| Host | |
| Brooke Burns | |
| "The Beast" | |
| Mark Labbett | |
| Announcer | |
| Shawn Parr | |
| Broadcast | |
 | |
| Packager | |
| ITV Studios America | |
The Chase is a game show based on the British game show of the same name. Contestants compete against Mark Labbett, commonly referred to as "The Beast", for a chance to win hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Rules
A team of three contestants attempt to amass as much money as possible for a team kitty by answering general-knowledge questions. The money earned will go towards the team kitty, but there is one person standing in their way: a quiz genius known as The Beast. The Beast's job is to catch each contestant and make sure the players are not able to put the money into the kitty which the team must collectively play for in "The Final Chase".
To begin, each player comes up one at a time and is given one minute to answer as many questions as possible with each correct answer worth $5,000. The more correct answers given, the more money the players add into the cash-builder.
After the minute is up, the player's money is placed three steps down on a eight-step money board. The player may remain at this step and play for the money they have won, but if they so wish, they can be placed one step lower down the board for a smaller award, or one step further up the board for a greater award, with each award's value being set by The Beast. The lower award can occasionally be a negative amount of money.
If the player elects to play for the greater reward, The Beast is two steps behind them and the player must answer six questions correctly to reach home. If the player elects to remain where they are, The Beast is three steps behind them and the player must answer five questions correctly to reach home. However, if the player elects to play for the smaller reward, The Beast is four steps behind them and the player must answer four questions correctly to reach home.
Once the player nominates their starting position, they must answer questions correctly in order to reach the bottom of the board (known as "getting home") and bank their money. Both the player and The Beast are given the same multiple choice question with three possible answers, then must secretly press one of the three buttons on their keypad to lock in their answer. When one person locks in their answer, the other is given five seconds to lock in their answer, otherwise, they are locked out and are treated as having given a wrong answer. If the player and/or The Beast is correct, they move one step down the board, but if wrong or if one fails to lock in before or within five seconds after their opponent, they must remain where they are. The Beast's job is to catch up to the player and eliminate them from the game by capitalizing on the mistakes the player makes before they can reach the bottom of the board. If this happens, the player is out of the game and the cash disappears, and as the saying goes, the chase is over, but if the player reaches home, their money is put into the team's prize pot which will be contested for in the final round. This is repeated for all three players.
The players who successfully outrun The Beast proceed to The Final Chase. If all three players are caught, then their prize fund is set to $15,000 and the team must nominate one player to proceed to The Final Chase, which is called a "Consolation Chase."
The Final Chase
In the final round, the remaining players answer as many questions as possible in two minutes to amass as many spaces as possible. The more questions answered correctly, the players increase their chances to avoid being caught. To start, they are given one space per remaining member of the team. In the case of all 3 players being caught, then the one nominated person will receive a one step head start, as opposed to having no head start at all. To answer a question, the player must press his/her own buzzer and only he or she can answer it. Upon buzzing in, an off-stage voice says that person's name. But sometimes if the contestant is right and at the same time the other contestant presses the button, it is counted as a wrong person answer, and they can't accept. In the event there's only one player in the Final Chase, that player is not required to press the buzzer. After the two minutes are up, The Beast is brought in and is told how many spaces the players collected. The Beast is given a further two minutes of quick-fire questions to attempt to catch the team. If The Beast gets any question wrong or can't answer it, or sometimes The Beast interrupts the question, the clock is stopped and the question is thrown over to the players. If they get the answer correct, The Beast is pushed back one step and the clock is resumed. If the players answer The Beast's question correctly whilst The Beast is on zero steps, an extra step is added to the players' total. If The Beast succeeds in catching the team, the team leaves with none, and again, the chase is over, but if the team is not caught by The Beast when time is up, the prize pot is split equally between the remaining team players. Should only one player make it to the Final Chase and win, then that player gets the full amount.
Set Changes
- In season 1's round with the beast, Mark Labbett tells Brooke and the contestant what he said.
- In season 2, he doesn't say his answer for any question.
- In season 1's final chase, a background voice says out contestant's name for whoever buzzed in to attempt to answer the question.
- In season 2, the background voice is removed for the final chase and is replaced with the names highlighted in yellow.
- Also in the final chase, the contestants had a choice of 2 question sets during the commercial break.
- In season 3, the TV viewers got to see the money added on the team podium.
- Also on season 3, whenever the team gets caught by the Beast, the amount of money drops down from the team podium screen.
