’s primary rival real estate firm?

Answer: Sitwell Company.

38. What flight number was the ill-fated plane in Lost?

Answer: Oceanic Flight 815.

39. What advertising agency does Don Draper work for at the start of Mad Men in Season 1?

Answer: Sterling Cooper.

40. In The Wire, what Maryland city serves as the backdrop for all five seasons?

Answer: Baltimore.

41. In The Sopranos, what is Tony Soprano's therapist's name?

Answer: Dr. Jennifer Melfi.

42. What is Dexter Morgan’s official day job with police in Dexter?

Answer: Blood spatter analyst for Miami Metro Police Department.

43. What is the name of Buffy’s hometown in Buffy the Vampire Slayer?

Answer: Sunnydale.

44. What 1990s sci-fi series featured FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully?

Answer: The X-Files.

45. What popular 1990s legal comedy-drama did Calista Flockhart star in?

Answer: Ally McBeal.

46. What comic book universe inspired the CW’s mystery drama Riverdale?

Answer: Archie Comics.

47. On Frasier, what color and pattern is Martin Crane’s favorite duct-taped recliner?

Answer: Green and brown striped.

48. On The Big Bang Theory, what restaurant chain does Penny work at as a waitress?

Answer: The Cheesecake Factory.

49. What is the fictional town setting of Gilmore Girls?

Answer: Stars Hollow.

50. What animated show features the town of South Park, Colorado?

Answer: South Park.

The Streaming Era

More into the shows that debuted on streaming apps or cable over the last 15 years? You'll feel right at home here.

51. In Stranger Things, what is the name of the alternate dimension parallel to the human world?

Answer: The Upside Down.

52. What is the name of the retro shopping mall at the center of Stranger Things Season 3?

Answer: Starcourt Mall.

53. What is the name of the "Mother of Dragons" in Game of Thrones?

Answer: Daenerys Targaryen.

54. In The Mandalorian, what is the popular nickname for the Child?

Answer: Baby Yoda (Grogu).

55. In Ted Lasso, what sport does Ted coach when he moves to England?

Answer: Soccer (football).

56. In Squid Game, what is the very first game the contestants play?

Answer: Red Light, Green Light.

57. In Schitt's Creek, what is the name of the motel the Rose family lives in?

Answer: Rosebud Motel.

58. What is the name of the Irish pub in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia?

Answer: Paddy's Pub.

59. In The Good Place, what major twist does Eleanor discover about the afterlife in Season 1?

Answer: She is actually in the Bad Place.

60. In New Girl, what is the name of Winston’s beloved cat?

Answer: Furguson.

61. What is Phil Dunphy’s self-written book of life rules called in Modern Family?

Answer: Phil's-osophy.

62. In Abbott Elementary, what grade does Janine Teagues teach?

Answer: Second grade.

63. What Indiana town serves as the setting for Parks and Recreation?

Answer: Pawnee.

64. In Succession, what is the name of the Roy family's media conglomerate?

Answer: Waystar Royco.

65. In Yellowstone, what is the name of the Dutton family ranch?

Answer: The Yellowstone Dutton Ranch.

66. In The Handmaid's Tale, what totalitarian regime replaced the United States?

Answer: The Republic of Gilead.

67. In The Bear, what was the original name of the Italian beef sandwich shop?

Answer: The Original Beef of Chicagoland.

68. What 2013 political thriller starring Kevin Spacey was Netflix’s first massive breakout original series?

Answer: House of Cards.

69. What Apple TV+ workplace thriller follows employees whose personal and work memories have been surgically separated?

Answer: Severance.

70. In Fallout, what are the underground nuclear shelters called?

Answer: Vaults.

71. In Shōgun (2024), what Japanese actor plays Lord Yoshii Toranaga?

Answer: Hiroyuki Sanada.

72. What Netflix limited series starring Anya Taylor-Joy centered on a chess prodigy?

Answer: The Queen's Gambit.

73. In The Last of Us, what type of fungal infection turns humans into monsters?

Answer: Cordyceps.

