A three-part dramatic series called Quiz will be released in the United Kingdom and United States, albeit a month apart. The series focuses on a scandal involving the UK version of the game show Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. The series is based on an existing stage show and focuses on a unique moment in British pop culture history.
ITV, the British network which co-produced the limited series with Left Bank Pictures, will air Quiz in the UK on April 13.
AMC will air the series in the United States starting on May 31. The second and third parts will respectively air on June 7 and 14.
About the Series
Quiz is a three-part series focusing on a 2001 scandal involving a contestant who appeared on Who Wants To Be a Millionaire in the UK. Former army major Charles Ingram successfully won a million pounds on the show. But it turned out that he engaged in a scam with his wife Diana and friend Tecwen Whittock. The three utilized an elaborate coughing system to suggest when certain answers were correct or incorrect, thus giving Ingram an unfair advantage.
Quiz looks at how the scheme was devised, how it was carried out, and the court case where all three involved were found guilty. But what makes the narrative unique is how it is told twice to an extent. The first half focuses on the assumption that Ingram was guilty. The second half looks at the potential that Ingram might have been innocent.
The series will also look at the network of quiz show fans that often gets together and shares information on how to get on such shows and win. The show focuses on how many people investigated the show and found ways to sneak on the series and win big.
Based on a ShowQuiz is based on a stage show of the same name that played in London. James Graham wrote the stage version of Quiz and premiered it in Chichester in West Sussex. The show would move to London's West End in 2018.
Graham is an experienced playwright and composer. He is also behind the drama Brexit: An Uncivil War.
Who Is In the Show?
Matthew Macfayden will star as Charles Ingram, with Sian Clifford appearing as Diana Ingram and Michael Jibson and Tecwen Whittock. Michael Sheen will also star as Chris Tarrant, the host of MIllionaire. Aisling Bea also appears as Claudia Rosencrantz, the president of ITV Entertainment at the time.
The series will also incorporate Paul Smith, the chairman of Celador Television and the creator of the quiz show. Mark Bonnar stars as Smith. Smith claims that Ingram and everyone involved in the scandal are guilty, and continues to argue that the drama is trying to humanize a bunch of people who engaged in a thorough cheating scheme.
Stephen Frears is the director of Quiz. Frears is also behind the series A Very English Scandal. James Graham also wrote the series, adapting it from his stage show.
