James Holzhauer is proud of how far he’s gone in the game show world. The “Jeopardy!” icon today shared a photo of himself wearing a hooded sweatshirt with “The Chase” and “ABC” emblazoned on it, a reminder that Holzhauer’s new ABC show is doing well.
“Made it, ma,” Holzhauer tweeted Saturday.
‘Jeopardy!’ Alums Star in ‘The Chase’
“The Chase” is a game show on ABC that’s based on the British original of the same name. In it, three contestants go up against a Chaser, a quizmaster whose job it is to stop them from winning cash prizes. “Jeopardy!” champions Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter appear on the show as Chasers. Over the course of an hour, the contestants must answer up to 166 questions covering a range of topics. They compete both individually and as a team against the Chaser.
ABC recently renewed “The Chase” for a second season, per Deadline. That followed a brief writers’ strike earlier this year in which nine writers walked off the show in mid-March, saying producer ITV America had failed to follow a collective bargaining agreement. Once the strike ended, ABC was quick to renew the show.
“’The Chase’ is one of those ones we wanted to get back on as soon as possible because we really want the momentum of that format to keep going,” Rob Mills, Walt Disney Television EVP of Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment, told Deadline. “Hopefully you’ll see million-dollar final chases in this second cycle. But we really are high on that format. We’re excited with how it did this winter and we’re glad we can bring it back so quickly.”
Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett Joins ‘The Chase’
In the original British version of the game show, Mark Labbett became famous as the show’s top Chaser. And now he’s joining the U.S. remake on ABC.
Labbett will appear as a Chaser alongside “Jeopardy!” greats Holzhauer, Jennings and Rutter, Deadline reported.
Labbett recently moved to Los Angeles to appear on the show and to try his hand at TV and film jobs, per the Express. He reportedly has signed with a prominent agent in L.A. and hopes to pursue acting.
The British quiz show star also reportedly signed a six-figure deal with ABC to appear on its U.S. remake of the show. A source said ABC wanted Labbett to appear on their show because he polled well with American audiences.
