The TV series features teams of celebrity guests (often comedians), who are presented with a bizarre hypothetical situation by Widdicombe.

The guests must explain how they would deal with the situation, following the rules given by Acaster, who then awards points based on how well he thinks they have done.

[3] The host, Josh Widdicombe, presents the guests with hypothetical situations that they must approach, following the rules laid out by James Acaster.

[5] The initial idea of the show was pitched via a WhatsApp conversation,[8][9] and subsequently developed by London-based Hat Trick Productions and commissioned as a UKTV Original for Dave by Richard Watsham, UKTV's director of commissioning and Steve North, genre general manager for entertainment and comedy, in July 2018.

Widdicombe said of the TV show, and working with Acaster:[14][15]“I have spent the last decade of my life annoying other comics with these questions in cars and dressing rooms so I am delighted Dave have allowed me to claim that I was in fact researching a show and not just wasting everyone’s time.

[16] The announcement of Hypothetical caused controversy due to a perceived similarity to the Danielle Ward podcast Do The Right Thing which had been made into a television pilot but not commissioned.