The Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time tournament was a massive success for not only winner Ken Jennings, but also ABC. The four-night event “drew the network’s best numbers of the year for entertainment programming,” according to Forbes. “In fact, they rank ahead of almost everything on broadcast this season outside the NFL.” ABC will try to replicate the formula that made the GOAT tournament a ratings hit with The Chase.
The quiz series, hosted by Sara Haines, will have contestants face off against Jennings and his fellow Alex Trebek-impressing contestants, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer. They serve as Chasers, which Variety describes as “ruthless quiz geniuses determined to stop contestants from winning cash prizes. Each week, new contestants face-off against the Chasers in a battle of brain power, challenged to think faster than they ever thought possible.” Based on a British game show, The Chase has already been adapted in America, but that version went off the air in 2015:
Each episode will feature up to 166 questions, across all topics, as contestants look to win cash while playing against Holzhauer, Jennings, or Rutter… ABC has given a series order to The Chase, with a premiere date to be announced later.
It must be a relief for Jennings, Holzhauer, and Rutter to get paid on a game show, even when they’re not phrasing things in the form of a question. Big change of pace.
The boys are back in town. https://t.co/a1x4FtcNEv
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) November 2, 2020
(Via Variety)