De slimste mens (Dutch for 'The smartest human'), until 2009 known as De slimste, is a Dutch television quiz show. Contestants mostly have to find associations to certain terms or pictures.
Concept In each episode, three contestants play against each other. The contestants vary from more to less known and each season aims to have a diverse group. During filming, the contestants take seats in three chairs. The contestant that won the previous episode takes the right spot, the runner-up from the previous episode takes the middle seat, and a new contestant takes place on the left. The order for the first episode is chosen at random.
Each round gives contestants the opportunity to earn more seconds to their clock. The rounds consist of different types of questions, where, for example, four or five answers must be given, connections must be found, keywords must be provided for a video about events from recent history, or puzzles must be made. By answering questions correctly, seconds can be gained, but these seconds are lost again by taking the time to answer. If a contestant says 'stop' or 'pass' when not all answers are given, the other contestants get a chance to earn the remaining seconds, always starting with the one who currently has the lowest amount of seconds left.
After five rounds, the contestant with the highest amount of seconds left is called 'the smartest of the day', and advances to the next episode by default. The two remaining contestants compete in a finale. The winner of that finale also advances to the next episode, while the losing contestant gets replaced by a new contestant in the next episode.
In the final week of each season, the five best players from the season return to the newcomer's seat on the left, counting the amount of episodes they were in and how many times they won an episode. For example, if one contestant was in 6 episodes with 3 wins, they were better than one with 6 episodes and 2 wins. The best player returns in the last episode, the season finale. In the last episode, the finale is played with the two with the highest scores after the fifth round, not with those in second and third place, as usual. The winner of that finale gets named 'de slimste mens'.
Gameplay Each episode consists of five rounds, with an additional finale at the end. From the second to the fifth round, when a contestant passes before giving all the answers, the two other contestants always get a chance to complete it, starting with the one who has the least amount of seconds left at the time.
3-6-9 Each contestant gets 60 seconds to start with. In this first round, fifteen questions are asked, starting with the contestant on the newcomer's seat. If they answer correctly, they can answer the next question and so on. When they answer incorrectly, the question gets passed on to the next contestant. The 3rd, 6th, 9th, 12th and 15th question are worth 10 seconds. In this round, the clock is not yet running when answering the questions, but there is a time limit for answering them.
Open Deur ('open door') In this round, questions are asked by a celebrity. The contestant currently in third place gets to choose first. Usually, each season has a small group of celebrities, with a few pre-recorded questions that are shown throughout the whole season. They start with a short story, and always end the question with "What do you know of....?". Four answers are to be given, each worth 20 seconds.
Puzzel ('puzzle') In this round, a grid of 3x4 is shown to each contestant, starting with the one currently in third place. Three words are to be found, each linked to four of the twelve keywords and each worth 30 seconds. Usually, the combinations make up expressions, compound words, famous names, et cetera.
Gallerij ('gallery') Each contestant gets shown eight pictures, all with an overarching theme, again starting with the one currently in third place. Throughout answering, the contestant usually finds out what the connection is between the pictures. Each picture is worth 15 seconds.
Het collectieve geheugen ('the collective memory') Each contestant gets shown a video clip, again starting with the one currently in third place. With each clip, five terms are to be found. Just as the previous rounds, the other contestants can fill out the remaining answers, however, that makes a bigger difference than usual. In this round, the first answer that is given is worth 10 seconds, the second is worth 20 seconds and so on, so the one who gives the fifth answer earns 50 seconds. Because of this, the ranking of seconds for each contestant is given after each clip. The one with the highest amount of seconds after this round is named 'de slimste van de dag' ('smartest of the day') and advances to the next episode by default.
Finale In the finale (frequently called the 'day finale'), the contestant get asked "what do you know about...?". The question is always first asked to the one who has the least amount of seconds. Each question has five answers. For each correct answer, 20 seconds are removed from the opponent's clock. The goal is to get the opponent's clock to zero seconds. The winner of the finale advances to the next episode, taking the middle seat, while the losing contestant gets replaced by a new contestant in the next episode. In the last episode of the season, the finale is played with the two with the highest scores after the fifth round, not with those in second and third place, as usual. The winner of that finale gets named 'de slimste mens' ('the smartest human').
