'The Chase' Season 1 Episode 1: Greatest quiz masters of all time pitted against new contestants in ABC revival
Quiz shows are already a challenging experience, with questions plumbing the depths of world trivia to make sure that contestants won't be walking away with hundreds of thousands of dollars in prize money. With British show 'The Chase', however, things are made just a bit harder, with contestants pitted directly against master quiz contestants of the past. ABC's revival of 'The Chase' takes things to a whole other level, though, featuring not one, not two, but three of the greatest US quiz show winners of all time - all pitted against new contestants to keep them from their winnings.
Hosted by co-host of 'The View', Sara Haines, the show will take the three biggest winners of the 'Jeopardy' quiz show in its long history, Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter, who have collectively earned several million dollars as quiz show contestants from 'Jeopardy' alone. New players are going to have to try and beat them – and even with a leg up, with the players starting the game several steps ahead of the pros – the players are going to have a hard time keeping that lead. For players who are feeling extra confident, however, they can give up that leads for some bonus cash incentives.
The players are going to be facing several rounds of fast-paced trivia against their choice of either Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer or Brad Rutter, who will be known as the Chasers, given that they start each game behind the new contestants. While one of them takes the Chaster chair, the other two will be watching the entire show in the Chaser's lounge, making cracks at their colleague's expense as the series goes on.
The series acknowledges the influence 'Jeopardy' has had on it - with Ken Jennings himself tapped to be the show's new host after the passing of longtime host Alex Trebek - and the first episode will start with a tribute to both the show and Alex Trebek himself before beginning with the competition. 'The Chase' has been a successful British show for years, but this is the first time the show's unique format has come to America, on ABC.
The ABC revival of 'The Chase' airs January 7 at 9 PM ET on ABC.