The Marriage Ref is an American reality television show and panel game hosted by comedian Tom Papa and produced by Jerry Seinfeld, in which a rotating group of celebrities decides the winners of real-life marital disputes. The show premiered on NBC on Sunday, February 28, 2010 on the final night of the Olympics before moving to Thursdays. The show's second season debuted on June 26, 2011. On May 13, 2012, NBC cancelled the series after two seasons. Premise The premise of the show involves real-life couples who have been having an ongoing argument. In season one, a video clip was shown to a three-member celebrity panel depicting both sides of a dispute. The celebrities made humorous observations, deliberated the merits and voted on who should win the debate. Though the Marriage Ref (Papa) took their votes into consideration, he was free to make his own decision about who was right. In addition to the celebrity panel, season one featured a fact checker who could provide additional information to aid in the decision making. Today correspondents Natalie Morales and Maria Menounos and MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski filled this role. Changes have been announced for season two. In these episodes, couples will appear live in studio, and at the end of each show, the studio audience will vote on which of the night's three winners is "The Rightest." The winner will receive $25,000 and a billboard in their hometown declaring that they are right. Reviewers have described the show as a renewal of the panel game format popular in classic American television. Production The Marriage Ref was originally scheduled to premiere Sunday, March 14 at 8 pm, as the lead-in to The Celebrity Apprentice. NBC greenlighted the show "within minutes" of Seinfeld pitching the concept. However, as a result of The Jay Leno Show being cancelled, the premiere was moved up to Thursday, March 4 at 10 pm, as one of its replacement shows. The executive producers of The Marriage Ref are Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen Rakieten, Nick Emerson, Jennifer O'Connell, and Al Berman. Seinfeld selected comedian Tom Papa, his longtime warm-up act, to serve as the show's host and referee. The program is produced by Seinfeld's company, Columbus 81 Productions. Endemol provides services of international distribution of The Marriage Ref. Central Talent Booking manages the composition of each show's celebrity panel. Episodes Season 1 (2010) Season 2 (2011) Critical reception Reviews The Marriage