Seasons
Talpa/RTL seasons SeasonWinnerRunner-upThird placeJudgeHostNetworkSpring 2006Jeroen Kijk in de VegteHans BeerekampPeter van der VorstCees GeelLinda de MolTalpaFall 2006Bart ChabotMarc van der LindenDieter TroubleynJan VerheyenFall 2009Anniko van SantenJan HeemskerkSuzanne BosmanMartijn KrabbéRTL 4
(KRO-)NCRV seasons SeasonFirst airedLast airedWinnerRunner-upThird placeJudgeHost1 (Summer 2012)23 July 201231 August 2012Arjen LubachJan RotAfter Rot received a tumor diagnosis in 2021, his final wish would be to participate again. He participated again in the 19th season in 2021.Mark HuizingaMaarten van RossemPhilip Freriks2 (Summer 2013)22 July 201330 August 2013Pieter DerksCharly LuskeHanna Bervoets3 (Winter 2013–14)16 December 201324 January 2014Owen SchumacherJeroen Kijk in de VegteMargriet van der Linden4 (Summer 2014)14 July 201429 August 2014Art RooijakkersErik DijkstraDiederik Jekel5 (Winter 2014–15)15 December 201423 January 2015Tom RoesRemco VeldhuisChris Zegers6 (Summer 2015)20 July 201528 August 2015Diederik SmitNynke de JongDaan Nieber7 (Winter 2015–16)14 December 201522 January 2016Eric SmitGovert SchillingErnst Daniël Smid8 (Summer 2016)25 July 20162 September 2016George van HoutsWytse van der GrootJoël Broekaert9 (Winter 2016–17)12 December 201620 January 2017Klaas DijkhoffHiske VersprilleStefano Keizers10 (Summer 2017)24 July 20171 September 2017Angela de JongMischa BlokThomas Olde Heuvelt11 (Winter 2017–18)18 December 201726 January 2018Sander SchimmelpenninckPaul JansenDavid Lucieer12 (Summer 2018)16 July 201831 August 2018Roelof de VriesPhilip HuffAnne Fleur Dekker13 (Winter 2018–19)10 December 201818 January 2019Peter Hein van MulligenArjan PostmaMark Tuitert14 (Summer 2019)15 July 201930 August 2019Rob HaddersKees van AmstelNiña Weijers15 (Winter 2019–20)23 December 201931 January 2020Marieke van de ZilverKhalid KasemMarc de Hond16 (Summer 2020)13 July 202028 August 2020Astrid KersseboomJeroen GrueterFrancis van Broekhuizen17 (Winter 2020–21)14 December 202022 January 2021Rob KempsAndries TunruEmma Wortelboer18 (Summer 2021)12 July 202127 August 2021Lisa LoebBram DouwesJoost Oomen19 (Winter 2021–22)13 December 202121 January 2022Jacob DerwigFrank HeinenMartin Visser20 (Summer 2022)11 July 202226 August 2022Jasper van KuijkAnniko van SantenErik van Muiswinkel21 (Winter 2022–23)26 December 202210 February 2023Martin RomboutsAnniek PheiferMátyás Bittenbinder22 (Summer 2023)31 July 20238 September 2023Tom KleijnJörgen Tjon A FongNandi van Beurden23 (Winter 2023–24)18 December 202326 January 2024Joes BrauersJan Dirk van der BurgTim Hartog24 (Summer 2024)22 July 202430 August 2024Herman van der ZandtAlong with the announcement that host Freriks and judge van Rossem would leave the show after the 25th season, it was announced that van der Zandt would take over hosting. After winning the 24th season, he went on to host the show from the 26th season onwards.Max TerpstraMaartje van de Wetering25In celebration of the 25th and final season for host Freriks and judge van Rossem, this season was subtitled 'smartest of the smartest', having previous finalists compete again. The winner, Frank Heinen, was given the exchange trophy indefinitely. (Anniversary, Winter 2024–25)23 December 202431 January 2025Frank HeinenKlaas DijkhoffLisa Loeb26 (Fall 2025)1 September 202518 October 2025Broadcasting of the final two episodes was delayed because of the annual Gouden Televizier-Ring Gala taking place on 16 October.Brankele FrankThomas van LuynVan Luyn previously participated in the first season in 2012.Rob JettenPaulien CornelisseHerman van der Zandt27The first two episodes featured singer René Karst as a contestant, who passed away shortly after the episodes were filmed. By request of his family, the episodes were broadcast as usual. (Spring 2026)23 February 202610 April 2026 Frank van Leeuwen Delilah Warcup-van Eyck Bibi Roos28Jury member Cornelisse passed away on 30 September 2026. Therefore, in the timeslot of episode 8 of the 28th season, NPO 1 aired a recording of Paulien's cabaret show Maar ondertussen. Episode 8 was aired the next day, while episode 9 and 10 both aired on 2 October. By her family's request, the remainder of the season is scheduled to air as usual. (Fall 2026) 21 September 2026TBA
All Stars seasons Three five-episode seasons were made with 'all stars'. Unlike the regular seasons, the All Stars editions have four chairs next to each other instead of three. The 2022 All Stars season was not aired on all weekdays as usual, but weekly on Fridays. SeasonFirst airedLast airedWinnerRunner-upThird place'The smartest vs the rest'11 December 201715 December 2017Diederik SmitNynke de JongErik DijkstraSteven OomsAll Stars 202222 July 202219 August 2022Marieke van de ZilverPeter Hein van MulligenFrank HeinenOwen SchumacherAll Stars 202311 September 202315 September 2023Jaike BelforTina NijkampTex de WitAndrea van Pol
Highest scores Below is a table of the ten highest scores achieved before the finale, as of the end of the last season. ContestantDateScoreFrank Heinen24 December 2021(season 19, episode 10)663Delilah Warcup-van Eyck9 March 2026(season 27, episode 11)595Herman van der Zandt23 July 2024(season 24, episode 2)593Roelof de Vries1 August 2018(season 12, episode 13)574Max Terpstra27 August 2024(season 24, episode 27)547Owen Schumacher19 December 2013(season 3, episode 4)542Roelof de Vries31 July 2018(season 12, episode 12)541Thomas van Groningen12 July 2022(season 20, episode 2)538Maaike Schoon7 April 2026(season 27, episode 32)521Rob Goossens19 July 2022(season 20, episode 7)519
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