Viewers divided over new BBC game show The Button

New BBC1 game show The Button has provoked a strong reaction from viewers, with many taking to social media to express feelings of deep hatred or love for the series opener, which aired on Friday night.

• The Button review: a simple, silly yet surprisingly good new game show on BBC1

The show, which is billed as a cross between Gogglebox and Taskmaster, sees five families sit around a box called The Button in their own living rooms (Gogglebox) as they are given instructions to go head-to-head in very silly games, attempting to outsmart their opponents and win money (Taskmaster).

Sounds like nice light entertainment, right? Not as far as Twitter user @MVernon_21 is concerned.

"Just when you thought BBC light-entertainment couldn't descend any further into the depths of crapness. #TheButton," he tweeted.

He wasn't alone in detesting the new show.

"Drawn out. A poor man's taskmaster with annoying families," wrote @JS_Murdoch, while @Jikster2009 added: "It’s awful sadly. Worst since Don’t Scare the Hare. Have used #TheButton to turn it off."

Check out some of the criticism below.

However, there was also a strong response from viewers who enjoyed the new series, which seemed to go down well with younger viewers.

"I enjoyed #TheButton, it lit up our family’s Friday night," @PaulGregory wrote. "Half an hour is just right. 6yo wants to know if they got to keep the inflatables."

User @EggheadNurse added: "Loved @BBCOne's #TheButton - a fun and fast paced gameshow. #TheButton obviously steals the show. Much better than the trailer led us to believe."

Check out some praise for the series below.

Plus, it's got the backing of Pointless host Richard Osman:

The Button airs Friday nights on BBC1 at 8.30pm