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Host
Andrew O'Keefe
Chasers

"The Governess" Anne Hegerty
"Goliath" Matt Parkinson
"The Supernerd" Issa Schultz
"The Shark" Brydon Coverdale
"The Beast" Mark Labbett (Since Season 2)

Broadcast
The Chase Australia 2015
Seven Network: 9/14/2015-present
Packager
ITV Studios Australia

The Chase (a.k.a The Chase Australia) is a game show based on the British format of the same name. Contestants compete against quiz titans known as "Chasers", for a chance to win hundreds of thousands of dollars. This show replaced the short-lived game show Million Dollar Minute in 2015 and it is more faithful to the original UK version.

Rules

A team of four contestants attempt to amass as much money as possible to put into a team bank by answering general-knowledge questions. The money earned will go into the bank, but there is one person standing in their way: a quiz genius known as the Chaser. The Chaser's job is to catch each contestant and make sure the players are not able to put the money in the bank which the team must collectively play for in "The Final Chase".

To begin, each contestant comes up one at a time and plays a game called "Cash Builder". In this game, each is given one minute to answer as many questions as possible with each correct answer worth $2,000. The more correct answers given, the more money the contestants could add into the bank.

After the minute is up, the contestant's money is placed three steps down on an eight-step money board. The contestant 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 Chaser. The lower award can occasionally be a negative amount of money.

If the contestant elects to play for the greater reward, the Chaser is two steps behind them and the contestant must answer six questions correctly to reach the end. If the contestant elects to remain where they are, the Chaser is three steps behind them and the contestant must answer five questions correctly to reach the end. However, if the contestant elects to play for the smaller reward, the Chaser is four steps behind them and the contestant must answer four questions correctly to reach the end. On occasion, the Chaser can offer a more greater award; if this happens, the Chaser is one step behind them and the contestant must answer seven questions to reach the end.

Once the contestant nominates their starting position, they must answer questions correctly in order to reach the bottom of the board and bank their money. Both the contestant and the Chaser 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. If the contestant and/or the Chaser is/are correct, they move one step down the board, but if wrong, they must remain where they are. The Chaser's job is to catch up to the contestant and eliminate them from the game by capitalizing on the mistakes the contestant makes before they can reach the bottom of the board. If this happens, the contestant is out of the game and the cash disappears, and as the saying goes, the chase is over, but if the contestant reaches the bottom, their money is put into the team's prize pot which will be contested for in the final round. This is repeated for all four contestants.

The contestants who successfully outrun the Chaser proceed to The Final Chase. If all four contestants are caught, then their prize fund is set to $8,000 and the team must nominate one contestant to proceed to The Final Chase, which is called a "Consolation Chase."

The Final Chase

In the final round, all or the remaining contestants answer as many questions as possible in two minutes to amass as many spaces as possible. The contestants choose one of two question sets, A or B, with the other set being put aside for the Chaser. The more questions answered correctly, the more the contestants 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 four 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, a contestant must press his/her own buzzer and only s/he can answer it. 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 contestant in the Final Chase, that player is not required to press the buzzer.

After the two minutes are up, the Chaser is brought in and is told how many spaces the players collected. The Chaser is given a further two minutes of quick-fire questions to attempt to catch the team. If the Chaser gets any question wrong or can't answer it, or sometimes the Chaser interrupts the question, the clock is stopped and the question is thrown over to the contestants. If they get the answer correct, the Chaser is pushed back one step and the clock is resumed. If the players answer the Chaser's question correctly while the Chaser is on zero steps, an extra step is added to the players' total. If the Chaser succeeds in catching the team, the team leaves with nothing, and again, the chase is over, but if the team is not caught by the Chaser when time is up, the prize pot is split equally between the remaining team members. Should only one contestant make it to the Final Chase and win, then that player gets the full amount.

Merchandise

Board Game

Released by Crown and Andrews in 2015.

IOS app

Released on November 27 2015.

Trivia

Anne Hegerty ("The Governess") and Mark Labbett ("The Beast") are not only "chasers" in the Australian version but also in the original U.K. version as well. In addition, Labbett was also a "chaser" in the U.S. version as well.

TheChase Header v2

Press Kit

Links

Official Website
The Chase Australia - Weekdays 5pm - Seven West Media

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