Quiz is a British drama television serial developed for the ITV channel and AMC and written by James Graham, based on his play of the same name[2] commissioned by William Village[3] and the book Bad Show: the Quiz, the Cough, the Millionaire Major by Bob Woffinden and James Plaskett.[4] It is directed by Stephen Frears[5][6][7][8] and consists of three hour-long episodes.[9] The series focuses on the disgraced Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? contestant Charles Ingram, a former army major in the Royal Engineers, and how he unexpectedly won the £1 million jackpot on the quiz show in 2001, followed by a criminal trial in which he and his wife were convicted of cheating their way to success.[10]
| Quiz | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster | |
| Genre | Drama |
| Based on |
|
| Written by | James Graham |
| Directed by | Stephen Frears |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Murray Gold |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 3 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
|
| Producer | Alice Pearse |
| Cinematography | Hubert Taczanowski |
| Editor | Pia Di Ciaula |
| Running time | 46–54 minutes |
| Production companies | |
| Original release | |
| Network | ITV |
| Release | 13 April – 15 April 2020 |
Quiz premiered on ITV on 13 April 2020. The series received positive reviews from critics. Released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns worldwide, Quiz received a large audience — similar to the Netflix documentary Tiger King — with the first episode being seen live by an average audience of 5.3 million in the UK. While the show was still airing, Ingram's Wikipedia article was one of the most viewed on the site.[11]
Summary
editIn 2001, at the height of the public obsession with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, a British army major named Charles Ingram and his wife, Diana, apparently swindled the British game show. The morning after Ingram bumbled his way to a million pounds, broadcaster ITV and production company Celador realized something had been amiss: a series of coughs by the Ingrams' alleged accomplice, Tecwen Whittock, may have led Ingram to the answers. It was a massive scandal, resulting in a court case that found all three guilty.[12]
Episodes
edit| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.K. viewers (millions) [13] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Episode 1" | Stephen Frears | James Graham | 13 April 2020 | 9.05 | |
|
Major Charles Ingram doesn't like quizzes, but for his wife Diana and brother-in-law Adrian, knowing the answer is a way of life. As both Diana and Adrian do not win as much as they hoped on the new TV show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, all eyes turn to an unsuspecting Charles to win the million-pound prize. Meanwhile, the repeated reappearance of middle-class, professional quizzers has not gone unnoticed by the ITV team and producer Paul Smith makes a vow to stop them by any means necessary. | ||||||
| 2 | "Episode 2" | Stephen Frears | James Graham | 14 April 2020 | 8.74 | |
|
Charles returns for a second night in the hot seat with a new strategy. After his previously hopeless performance, he proves massively successful, his dithering answers invariably turning out to be right. However, the production team finds his sudden change of fortunes suspicious and begins looking into an unusual pattern of coughing from the studio audience. | ||||||
| 3 | "Episode 3" | Stephen Frears | James Graham | 15 April 2020 | 8.97 | |
|
Hapless Charles, the man who has never heard of Craig David (one of his questions), is a national laughing stock amid accusations that he hit on right answers after affirmation coughs from his co-conspirators. Persecuted and hounded by the public and press, Charles, Diana, and Tecwen head to court. But his barrister works hard to try to convince the jury that Charles and his wife are innocent. At first, it seems the case for the prosecution is solid, but as the case for the defense gets underway, the jury learns there is far more to the story than they first thought. | ||||||
Cast
edit- Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Ingram
- Michael Sheen as Chris Tarrant
- Sian Clifford as Diana Ingram
- Mark Bonnar as Paul Smith
- Helen McCrory as Sonia Woodley QC
- Michael Jibson as Tecwen Whittock
- Aisling Bea as Claudia Rosencrantz
- Trystan Gravelle as Adrian Pollock
- Elliot Levey as David Briggs
- Risteárd Cooper as David Liddiment
- Jasmyn Banks as Nicola Howson
- Andrew Leung as Kevin Duff
- Martin Trenaman as DS Ferguson
- Nicholas Woodeson as Nicholas Hilliard QC
- Paul Bazely as Lionel from Legal
Production
editDevelopment
editIn March 2018, Deadline Hollywood reported that Left Bank Pictures was developing a television adaptation of Quiz.[14] In April 2019, Left Bank was in talks for Stephen Frears to direct the adaptation.[5]
In August 2019, it was announced that ITV and AMC co-commissioned the drama series, with Graham writing and Frears directing all three episodes.[6][3]
Filming
editThe scenes in the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? studio were filmed in a set constructed at Wimbledon Studios. Scenes were also filmed outside Southwark Crown Court and inside a former court building in Hammersmith.[9]
International broadcasts
editIn Australia, the Nine Network, which aired both Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and its Hot Seat spin-off between 1999 and 2023, aired the serial in three parts on consecutive Thursday nights in late 2021. The first part, which aired on 25 November 2021, followed an episode of Hot Seat in which contestant Antony McManus became the show's final winner.[15][16]
Reception
editOn Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 95% approval rating based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 7.57/10. The website's consensus reads, "With clever writing, a slick production, and a pitch perfect Michael Sheen, Quiz crafts a captivating snapshot of a wild scandal that will keep viewers on their toes."[17]
Ingram himself, who has always denied the charges, praised the series, calling it "balanced".[18]
References
edit- ^ "Quiz | Left Bank Pictures". www.leftbankpictures.co.uk.
- ^ Bond, Kimberley (16 August 2019). "Helen McCrory and Michael Sheen lead cast of new ITV drama about Who Wants To Be A Millionaire's coughing scandal". Radio Times. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ a b "ITV commissions three part drama, Quiz, directed by Stephen Frears and produced by Left Bank Pictures". Press Centre. 16 August 2019. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ Quiz, episode 1, end credits.
- ^ a b Rajan, Amol (23 April 2019). "Stephen Frears 'to adapt' Quiz for ITV". BBC News. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ a b "AMC Commissions Three-Part Drama Quiz Starring Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Sheen, Sian Clifford and More". AMC. 16 August 2019. Archived from the original on 2 May 2020. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ Mousumi, Ojha (1 September 2021). "'Quiz': Amazon minTv Quiz". Retrieved 14 April 2020.
- ^ "Amazon Quiz".
- ^ a b Moir, Sophia (14 April 2020). "Quiz on TV: From Charles Ingram to Chris Tarrant - who's who?". bt.com. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ McIntosh, Steven (7 April 2020). "ITV drama Quiz explores Millionaire cough scandal". bbc.co.uk. BBC News.
- ^ "Quiz and The Nest: Dramas score highly in Easter TV battle". BBC News. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
- ^ Zemler, Emily (1 June 2020). "What's the true story of Charles and Diana Ingram's 'Millionare' game show scam?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ "BARB 7-Day viewing data". BARB.
- ^ White, Peter (16 March 2018). "'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?' Cheating Scandal Stage Play 'Quiz' Being Remade For Television By Left Bank Pictures". Deadline Hollywood.
- ^ Knox, David (22 November 2021). "Hot Seat goes for the $Million". TV Tonight. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ Abdullah, Immy. "The real story of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? cheating scandal as seen on Quiz dramatisation". Nine Entertainment. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ "Quiz". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
- ^ Peplow, Gemma (16 April 2020). "Charles Ingram: Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? cheat praises Quiz - as lawyer plans appeal". Sky News. Retrieved 25 January 2021.