: Every episode began with a quote by Pierre Beaumarchais: "I hasten to laugh at everything, for fear of being obliged to weep" .
Production was suspended in as part of a restructuring of morning blocks on the Rossiya-1 channel. While Petrosyan initially suggested the hiatus was temporary for budget reasons, the program did not return to its regular production cycle after the December 2019 finale. : Every episode began with a quote by
: Many famous Russian comedians debuted on the show, including Maxim Galkin , Sergey Drobotenko , and the duo " New Russian Grandmas " (Sergey Chvanov and Igor Kasilov). : Many famous Russian comedians debuted on the
was an iconic humorist program authored and hosted by Yevgeny Petrosyan that aired for a quarter-century, from January 9, 1994, to December 29, 2019 . The show functioned as an "encyclopedia of the
: Over its run, the show produced 1,010 episodes , featuring performances by more than 900 artists .
The show functioned as an "encyclopedia of the variety genre," blending Petrosyan's monologues with archival and modern performances by legendary and emerging comedians. Key Facts and Highlights
The program originally debuted on (formerly Ostankino) before moving to Rossiya-1 . While it enjoyed high ratings for years, it also faced criticism from modern audiences and professional rivals. Notably, a long-standing tension existed between Smekhopanorama and the KVN teams, who accused the show of recycling their jokes—a conflict that contributed to its eventual departure from Channel One. The End of the Era