Contestants and their winnings
| Season | Episode | Contestants | Date | Money Banked | Finalists |
Target/Time Caught |
Winner (Prize Fraction) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Clyde, Lisa, James | August 6, 2013 | $55,000 | Lisa & James | 13 (0:46) | Beast |
| 2 | Heather, Cory, Jonathan | August 6, 2013 | $180,000 | All | 18 | Contestants ($60,000) | |
| 3 | Moly, Christian, Aaron | August 13, 2013 | $63,000 | All | 10 (0:18) | Beast | |
| 4 | Derek, David, Jamie | August 20, 2013 | $40,000 | Derek & David | 15 (0:51) | Beast | |
| 5 | Robert, Jackie, Lindsey | August 27, 2013 | $75,000 | Robert | 15 (0:03) | Beast | |
| 6 | Dave, Lee Ann, Raj | September 3, 2013 | $125,000 | Raj | 19 | Contestant | |
| 7 | Jamie, Jay, Steve | December 10, 2013 | $70,000 | Jay & Steve | 18 | Contestants ($35,000) | |
| 8 | Anthony, Summera, Carl | January 21, 2014 | $20,000 | Anthony & Carl | 10 (0:06) | Beast |
The December 10, 2013 episode of The Chase aired as a season 1 episode instead of a season 2 episode.
The January 21, 2014 episode was the first taped episode.
| Season | Episode | Contestants | Date | Money Banked | Finalists | Target/Time Caught | Winner (Prize Fraction) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 1 | Bethany, Trevor, Mike | November 5, 2013 | $80,000 | All | 22 (0:08) | Beast |
| 2 | Jamie, Mark, Nathan | November 12, 2013 | $45,000 | Jamie & Nathan | 16 (0:17) | Beast | |
| 3 | Jay, Faith, Mark | November 19, 2013 | $90,000 | Jay & Mark | 20 | Contestants ($45,000) | |
| 4 | Jacob, Stephanie, Eric | December 3, 2013 | $80,000 | Jacob & Eric | 18 (0:06) | Beast | |
| 5 | Lety, Osahon, Adrienne | December 17, 2013 | $65,000 | Lety & Adrienne | 14 (0:45) | Beast | |
| 6 | Jeremy, Arielle, Chris | January 7, 2014 | $80,000 | All | 19 | Contestants ($26,666) | |
| 7 | James, Logan, Ariana | January 14, 2014 | $30,000 | James | 14 (0:09) | Beast | |
| 8 | Julia, Louis, Miguel | January 28, 2014 | $115,000 | All | 21 | Contestants ($38,333) | |
| 9 | Laura, Eric, Damien | February 4, 2014 | $150,000 | Laura & Eric | 16 (0:23) | Beast |
On the December 17, 2013 episode of The Chase, it was a battle of the sexes.
| Season | Episode | Contestants | Date | Money Banked | Finalists | Target/Time Caught | Winner (Prize) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | Lindsay, Erik, Renee | July 8, 2014 | $145,000 | All | 17 (0:02) | Beast |
| 2 | Rahul, Molly, Thad | July 15, 2014 | $60,000 | Molly & Thad | 15 (0:33) | Beast | |
| 3 | Andy, Steven, Muffy | July 22, 2014 | $80,000 | Andy & Steven | 22 | Contestants ($40,000) | |
| 4 | Mason, Rosarlin, Ian | July 29, 2014 | $140,000 | All | 16 (0:43) | Beast | |
| 5 | Adam, Darrell, Karla | August 5, 2014 | $110,000 | Adam & Darrell | 13 (0:24) | Beast | |
| 6 | Sean, Rob, Sonya | August 12, 2014 |
$15,000 Consolation Chase |
15 (0:28) | Beast | ||
| 7 | Thomas, Andrew, Lizzy | August 19, 2014 | $55,000 | Thomas & Lizzy | 17 (0:22) | Beast | |
| 8 | Michael, Caitlin, Gordon | August 26, 2014 | $52,000 | All | 13 (0:41) | Beast | |
| 9 | James, Jeff, Jamie | September 2, 2014 | $175,000 | Altogether | 26 | Contestants ($58,333) |
Ratings
The Chase has become one of the highest rated original programs in GSN's history. The series debuted to 511,000 total viewers during its premiere while maintaining 90% of its audience with 461,000 total viewers during the second episode airing that night. On January 28, 2014, The Chase set a new series high in terms of total viewers and adults 18–49, with 827,000 and 234,000 viewers respectively.
