På spåret

{{Short description|Swedish TV game show}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox television

| image =

| caption =

| alt_name =

| genre = Game show

| creator = Ingvar Oldsberg, Lennart Andersson

| developer =

| writer =

| director =

| creative_director =

| presenter = Ingvar Oldsberg (1987–2009)
Kristian Luuk (2009–)

| starring =

| judges = Lennart Dahlgren (1988)
Björn Hellberg (1995–2003, 2005–2009)
Carl Jan Granqvist (2004)
Fredrik Lindström ( (2009–)

| voices =

| narrated =

| theme_music_composer = Bengt-Åke Andersson (1987–2010)
Augustifamiljen (2010–2019)
Various artists (2019–)

| opentheme =

| endtheme =

| composer =

| country = Sweden

| language = Swedish

| num_seasons = 28

| num_episodes = 291

| list_episodes =

| executive_producer =

| producer =

| editor =

| location = Sweden

| cinematography =

| camera =

| runtime = 59 minutes

| company =

| channel = SVT

| first_aired = {{Start date|1987|9|5|df=yes}}

| last_aired = present

| related = Jorda rundt

}}

På spåret ({{lit|On the Track}}) is a popular Swedish TV game show series broadcast on SVT since 5 September 1987. The show, which is intended to be humorous yet educational, has remained one of the most popular TV shows in Sweden, attracting an average of 2,150,000 viewers during the 2007 season. The all-time record was set in March 1990, when 3.7 million people tuned in to see the show. This means that nearly half of all Swedes saw the game show.

På spåret is an original format developed by Ingvar Oldsberg for SVT, and he hosted the show for many years. The first show aired 5 September 1987.{{cite web | url=https://www.smp.se/2023-01-20/har-ar-tidernas-basta-pa-sparet-deltagare/ | title=KRÖNIKA: Här är tidernas bästa "På spåret"-deltagare | date=20 January 2023 }} Lennart Dahlgren, winner of the first season, was the judge in 1988. Author and tennis legend Björn Hellberg was promoted from contestant to permanent Oldsberg sidekick and judge in 1995 after winning for four straight seasons. Famous gourmet, restaurant owner, and former contestant Carl Jan Granqvist sat in for Hellberg during the 2004 season.{{cite web|url=http://www.svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d%3D69768%26a%3D890330 |title=SVT.se – Kultur & nöje programinformation |accessdate=21 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421154211/http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=69768&a=890330 |archivedate=21 April 2008 |language=sv}}

In 2009, after 21 years, Oldsberg and Hellberg left, and Kristian Luuk took over as host with Fredrik Lindström as judge.{{cite web | url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/tv/a/xRJOpR/de-tar-over-pa-sparet | title=De tar över På spåret | date=8 May 2009 }}

Format

Two teams of well-known Swedes (during the initial seasons each team had three participants each, however this was later reduced to two) compete against each other. Participants are shown filmed journeys (usually filmed from the front of a train, but occasionally from a car, or even from a plane) and the objective is for each team to identify the destination of the journey, using visual clues from the video, and additional clues from the host. The clues, which often include puns and far-fetched word play, get progressively easier as the train approaches its destination, and the number of points awarded for a correct answer accordingly declines. After the journey both teams answer questions related to the destination city, and collect more points.

Each one-hour show has three filmed journeys, typically with one Swedish and two foreign destinations.

The journey involves the competitors figuring out the destination of a journey viewed at high speed from the driver's seat on a train (sometimes also a car, bus or boat) on the way to the place in question. The host reads out various tricky clues, as the journey progresses. Clues are awarded on 10, 8, 6, 4 and 2 points, and get progressively easier (2 points almost always includes a pun on the name of the destination). To answer, the team pulls the emergency brake; if the answer is correct, points are given corresponding to the level that the journey has reached. The other team must wait until the next point level to give their answer.

