(; Spanish for "The Anthill") is a Spanish television program with a live audience focusing on comedy, science, and guest interviews airing since September 2006. It is hosted and produced by screenwriter Pablo Motos.
The show aired on Spain's Cuatro channel from launch until June 2011, when it switched to Antena 3. It has proved a ratings success, and has expanded from a weekly 120-minute show to a daily 40-minute show in its third season, which began on 17 September 2007.El Hormiguero pasará a ser diario Trancas: "Hace falta que fichemos a una hormiga con un buen culo" El hormiguero bate récord de share y espectadores por segunda semana
Recurring guests on the show include Luis Piedrahita, Raquel Martos, ("The Man in Black"; the scientists), and puppet ants (from the Spanish expression , which means "in fits and starts").
The first series was produced by Gestmusic, the Spanish venture of Endemol. Since the second series it has been produced by , a production company formed by Motos and the show's director Jorge Salvador. On a Cadena SER interview, he revealed that he had once been offered to take the show to Telecinco, but he preferred to stay with Cuatro. He eventually accepted an offer to move to Antena 3, when Mediaset España refused to meet the €90,000 per episode fee that 7yAcción proposed.
The show won the Entertainment prize at the 2009 Rose d'Or ceremony, and led the ratings in its timeslot continuously from 2014 until 2024.Rose d'Or 2009 Winners
In 2026, Trancas and Barrancas participated in the Antena 3 television show Mask Singer: Adivina quién canta, under the masks of Flip-flops.
Format The show is based on an earlier radio program, broadcast on M80 Radio, called No Somos Nadie ("We Are Nobody"). This show continued until June 2007, when Pablo Motos announced that he would be leaving the program to allow the daily production of El Hormiguero.Se acabó No Somos Nadie No Somos Nadie returned in September 2007 with new on-air talent, since most of the old show's talent were part of the television adaptation.Celia Montalbán sustituirá a Pablo Motos en la cadena M80
Segments on the show included scientific experiments, like a car running on vegetable oil, hangover cures, a superconductivity demonstration, and various chemical reaction demonstrations. Each episode features a satirical rap, commentary on current events, and humorous phrases as spoken by children. Other segments include pitches for viewers to plant trees and "El Kiosco", a section of magazine reviews. The show also airs parodies of other media, which have included Back to the Future, Pop Idol, House M.D., and Mission: Impossible. Each episode features a celebrity guest, including Boris Izaguirre, David Bisbal,David Bisbal de promoción con "Premonición" Alejandro Sanz,Alejandro Sanz y las hormigas (video) Paulina Rubio, Dani Martin, Nuria Roca and numerous international celebrities such as Miley Cyrus, Sergio Dalma, Ashley Tisdale or Hugh Jackman.
International attention
The show first received international attention in 2006 for having people walk across a swimming pool filled with a non-Newtonian fluid, a suspension of cornstarch and water called oobleck, that was mixed in a cement truck. This experiment was performed in an October 2006 episode of the show and was repeated with a new batch of oobleck on the Christmas Eve special episode due to its popularity. In 2007, Cuatro signed an agreement with YouTube that allows clips from Cuatro programs, including El Hormiguero, to be showcased on the site. In 2009, El Hormiguero was awarded as the best entertainment program in the international Rose d'Or awards. The win was the fourth time a Spanish program has received the award, the first since 1994.