Season one
The first season of The Chase premiered new episodes Tuesday nights at 9:00 P.M., except for episode 2 which aired immediately after the premiere of episode 1 at 10:00 P.M.
U.S. Nielsen ratings
| Episode No. | Air date | Households (Rating) |
Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 6, 2013 | 0.3 | 511,000 |
| 2 | August 6, 2013 | 0.3 | 461,000 |
| 3 | August 13, 2013 | 0.3 | 397,000 |
| 4 | August 20, 2013 | 0.2 | 401,000 |
| 5 | August 27, 2013 | 0.3 | 506,000 |
| 6 | September 3, 2013 | 0.3 | 509,000 |
Season two
The second season of The Chase premiered new episodes Tuesday nights at 8:00 P.M.
U.S. Nielsen ratings
| Episode No. | Air date | Households (Rating) |
Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | November 5, 2013 | 0.3 | 453,000 |
| 2 | November 12, 2013 | 0.3 | 433,000 |
| 3 | November 19, 2013 | 0.3 | 452,000 |
| 4 | December 3, 2013 | 0.3 | 466,000 |
| 5 | December 10, 2013 | 0.3 | 553,000 |
| 6 | December 17, 2013 | 0.3 | 410,000 |
| 7 | January 7, 2014 | 0.4 | 620,000 |
| 8 | January 14, 2014 | 0.4 | 666,000 |
| 9 | January 21, 2014 | 0.4 | 721,000 |
| 10 | January 28, 2014 | 0.5 | 827,000 |
| 11 | February 4, 2014 | 0.5 | 818,000 |
Season three
The third season of The Chase premiered new episodes Tuesday nights at 8:00 P.M.
U.S. Nielsen ratings
| Episode No. | Air date | Viewers |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 8, 2014 | 494,000 |
| 2 | July 15, 2014 | 534,000 |
| 3 | July 22, 2014 | 578,000 |
| 4 | July 29, 2014 | 531,000 |
| 5 | August 5, 2014 | 558,000 |
| 6 | August 12, 2014 | 515,000 |
| 7 | August 19, 2014 | 596,000 |
| 8 | August 26, 2014 | 651,000 |
| 9 | September 2, 2014 | 665,000 |
Rating
Set Pics
International Versions
| Country | Local Title | Channel | Host | Chaser(s) | Premiere Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China | Challenge the Culture Masters | Jiangxi Television | Liu Wei | Ayi et al. | 2014 |
| Croatia | Potjera The Chase |
HRT | Tarik Filipovic | Dean Kotiga, Mirko Miocic and Morana Zibar | 2013 |
| Germany | Gefragt-gejagt Asked - chased/hunted |
NDR Fernsehen | Alexander Bommes | Holger Waldenberg (Season 1) Sebastian Jacoby and Sebastian Klussmann (Seasons 2 & 3) Klaus Otto Nagorsnik (Season 3) |
2012 |
| Norway | Jaget Hunted |
TV 2 | Sturla Berg-Johansen | Trine Aalbord Jan Arild Breistein |
2014 |
| Russia | Pursuit | Russia 1 | Alexander Gurevich | Alexander Ediger, Juriy Hashimov, Olga Uspanova and Boris Burda | 2012 |
| Serbia | Potraga The Search |
RTS | Jovan Memedovic | Milorad Milinkovic, Maja Vidakovic, Slobodan Nesovic and Uros Duric | 2013 |
| Turkey | Takip Tracking |
Kanal D | Uraz Kaygilaroglu | Muhsin Divan | 2014 |
| United Kingdom | The Chase | ITV | Bradley Walsh | Mark Labbett, Shaun Wallace, Anne Hegerty and Paul Sinha | 2009 |
Merchandise
A single mobile game was released for the iphone and ipad by GSN in 2013.
Trivia
- In 2012, a pilot for The Chase was originally going to be recorded in London for FOX with Bradley Walsh from the original UK version as host along with former Jeopardy! champ Brad Rutter and Mark Labbett as the Chasers which unfortunately was never sold.
- Before Brooke Burns, NBC sportscaster Dan Patrick was the original choice to host the GSN version of The Chase before negotiations fell through at the last minute.
- Raj beat The Beast and won $125,000 in season one of the show, making him the biggest winner in GSN history.
- An August 15 recording for season two featured The Beast's birthday that aired on November 5.
- The episode from January 21, 2014 was the first taped episode from the 1st season.
References
Links
Official Site
The Chase Official GSN Quiz Show app