The Chase

The Chase (not to be confused with Cha$e) is a game show based on the British format 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 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 Beast. The Beast'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 player 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 $5,000. The more correct answers given, the more money the players could add into the bank.

After the minute is up, the player's money is placed three steps down on an 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 the end. 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 the end. 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 the end. On occasion, The Beast can offer a more greater award, if this happens The Beast is one step behind them and the player must answer seven questions to reach the end. On rare occasions, the Chaser may escalate the stakes by offering a "super offer" for an even higher amount, with the contestant being required to answer seven questions correctly without being caught.

Once the player nominates their starting position, they must answer questions correctly in order to reach the bottom of the board 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. If the player and/or The Beast is correct, they move one step down the board, but if wrong, 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 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 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, all or 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 three 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 s/he 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 while 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 nothing, 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.

Season 1

 * The question text has one very long rounded rectangle for the question & 3 long thin rounded rectangles for the answers.
 * The rounded squares that read "Beast Locked" appears on the right of the question while the "Player Locked" appears on the left of the question.
 * When a player faces the beast, he tells Brooke and the contestant what he said.
 * In the final chase, a background voice says out contestant's name for whoever buzzed in to attempt to answer the question.

Season 2

 * The Beast doesn't say his answer for any question in the main chase.
 * The background voice is removed for the final chase and is replaced with the names highlighted in yellow.
 * In the final chase, the contestants had a choice of 2 question sets during the commercial break.

Season 3

 * The rounded squares for "Player Locked" & Beast Locked" changed to look like thin rounded rectangles & they both appear on top of the question instead of on the sides.
 * The Beast would either give his answer after the correct answer was given or Brooke would ask the Beast what he said without say.
 * The TV viewers got to see the money added on the team podium.
 * Whenever the team gets caught by the Beast, the amount of money drops down from the team podium screen.

Contestants and their winnings
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. On the December 17, 2013 episode of The Chase, it was a battle of the sexes. The November 11th episode was a celebrity episode featuring Seamus Dever (Castle, playing for Beagle Freedom Project), Boris Kojo (Real Husbands of Hollywood, playing for Sophie's Voice Foundation), and Dean Cain (Hit the Floor, playing for the Gary Sinese Foundation). As Boris was eliminated, his charity earned $5,000.

The December 2nd episode started out with a surprise visit from the legendary Wink Martindale. The January 27th episode featured three past contestants who lost their games. Not only did they redeemed themselves to outrun the beast in the main chase and advance onto the final chase, but they won $35,000 each in the final chase.

The February 3rd episode was a celebrity episode featuring Carson Kressly (How to Look Good Naked, playing for Pediatric Cancer Foundation), Tatyana M. Ali (playing for Self-Inquiring Life Fellowship), and Cameron Matheson (Good Morning America, playing for Meditation Center Hollywood). As the team was eliminated, their charities earned $5,000 each.

The March 10th episode was a celebrity episode featuring cast members of Scandal: Joe Morton (playing for the Miami Children's Initiative & Make Some Noise), Kate Burton (playing for Broadway Cares, American Theatre Wing, and Brown University), and Brian Lesher (playing for A Place Called Home). As the team was eliminated, their charities earned $5,000 each.

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.

Season two
The second season of The Chase premiered new episodes Tuesday nights at 8:00 P.M.

Season three
The third season of The Chase premiered new episodes Tuesday nights at 8:00 P.M.

Season four
The fourth season of The Chase initially premiered new episodes Tuesday nights at 8:00 P.M.

U.S. Nielsen ratings
Beginning fall 2015, new episodes of The Chase premiered Friday nights at 8:00 P.M.

Ratings Sources

 * Son of the Bronx
 * TVMediaInsights
 * ShowBuzzDaily

International Versions

 * Additional Note: In Australia, the Seven Network had once considered producing a local version of the show for the network and has filmed a pilot using the original UK set but has later decided not to proceed. Additionally, reruns of the UK version airs weekday afternoons at 3pm to good ratings. However, as of May 2015 it is rumored that the network may have a renewed interest in doing their own version of the show. The Australian version (hosted by Andrew O'Keefe) premiered on September 14, 2015.

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 on the UK set 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, famed ESPN and ABC sportscaster Dan Patrick was the original choice to host the GSN version of The Chase before negotiations fell through at the last minute. Today, Patrick is the host of Crackle's Sports Jeopardy! since 2014.
 * Mark Labbett (a.k.a "The Beast") is not only a "chaser" in the U.S. version, but also in the original U.K. version as well. Since 2016, Labbett is also a "chaser" in the Australian version. In addition, Anne Hegerty (a.k.a "The Governess") is also a "chaser" in both the U.K. and Australian versions as well.
 * 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.
 * Reruns of the U.S. version along with its original British counterpart can also been seen daily on U.K.'s equivalent network to GSN, Challenge (also known as Challenge TV).
 * In 2015, the 4th Season of the show aired alongside the revived game show Chain Reaction, hosted by Mike Catherwood.

Additional Page
The Chase/Gallery

Links
Official Site

The Chase Official GSN Quiz Show app

YouTube
2nd Aired

Episode #3

Raj Wins Big

Vimeo
Raj Wins Big (Full Episode)