The Chase (American version)

The Chase (U.S)

Hosted by:	Brooke Burns (GSN 2013-2015) Sara Haines (ABC 2021-Present)
Chasers:	Mark Labbett (2013-2015, 2021-2022) Ken Jennings (2021-2022) James Holzhauer (2021-present) Brad Rutter (2021-present) Victoria Groce (2022-present) Brandon Blackwell (2022-present) Buzzy Cohen (2022-present)

The Chase is an American game show based on the British game show of the same name. The show, which was initially hosted by Brooke Burns, premiered on Game Show Network (GSN) on August 6, 2013, and ran on GSN until December 11, 2015. A second incarnation of the show, which is hosted by Sara Haines, premiered on ABC on January 7, 2021. The American version features Mark Labbett, Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer as Chasers, the latter three of which remain exclusive to the second incarnation.

Format

First two rounds

The American version follows the same basic format as the original British version, but each team only consists of three contestants rather than four. One at a time, each contestant individually attempts to win money for their team by answering questions correctly during the one-minute Cash Builder round. The value for each correct answer in this round was initially set at $5,000 for the original version; the value was changed to $25,000 for the first season of the 2021 incarnation before being changed again to $10,000 in later seasons. During celebrity episodes, celebrities are credited with the value of one correct answer before the round starts.

After the Cash Builder round, the contestant faces off against the Chaser in a Head-to-Head Chase. Both sides answer a series of multiple choice questions with three possible answers each, with the contestant attempting to move the money along a gameboard without getting caught by the Chaser. The contestant and the Chaser stand at opposite ends of the seven-space gameboard and the contestant chooses a starting position as follows:

• If the contestant wants to play for the Cash Builder amount, the contestant will begin three steps ahead from the Chaser and will be required to correctly answer five questions.
• If the contestant wants to play for a lower offer, the contestant will begin four steps ahead from the Chaser and will be required to correctly answer four questions.
• If the contestant wants to play for a higher offer, the contestant will begin two steps ahead from the Chaser and will be required to correctly answer six questions. On special episodes, the contestant will be awarded an opportunity to choose an extremely high offer, but this will force the contestant to start only one step ahead of the Chaser, which will require the contestant to correctly answer seven questions.

After the starting position is chosen, the host ask a series of multiple choice questions. Both the Chaser and the contestants must lock in their answers by pressing buttons on their keypads; once one side locks in, the other side will have five seconds to respond. A correct answer by either side moves them one space down the board towards the home space (known as the "Bank" space for this version), and an incorrect answer leaves them where they are. If the contestant successfully makes it to the home space, the money the contestant played for is added to the team's total and the contestant will advance to the Final Chase. If the Chaser catches up to the contestant, the contestant is eliminated from the game and the money that the contestant played for is forfeited.

If all three contestants lose their Head-to-Head Chases, the three contestants must decide which contestant would take part in the Final Chase. The money the selected contestant plays for is $15,000 ($5,000 per contestant) on the original version or a money amount determined by the Chaser on the 2021 incarnation.

Final Chase

The team randomly chooses one of two question sets themselves, leaving the other set for the Chaser. Prior to the start of this round, one step is added to the target for every contestant that won their Head-to-Head Chase; in the 2021 incarnation, no steps are added to the target if all three contestants lost their Head-to-Head Chases. The team will have two minutes to answer as many questions as possible and a contestant must respond to the question by buzzing in; the buzzer is not required if one contestant is playing. Correct answers will add one step to the target. During the first half of this round, contestants must respond when called on, and the team is now allowed to confer. Once the first half of the round ends, the Chaser will then have two minutes to catch the team by answering questions from the unused set. If the chaser answers a question incorrectly, the clock stops, and the team will have an opportunity to answer the question. A correct answer will push the chaser one step back; if the chaser is at the starting line, one step is added to the target. The round ends when the Chaser reaches the target or when time runs out, whichever comes first; the contestants leave with nothing if the Chaser manages to catch the team (in celebrity episodes, the team receives a consolation prize). If the Chaser fails to catch the team before time runs out, the team wins all the money they accumulated, which is divided equally among the team members.

Production history

The Chase originated in the United Kingdom and began airing on ITV in 2009. As the series became popular in the UK, Fox Sports ordered two pilot episodes that would be taped in 2012, both with Bradley Walsh as host and Rutter and Labbett as the Chasers. After Fox Sports declined to pick up the program, Game Show Network picked up the series with an eight-episode order on April 9, 2013, and chose Brooke Burns to host the program with Labbett as the Chaser; Dan Patrick was originally slated to be the host, but dropped out before production began. The first season of the program premiered on August 6, 2013, and a second season of eight episodes premiered on November 5 of that year. After a successful first two seasons, the program was renewed for a third season, which premiered in the summer of 2014 and contained the show's first celebrity episodes. The fourth and final season of the original version of The Chase premiered on January 27, 2015 and aired seven episodes before its scheduled midseason break. The second half of the season premiered on July 16, 2015, and the final episode of the program aired on December 11, 2015, concluding the series after 4 seasons and 51 episodes.

In July 2020, ABC began casting for a new version of The Chase with Rutter, Jennings, and Holzhauer as Chasers. On November 2, ABC officially ordered a nine-episode first season of the program with Sara Haines as host, which premiered on January 7, 2021. The program was renewed for a second season on April 7, 2021; the season premiered on June 6, 2021 with Labbett rejoining the cast.

Episode lists

2013–2015 version

• The Chase (American season 1)
• The Chase (American season 2)
• The Chase (American season 3)
• The Chase (American season 4)

2021 version

• The Chase (American season 5)
• The Chase (American season 6)
• The Chase (American season 7)

All episodes

• The Chase USA List Of Episodes

External links

• The Chase on ABC.com
• The Chase (2013) on IMDb
• The Chase (2021) on IMDb
• The Chase statistics page