Revealed: The extraordinary production secret that allowed Seven to film The Chase spin-off despite Melbourne’s coronavirus lockdown
Channel Seven has developed a clever way to film its new show Beat The Chasers despite COVID-19 restrictions.
The program (a spin-off of Seven’s popular quiz show The Chase Australia) was previously scheduled to be filmed at Seven’s studios in Melbourne, but Victoria’s lockdown rules have since made this very difficult.
In response, producers cleverly relocated the program’s set to ITV Studios at Carriageworks in Sydney, while keeping the Beat The Chasers’ control room in Melbourne, as reported by TV Tonight.
Safety first: Beat The Chasers’ set has been relocated to Sydney while the control room remains in Melbourne. Pictured left to right is: ‘The Governess’ Anne Hegerty, ‘The Shark’ Brydon Coverdale, ‘The Supernerd’ Issa Schultz, ‘Goliath’ Matt Parkinson and Andrew O’Keefe
‘All of the contestants, the Chaser, the host, everyone is there. But the game engine, ‘the control room crew, and the questions are all in Melbourne,’ ITV Executive Producer Deb Steward told the publication on Sunday.
While filming a live quiz show over two cities may seem far-fetched, Ms Steward insisted: ‘It’s actually working, it’s quite extraordinary.’
Ms Steward did admit she initially worried there may be a ‘lag’ between the Sydney studio and the Melbourne control panel during the fast-paced quiz, however her fears never came to fruition.
The show must go on! While filming a live quiz show over two cities may seem far-fetched, Ms Steward insisted: ‘It’s actually working, it’s quite extraordinary’, ITV Executive Producer Deb Steward said. Pictured left to right: Issa Schultz, Matt Parkinson, Mark Labbett, Brydon Coverdale and Anne Hegerty
‘The brilliant people building the game engine managed to work around that lag, and it really is next to non-existent,’ she said.
Ms Steward also confirmed that The Chase will similarly continue filming in Sydney while keeping the control room in Melbourne.
The Chase Australia is based on the British quiz show with the same name.
Up against the best: Beat the Chasers will see a contestant go up against the Chasers – ‘The Supernerd’ Issa Schultz, Goliath, The Shark and ‘The Tiger Mum’ Cheryl Toh (pictured)
It begin filming Down Under in 2015 and is hosted by Andrew O’Keefe.
Beat the Chasers will see a contestant go up against the Chasers – ‘The Supernerd’ Issa Schultz, Goliath, The Shark and ‘The Tiger Mum’ Cheryl Toh – with more than $500,000 up for grabs.
Beat The Chasers will air on Channel Seven in November.
Beloved format: The Chase Australia is based on the British quiz show with the same name. It begin filming Down Under in 2015 and is hosted by Andrew O’Keefe. Pictured is host Andrew O’Keefe