Since 2008, the show has received a large number of appearances from international celebrities.Celebrities include: Batista (Rey Mysterio was interviewed by El Hormiguero´s ants in the USA) from WWE, sportsmen Dwight Howard, Sergio Ramos, Iñaki Williams, Diego Simeone, Marcelo, Sergio Agüero, Ronaldo, Baptista and Roberto Carlos, Rudy Fernández, Ilia Topuria, Carlos Sainz, Carlos Sainz Jr., Novak Djokovic, Fernando Alonso, Roberto Bautista and Rafa Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz motorcycle Toni Elías, Jorge Lorenzo, Joan Mir, Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez, swimmer Ona Carbonell, gymnast Simone Biles, the politicians Albert Rivera, Mariano Rajoy, Pablo Iglesias, Pedro Sánchez and Miguel Angel Revilla, writer Dan Brown the models Cara Delevingne, Sara Sampaio, Jean Paul Gaultier, Karlie Kloss, Alessandra Ambrosio, Heidi Klum, Elle Macpherson and Adriana Karembeu, the astronaut Charles Duke, the writer Dan Brown, the dog trainer Cesar Millan, actors Will Smith, Jaden Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jackie Chan, Margot Robbie, Mena Massoud, Naomi Scott, Martin Lawrence; Lost stars Matthew Fox and Jorge Garcia; House M.D. stars Olivia Wilde and Lisa Edelstein; Hugh Jackman, Rob Schneider, Matt Dallas, Sylvester Stallone, Hugh Grant, Michael C. Hall, Jean Reno, Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Geraldine, Oona Castilla Chaplin, Johnny Knoxville, Tom Cruise, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Emily Blunt, Ana de Armas, Cameron Diaz, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Gary Dourdan, Eva Mendes, Jennifer Connelly, Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Tim Burton, Jamie Lee Curtis Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Zoe Kravitz, Clive Owen, Sofia Vergara, Alec Baldwin, Mckenna Grace, Sam Heughan, Ricardo Darín, Elisabeth Moss, Jamie Bell, Reese Witherspoon, Laura Natalia Esquivel, Robert Englund, Aaron Taylor-Johnson Danny DeVito, Rami Malek, Mark Wahlberg, Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Christopher Lloyd, Norman Reedus, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Jennifer Aniston, Guillermo Francella, Diego Luna, Denzel Washington, Daniel Craig, Kelsey Grammer, Dolph Lundgren, Jeremy Irons, Freddie Highmore, Ryan Reynolds, Richard Gere, Patrick Dempsey, Vincent Cassel, Valentina Zenere, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, the Phelps twins, Eddie Redmayne, Liam Neeson, Callum Turner, Russell Crowe, Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Esmeralda Pimentel, Oscar Jaenada, Mario Casas, Amaia Salamanca, Blanca Suarez, Jose Coronado, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Liam Cunningham, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson and Jennifer Lawrence, William Levy, Jeremy Allen White, Olivia Munn, Boyd Holbrook, China Suarez, Benicio del Toro, Tim Robbins, Jessica Chastain, Adriana Karembeu, Ed Harris, Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Kelsey Grammer, Matthew McConaughey, Woody Allen, Ernesto Alterio, Peter Coyote, Nicole Kidman, Elsa Pataky, Marvel Cinematic Universe stars Chris Hemsworth, Paul Rudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anthony Mackie, Danny Ramirez, Chris Pratt and Bradley Cooper, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Gwyneth Paltrow, Debi Mazar, Patrick Stewart, Bryan Cranston, Peter Dinklage, Alex Pettyfer and Teresa Palmer, Brigitte Nielsen, Channing Tatum, Eva Longoria, Orlando Bloom, Vin Diesel, Dakota Johnson, Sofía Vergara, Leo Bassi, Kennet Branagh, Richard Madden, Willem Dafoe, Sigourney Weaver, Martin Sheen, Emilio Estevez, Ed Skrein, Mel Gibson, Johnny Depp, Riccardo Scamarcio, David Hasselhoff, Elijah Wood, Sasha Grey, Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño, Bill Murray, Sharon Stone, Harrison Ford, Drew Barrymore, Timothy Olyphant, Stranger Things stars David Harbour, Millie Bobby Brown, Noah Schnapp and Finn Wolfhard, Óscar Martínez, Penelope Cruz, Pedro Almodóvar, Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Rowan Atkinson, Amanda Seyfried, Lorenzo Lamas, Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Jesse