Article about The Chase on ABC

13 views
Skip to first unread message

Tom Wolper

unread,
Dec 29, 2020, 10:10:52 AM12/29/20
to TV or not TV
With all the Jeopardy fans here I'm surprised we haven't discussed this upcoming show. It's taken from a British show, was previously adapted on GSN, and stars Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer.

Adam Bowie

unread,
Dec 29, 2020, 10:43:40 AM12/29/20
to tvornottv
In the UK, The Chase has become something of a lockdown hit, even though regular episodes air at 5.00pm. There were a couple of days in November, during a national lockdown, that it got 4.8m and 4.9m viewers - quite unprecedented for a daytime show. There are various spin-offs that air in primetime including celebrity specials and a slightly different format called Beat the Chasers. The UK version is presented by the British comedian Bradley Walsh, who you might have come across in the current incarnation of Doctor Who. He also played it straight as a detective in the UK version of Law & Order.

The format seems to have travelled quite a lot, although reading that piece it sounds like it's been tinkered with in the ABC incarnation. In regular episodes of the UK version, there's one "chaser" per episode from a selection of possibilities. The others aren't being snarky backstage or anything - they're not there at all. It's an opportunity to switch things around from time to time. There has recently been a new "chaser" on the ITV show.

The daytime version goes up against Pointless on the BBC, and the two shows have a friendly rivalry - even shooting on essentially adjacent sound stages at Elstree (just north of London).


Adam



On Tue, Dec 29, 2020 at 3:10 PM Tom Wolper <two...@gmail.com> wrote:
With all the Jeopardy fans here I'm surprised we haven't discussed this upcoming show. It's taken from a British show, was previously adapted on GSN, and stars Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer.

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "TVorNotTV" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to tvornottv+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/tvornottv/CAJE-FiG3SY5uAaB0peWwACaozZ-AEdAKGu0Lx6dkuNRMaKiXng%40mail.gmail.com.

Jim Ellwanger

unread,
Dec 29, 2020, 10:52:42 AM12/29/20
to 'Bob Jersey' via TVorNotTV
The GSN version had the same Chaser on all episodes -- Mark Labbett, "The Beast," imported from the U.K. version.

I tried out for that version and didn't make it, but they did ask me to be a stand-in contestant for their tech rehearsal day, so I did get some money from the production company (one day's worth of pay as a production assistant), and got to see The Beast in sweatpants and flip-flops. (Host Brooke Burns, though, was in full wardrobe and makeup.)

I tried out for this new version as well, over Zoom -- they were only taking contestants in Southern California. At the end of my tryout, they told me they were still looking for more contestants, especially women. I told one woman I know about it. Once again, I didn't make it onto the show -- but she did. (Not sure about her airdate yet, because as usual these days, they're not airing the episodes in order.)


Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages