The Chase UK first aired in 2009 and has been running for 17 seasons.
Since April, The Chase UK on TVNZ 1 has drawn an average daily reach of just over 500,600 unique viewers each day aged 5-plus
It is routinely the second-highest reached show for the day, according to TVNZ.
OPINION
The Chase UK has a near cult-like following in New Zealand, with stats showing that 500,600 unique viewers tune in to the programme every day. But despite the nationwide obsession surrounding the show and the wide range of Kiwis tuning in every week, the Herald’s Megan Watts hadn’t seen a single episode - until now. After seven days of bingeing New Zealand’s favourite quiz show, can watching 855 exhilarating minutes of The Chase convert someone to quiz show fanaticism?
I like a good quiz show as much as the next person.
The familiarity of turning on the telly to see your favourite TV hosts and the always-eager contestants. The excitement of trying to outsmart the masses with basic trivia. The devastation when large sums of money are within grasp, and then so suddenly not. And the comfort of knowing that at the same time tomorrow you can watch it all over again.
However, Kiwis’ love of The Chase is a pop culture phenomenon that I have never been able to understand - because I have never seen it.
I do however know what it is. How could you not?
The UK game show, hosted by Bradley Walsh, the premise sees contestants battle it out in a quick-speed trivia showdown in hopes of winning big money. But standing in their way is the Chaser, whose broad and accurate array of knowledge, more often than not, sees participants leave empty-handed.
It airs on TVNZ1 at 5pm every night and Kiwis of all ages tune in to see the show. Even Gen Zs like myself take part in the daily ritual.
I decided to get to the bottom of The Chase hysteria in the only way possible: watching as many episodes as I could in the space of seven days. Streaming the programme while on the bus, during mealtimes and a few during office hours, I got through 19. Here’s what I learnt.
One team on The Chase missed out on winning £100,000. Photo / ITV
My observations
I understand why it’s addictive
I will confess, prior to diving headfirst into The Chase universe, I harboured a little bit of judgment towards the TV show’s fanatics. I can now admit, with my tail between my legs, that I was wrong.
The Chase is the best thing ever.
Nothing quite releases an endorphin rush like getting a question right. Or seeing the Chaser get a question wrong. The contestants are always fun, relatable and “just like us”, suggesting that anyone can make it on telly and win the big bucks. It’s thrilling to watch the Chasers barrel through questions one by one. It’s even more exciting when they don’t. Of the 19 episodes I watched, only twice did contestants beat the Chaser, a seemingly impossible feat that makes for riveting television.
I think my favourite part of the show is you know exactly what you’re getting, even when you don’t. Yes, the questions are always different but they never cease to be out the gate. Yes, the Chaser changes every episode but it’s always going to be one of the six faces you know and love. And while the contestants always vary in personality, looks and knowledge, they all come in with the same look in their eye - like they might just leave a winner.
855 exhilarating minutes of The Chase converted me to a quiz show fanatic. And now, I have an inner encyclopedia of useless information that I just can’t seem to shake off.
I absorbed some pretty useless facts
So, of the 19 episodes I zoomed through in seven days, what were some of the facts that stuck? Nothing that would benefit my daily life in any way - unless I went onto The Chase that is.
Starfish can regrow their legs, clinometers measure the angles of slopes and Piccadilly weepers are not actually crying Englishmen shedding tears on the train home, they are a style of sideburns.
According to a claim made by the Washington Post in 2021, Donald Trump made 30,573 false or misleading claims during his presidency (that comes to roughly 22 false statements a day).
NSYNC is made up of the last letter of each band member’s name. Sour rams’ testicles are a delicacy served in Iceland during the coldest season. The only mammals known to have a sense of rhythm are humans and lemurs (but anyone who has watched Madagascar would know that).
Useful information? I think not. Cause for a giggle? Absolutely.
It’s no head-scratcher why people apply to go on The Chase UK. While their 45 minutes of fame is up there, it’s the money being dangled over their heads that is the real cruncher.
What they want to do with it is what really has watchers at home in stitches.
Forget mortgage repayments, paying off your student loan. Here are some of the most hilarious ways people want to spend their winnings - if they can beat the Chaser, that is.
A hair transplant. ”My dream is to grow a ponytail.”
Start a hot pot business.
Send my granny to Sweden.
Buy my sister a hot tub.
An Abba holiday in the Greek Islands to ”reenact the Lay All Your Love On Me scene on the beach; not the love part, just the flippers and the dancing”.
Buy a two-player dance mat.
A trip to Thailand or an air fryer.
Do one of those expeditions to see the Titanic.
What’s in a name?
Before embarking on this article, the only thing I knew about Chasers was to never mix tequila with orange juice. Now, just the mention of Chasers sees the game show’s spirited theme music play in my head accompanied by six quiz master legends.
And while their names are meant to strike fear within their competitors, they’d have better luck dressed as fluffy kittens blowing bubbles and doing the Irish jig. They are undeniably loveable, if not only for their dry sense of humour and ability to make an entrance.
How do The Chasers do it?
Despite their tad dramatic names, the Chasers have an insane amount of knowledge up their sleeves.
If Trivial Pursuit had legs, it would be this bunch. How on earth do they absorb so much random (albeit useless) information and spit it out quicker than it takes for the question to sink in?
Do they have photographic memories that assist in naming facts in a flash? Or do they sit for weeks on end with key cards and mind maps to remember the exact size of a stegosaurus’ brain (it’s equivalent to a walnut by the way)?
It’s this mystical regurgitation that, I’m sure, sees people coming back to the couch every day. It truly defies the innately human instinct to forget.
But I can’t imagine any of the Chasers returning to their spouses at the end of the day apologising that they forgot to buy milk. Or running late to work because they forgot to set an alarm. Or landing in hot water after forgetting a mate’s birthday. As a Chaser, that just would not slide.
In that case, I’m leaving the super-human knowledge to The Chase professionals and marinating in my ignorant bliss. No excuse quite makes up for bad deeds like a bout of memory loss - a luxury the Chasers cannot boast.
But one thing I won’t forget? The Chase on Channel One at 5 pm.
Watch The Chase UK on TVNZ1 every day at 5 pm or head to TVNZ Plus for more episodes.
Megan Watts is a lifestyle multimedia journalist and has been working for the NZ Herald since 2022. Her writing passions include pop culture deep dives, backstage band chats and doing things for the plot.