Eisenberg and Justin Timberlake, singers Jonas Brothers, Enrique Iglesias, Backstreet Boys, McFly, Tokio Hotel, One Direction, Bizarrap, David Bisbal, Álvaro Soler, India Martinez, La Oreja De Van Gogh, Carlos Baute, Kylie Minogue, Alejandro Sanz, Shakira, Alesha Dixon, Ashley Tisdale, Ke$ha, Iggy Pop, Anastacia, Chayanne, Isabel Pantoja, Emilia de Poret, Julieta Venegas, Norah Jones, Pablo Alboran, Camilo, Ava Max, Eros Ramazzotti, Monica Naranjo, Chris Isaak, Anitta, Salvador Sobral, Rosalía, Milow, Craig David, Emeli Sandé, Fleur East, Cecilia Bartoli, Michel Teló, Lang Lang, Miguel Bosé, Carlos Vives, Amaia Montero, David Summers (Hombres G), Jason Derulo, Kate Ryan, Ricky Martin, Austin Mahone, La Quinta Estacion, Tini, Danna Paola, Alicia Keys, Pitbull, Belinda, David Guetta, Raffaella Carrà, Carla Bruni, Bob Sinclar, Ella Baila Sola, James Blunt, Meghan Trainor, Raphael, Sebastian Yatra, Ed Sheeran, Lali Esposito, Billy Ray Cyrus, Pimpinela, Luis Fonsi, Melendi, Emilia, Robbie Williams, María Becerra, Juanes, Manuel Turizo, Jeanette, Nathy Peluso, Sergio Dalma, Gloria Estefan, Maná, Gloria Gaynor, The Baseballs, Juan Luis Guerra, Nelly Furtado, Lele Pons, Guaynaa, Lenny Kravitz, Duffy, 30 Seconds to Mars members Jared Leto; Taylor Swift, Romeo Santos, Andres Calamaro, La Toya Jackson, Carlos Santana, Michael Buble, LMFAO, Laura Pausini, Mika, Christopher Cross, Jose Luis Perales, Karol G, Jamie Cullum, Paulina Rubio, Carly Rae Jepsen, 80s singers Rick Astley, Spandau Ballet, Bonnie Tyler and Ana Torroja, reggaeton and trap singers Daddy Yankee, Maluma, Eladio Carrión, Ozuna, Rauw Alejandro, Young Miko Myke Towers, Feid, Duki, Nicky Jam and J Balvin productor music Manuel Alejandro young actors Dafne Keen, Julio Peña and Clara Galle singers Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Alfred Garcia, Lola Indigo, Nicki Nicole, Ana Mena, Becky G, Ana Guerra, Aitana, Justin Bieber and Miley Cyrus and comedias Adam Sandler, Frat Pack Members Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson and Will Ferrell, Santiago Segura, Florentino Fernández, José Mota, Sacha Baron Cohen.
In addition, sometimes, Pablo Motos has travelled to other countries to interview notable people there. This was the case in Motos' interviews with Hugh Laurie (in Los Angeles), to Rey Misterio (in the United States) or Will and Jaden Smith (in their fourth and second interviews with Motos, respectively; in London). The programme has also interviewed Will Smith with Margot Robbie.
After Jesse Eisenberg spoke negatively about his experience as guest on El Hormiguero, in an interview with Conan O'Brien on TBS's Conan, Pablo Motos gave a humorous retort to the actor and the American talk-show host from the Spanish program.
In 2009, Siete y Acción licensed the show's format to Grundy Italy, an Italian production company, to produce a local version of the show, but its pilot in the original format was never picked up. Also in 2009, Chilean and Portuguese versions were produced: in Chile the show flopped and was axed within a month; the Portuguese version ran successfully until 2013 in various timeslots on SIC. In June 2010 the Mexican version of the show premiered: it was produced for two series but was unexpectedly cancelled during its second series as a cost-cutting measure by TV Azteca. The Brazilian version premiered ten days afterwards, but was axed within a year. In 2013 there was an attempt by Will Smith to move the format to the United States, showing interest in the NBC or CBS networks, but it did not materialise. The programme has also been adapted successfully in China by Hunan Television (though it has been suggested by producers that the local network haven't paid for the rights). According to producers 7yAcción, the programme has been piloted additionally in Argentina, Colombia, Germany and Romania. The show is broadcast in the US by Spanish-language channel Estrella TV.
In 2024, it was announced that Italia 1 would remake the show in Italy as Il Formicaio. CountryNamePresenterChannelDatesO FormigueiroMarco LuqueRede Bandeirantes25 July - 16 December 2010El HormigueroTonka Tomicic