In between journeys 2 and 3, the original hosts, Oldsberg and Hellberg, used to read a text dressed up as Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes, giving progressively easier clues about a specific celebrity. The team that first identified the celebrity won points, or instead lost if the answer was wrong. Later "Holmes and Watson" was substituted by "Tintin and Captain Haddock". Following the 50th anniversary of SVT in 2006, this element was replaced by various mini-games, as follows:

  • Retur ({{lit|Return}}) – the contestants must guess which is the correct year, based on films and pictures taken from SVT's archive. The correct answer gets three points while the wrong answer gives three minus points. Only the team that pulled the emergency brake first can answer. This section was added in connection with SVT's 50th anniversary.
  • Vem där? ({{lit|Who's There?}}) replaced Retur 2010–11. Instead of a year, movies and pictures are clues linked to a famous person.
  • Listan ({{lit|the List}}) was a new element from the 2016–17 season, replacing Vem där?. The team with the lowest score could choose between two subjects (e.g., European capitals or footballers born in the 1970s). Both teams must then decide which four of the eight answer proposals belong to the chosen topic, and then lock their answers by pulling the brake. Three points go to the team that scores the four correct answers. If both teams answered correctly, it is the competitors who pull the 'brake' first who get the points. Listan disappeared after the 2018–19 season.
  • From the 2019–20 season, the team that was behind after two journeys could choose between Vem där? and Retur.
  • Närmast vinner ({{lit|Nearest Wins}}) replaced Vem där? and Retur for the 2021 season. In this mini-game, the team gets to see a film that connects to a place, somewhere in the world. The team that comes closest to marking the place on a blank map gets three points – like a geographical 'pin the tail on the donkey'.

=Tournament=

In recent years, each season have consisted of a tournament with three groups of three teams each. The winner of each group qualify for the semi-finals; the fourth semi-finalist is decided by a quarter-final match between the two best teams that placed second in their respective groups. Starting from the 2024–25 season, the format changed to two groups of four teams, where the top two teams in each group qualify for the semi-finals.

Contestants

Until 1995 each team consisted of three people, since then the contestants have competed in pairs. The show typically feature intelligent, humorous and well-known celebrities, such as sports journalist Lotta Bromé, restaurateur Carl-Jan Granqvist, former weight-lifter Lennart Dahlgren, comedians/TV-hosts Filip & Fredrik, Olympic high-jump champion Stefan Holm, and actor/TV personality Peter Harryson, sports journalist Johanna Frändén.

=Contestants 2007–08=

=Contestants 2008–09 =

{{cite web|url=http://www.svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d%3D69768%26a%3D1210974 |title=Många debutanter i På spåret 2008! – Kultur & nöje programinformation | SVT.se |accessdate=21 January 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110612111139/http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=69768&a=1210974 |archivedate=12 June 2011 |language=sv}}

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;Group A

;Group B

;Group C

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=Contestants 2009–10 =

{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091116073652/http://svt.se/2.99867/1.1728942/spelschema_2009_copy?lid=puff_1728946&lpos=extra_2|title=Spelschema 2009 – På Spåret | website=svt.se|lang=sv|url=http://svt.se/2.99867/1.1728942/spelschema_2009_copy?lid=puff_1728946&lpos=extra_2|archivedate=16 November 2009|year=2009}}

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;Group A

;Group B

;Group C

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=Contestants 2012–13=

=Contestants 2013–14=

=Contestants 2014–15 =

{{cite web|url=http://www.svt.se/pa-sparet/har-ar-sasongens-matchordning-och-musikgaster|title=Säsongens matchordning och musikgäster|work=svt.se|access-date=7 December 2014|archive-date=5 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205045345/http://www.svt.se/pa-sparet/har-ar-sasongens-matchordning-och-musikgaster|url-status=dead}}

{{div col|colwidth=17em}}

;Group A

;Group B

;Group C

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Past winners

{{cite web|url=http://svt.se/2.99869/1.890229/vinnare_genom_aren_ny?lid%3Dpuff_1455341%26lpos%3Dextra_0 |title=Vinnare genom åren – På Spåret | publisher=SVT.se |accessdate=14 October 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090917101624/http://svt.se/2.99869/1.890229/vinnare_genom_aren_ny?lid=puff_1455341&lpos=extra_0 |archivedate=17 September 2009 |language=sv}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"
Season