74. Which Sex and the City star famously declined to return as Samantha Jones for the reboot series And Just Like That...?

Answer: Kim Cattrall.

75. Who plays the main character and narrator, Rue Bennett, in Euphoria?

Answer: Zendaya.

Behind-the-Screen

True TV fanatics know that the best trivia exists behind the camera, from pilot recastings and original titles to record-breaking Emmy runs.

76. What was the original working title of Friends during early development?

Answer: Insomnia Cafe.

77. Alfonso Ribeiro's "Carlton Dance" on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was inspired by Eddie Murphy's "White Boy Dance" and which 1984 music video?

Answer: Courteney Cox in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" video.

78. In Seinfeld, what was Cosmo Kramer’s character name in the original pilot episode?

Answer: Kessler.

79. What series had an episode pulled from its original broadcast schedule due to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy?

Answer: The Joey Bishop Show.

80. Juno Temple’s Ted Lasso character, Keeley Jones, was named and inspired by which of her real-life co-stars?

Answer: Keeley Hazell.

81. Which HBO fantasy series famously reshot almost its entire original pilot episode before airing?

Answer: Game of Thrones.

82. Who composed the iconic theme music for The Simpsons in 1989?

Answer: Danny Elfman.

83. Who was the TV host that originally refused to book Elvis Presley, only to end up hosting his most iconic television appearances?

Answer: Ed Sullivan.

84. What is the longest-running primetime live-action scripted series in US television history?

Answer: Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

85. Lumon Industries' corporate headquarters in Severance is filmed at a real building in which U.S. state?

Answer: New Jersey (Bell Works in Holmdel).

86. Which two sitcoms are tied for the record of most Outstanding Comedy Series wins at the Primetime Emmys, with five victories each?

Answer: Frasier and Modern Family.

87. What total number of Emmy awards does Game of Thrones hold, making it the most awarded drama series in Emmy history?

Answer: 59 total Emmy wins.

88. Who voiced the eccentric teacher Ms. Frizzle in the classic 1990s animated children's series The Magic School Bus?

Answer: Lily Tomlin.

89. Creator David Chase originally wrote The Sopranos not as a television series, but as a pitch for what?

Answer: A feature film starring Robert De Niro and Anne Bancroft.

90. Which actor has appeared in the highest number of total episodes of Law & Order: SVU?

Answer: Mariska Hargitay (as Olivia Benson).

91. George Costanza appears in almost every Seinfeld episode, with the exception of which one?

Answer: "The Pen."

92. Which Game of Thrones star was nominated for an Emmy Award for every single season of the show?

Answer: Peter Dinklage.

93. What real-life newspaper featured prominently in Season 5 of The Wire?

Answer: The Baltimore Sun.

94. What current TV drama series did prosecutors complain was creating an unreasonable burden of proof among real-life juries?

Answer: CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.

95. Costing an unprecedented $14 million to shoot, the Lost pilot set a television record in 2004 for being what?

Answer: The most expensive TV pilot ever made.

96. Who sings the Baywatch theme “I’m Always Here”?

Answer: Jimi Jameson.

97. The reality franchise Big Brother takes its name from which novel?

Answer: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell.

98. Mad Men is famous for its depiction of 1960s New York City, but which single episode was the only one actually filmed on location in NYC?

Answer: The pilot episode (the rest of the series was shot in Los Angeles).

99. The messy Chicago sandwich shop in The Bear was inspired by and filmed at which real-life Chicago food staple?

Answer: Mr. Beef (on Orleans).

100. Who was the real-life Ms. Joyce Abbott, the namesake of Abbott Elementary?

Answer: Creator and star Quinta Brunson’s former sixth-grade teacher in Philadelphia.

What’s your final score out of 100? If you crushed it, congratulations: you’ve officially proven that television isn't brain rot; it's research. Who knew binging entire series was building brainpower? If you didn't score as high as you wanted, don't sweat it—your streaming queue is waiting to help you "study" for round two.

Keep up with Mental Floss for our TV coverage, including trivia, filming locations, and quizzes.

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