!Winner

!Runners-up

1987Lennart Dahlgren, Margareta Söderström & Thomas Wernerson
1988Björn Hellberg, Mats Strandberg & Bengt Grive
1990Björn Hellberg, Mats Strandberg & Joakim NyströmMargareta Söderström, Lennart Dahlgren & Thomas Wernerson
1991Björn Hellberg, Mats Strandberg & Bengt GrivePutte Wickman, Birgit Carlstén & Lennart Broström
1993Björn Hellberg, Mats Strandberg & Bengt GriveLasse Strömstedt, Inger Nilsson & Kicki Hultin
1995Cecilia Hagen & Tomas TengbyPeter Harryson & Eva Bysing
1996Tommy Engstrand & Birgit CarlsténBengt Järnblad & Ma Oftedal
1997Peter Harryson & Malin PetersonAdde Malmberg & Cecilia Hagen
1998Carl Jan Granqvist & Lotta BroméLasse Eriksson & Ulrika Knutson
1999Peter Harryson & Carina LidbomBirgit Carlstén & Sven Melander
2000Agneta Bolme Börjefors & Adde MalmbergBirgit Carlstén & Sven Melander
2001Annette Kullenberg & Jesper AspegrenLotta Bromé & Carl Jan Granqvist
2002Carina Lidbom & Tommy EngstrandCecilia Hagen & Lennart Dahlgren
2003Ingela Agardh & Stefan HolmCecilia Hagen & Lennart Dahlgren
2004Ellinor Persson & Dick HarrisonIngela Agardh & Stefan Holm
2005–06Katarina Mazetti & Stefan HolmAdde Malmberg & Magdalena Forsberg
2006–07Caroline af Ugglas & Göran HäggAnne Lundberg & Johan Wester
2007–08Anne Lundberg & Johan WesterCecilia Hagen & Lennart Dahlgren
2008–09Lisa Syrén & Johan WesterJessika Gedin & Hans Rosenfeldt
2009–10Johanna Koljonen & Marcus BirroHélène Benno & Peter Apelgren
2010–11Peter Apelgren & Hélène BennoMartina Haag & Erik Haag
2011–12Martina Haag & Erik HaagNiklas Strömstedt & Jenny Strömstedt
2012–13Ellinor Persson & Dick HarrisonCecilia Hagen & Lennart Dahlgren
2013–14Helena von Zweigbergk & Göran EverdahlElisabet Höglund & Jesper Rönndahl
2014–15Elisabet Höglund & Jesper RönndahlFredrik Wikingsson & Filip Hammar
2015–16Elisabet Höglund & Jesper RönndahlAnna Ekström & Göran Hägglund
2016–17Johan Hilton & Kristin LundellIsobel Hadley-Kamptz & Kalle Lind
2017–18Josefin Johansson & Johar BendjelloulAmie Bramme Sey & Gunnar Bolin
2018–19Parisa Amiri & Gunnar WetterbergEric Ericson & Kjell Wilhelmsen
2019–20Parisa Amiri & Gunnar WetterbergJosefin Johansson & Johar Bendjelloul
2020–21Magdalena Forsberg & Claes ElfsbergLouise Epstein & Thomas Nordegren
2021–22

|Cecilia Düringer & Jonatan Unge

|Hanna Hellquist & Ina Lundström

2022–23

|Marie Agerhäll & Fritte Fritzson

|Cecilia Düringer & Jonatan Unge

2023–24

|Marie Agerhäll & Fritte Fritzson

|Peter Apelgren & Hector Apelgren

Some of the participants have been celebrities in Sweden, more due to this show, than for anything they were before. This applies especially for the former weightlifter Lennart Dahlgren. Although far from unknown before his first participation, his celebrity rose quite a lot due to his geographical knowledge. But also Björn Hellberg, Carl Jan Granqvist, Johanna Koljonen are included among the ones who perhaps are more associated with this television show than anything else, at the time and to the general public at least.

Musicians

Music questions are presented by well-known musicians. In 2023 these were:{{cite news|newspaper=Helsingborgs Dagblad|url= https://www.hd.se/2023-10-13/maja-francis-jag-ar-en-late-pa-sparet-bloomer|title=Maja Francis: 'Jag är en late-På spåret-bloomer'|date=13 October 2023|first=Julia|last=Moegelin}}

International adaptations

The format was sold to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, where the show was called Jorda rundt (Around the World). It was canceled after only one season (1998–99).{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272981/|title=Jorda rundt (TV Series 1998–1999)|publisher=IMDb|access-date=29 June 2018|archive-date=17 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171017230351/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272981/|url-status=live}} Finnish YLE produced Hengaillaan starting in 2023.{{cite web | url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/dwkr0B/finska-pa-sparet-sagas-forlat-sverige | title=Finska På spåret toksågas: "Förlåt Sverige" | date=29 January 2023 }} It continued in 2024.{{cite web | url=https://www.hbl.fi/2024-01-12/dennis-nylund-tavlar-med-paleface-i-hengaillaan-kommenterar-kritiken-olika-kulturer/ | title=Finska På spåret får ny säsong trots kritiken – Dennis Nylund tävlar med Paleface: "Folk är så himla allvarliga" | date=12 January 2024 }}

References

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