The 1% Club, started in 2022 in the UK and has since spread to both the US and Australia. Photo / Getty Images
The 1% Club
A more recent addition to the quiz-show landscape (it started in 2022), this Lee Mack (United Kingdom) Jim Jefferies (Australia) and Patton Oswalt (United States)-helmed show pits 100 contestants against increasingly difficult brainteasers previously answered by the general public.
Questions, which are more often about spatial and pattern awareness than general knowledge, are sorted into what percentage of the public got them right, working up to the hardest question that only 1% of the public answered correctly. Get a question wrong and you’re out. Get all the way to the 1% question and you get the glory.
It’s very The Weakest Link-coded, but a riveting watch to see contestants get eliminated round-by-round and it would befascinating to see what percentage of Kiwis can answer these sorts of questions.
The (1%) question is, does New Zealand have the physical space to host a massive studio with 100 people? Probably not. So, like The Chase New Zealand, they’d probably have to produce it in Australia, which has its own custom-built 1% Club set.
Around the world, comedians are generally picked as hosts for this series, so someone like Paul Ego or Guy Williams would fit the bill here, playing it strait-laced with the occasional quip as they get to know the contestants.
How likely is it? 8/10
Contestants in The Floor use their quick thinking to fight for space. Photo / Getty Images
The Floor
The perfect game show for those with an eye for detail and a nose for strategy, The Floor is more about comprehension and thinking on your feet at breakneck speed, and less about racking your brain to remember a fact or answer to a general knowledge question.
Some describe it as a life-size game of Risk with trivia in between. Contestants – either 81 or 100 – take a spot on a gridded floor, each with a special trivia category. Two-by-two they randomly face off, with the winner claiming the loser’s spot on the floor – and their category. Simply put, be the last one standing, owning the whole board, and you’re the winner. It’s definitely one of those shows that leaves you screaming at the telly.
Famously, the categories are niche, so we could try “Name these Kiwi items”: Jandal, chilly bin, BBQ etc, or “Name this Kiwi landmark”: The L&P Bottle, Ohakune Carrot.
This is also another show requiring a gigantic set, and yet again, we’ve got our cousins in Australia to help us out with that.
Overseas, the hosts are often presenters, actors, or TV personalities (think US actor Rob Lowe and Welsh comedian Rob Brydon). They have to be good at making funny faces, because the camera always pans to them when someone gets a question wrong.
Jack Tame would be a great fit for a local version, with his cheeky smile bound to make grannies swoon. Or perhaps Jenny-May Clarkson could make a terrific comeback.
How likely is it? 6/10
Who would be the next Richard Osman in a Kiwi version of Pointless? Photo / Connor O’Leary
Pointless
The aim of the game here is to give not only a correct answer, but a correct answer that is also the most obscure. Answers are based on a survey of 100 people (a common premise for game shows, it seems), where the winner names the thing that the fewest people remembered.
Kiwis are known for our ‘Yeah, nah’ attitude, so this show would, assumingly, fit the bill perfectly. Name a Kiwi tourist attraction? Forget the Sky Tower, how about the Cape Kidnapper’s farm tours? Or the Wellington bucket fountain?
The set for Pointless is relatively simple and could easily be replicated in a New Zealand studio by setting up a few screens and adding seating for a live studio audience.
UK hosts Alexander Armstrong and Richard Osman (yes, the author, who made his name creating game show formats, including Tipping Point) are big shoes to fill, but perhaps Jason Gunn could step back into the quiz show spotlight and bring some of that old-school charm he’s known for. Simon Barnett wouldn’t be a bad pick either.
How likely is it? 8/10
Countdown tests the number and linguistic skills of contestants. Photo / Getty Images
Countdown
It takes skills with letters and numbers to be able to go head-to-head in this classic British show.
We all love a good New York Times’ Wordle or Connection’s puzzle, and the Herald has a hearty Sudoku following, so I think this show could be right up New Zealand’s street.
Each round, either a bunch of letters or numbers are randomly selected, and the aim is to find the longest word or use the numbers (and maths) to make them equal a random total. Contestants have 30 seconds on the clock.
In terms of a set, we’ll need space for some desks, some letters and a large clock.
And the hosting options are the easy bit here. Hilary Barry would be a great fit for host Colin Murray’s job (or Jimmy Carr’s, if you are familiar with the comedy spinoff Cats Does Countdown).
The tough seats to fill are the maths/language experts. Perhaps Michelle Dickinson (Nanogirl) could fill the Carol Vordeman/Rachel Riley numbers role, and maybe we could find some new talent to fit into the Susie Dent role of lexicographer.
How likely is it? 5/10
Eggheads
Probably the closest format to The Chase, Eggheads is your typical David vs Goliath quiz situation, pitting a group of amateur quizzers against the top brass.
The question, in our case, is whether Aotearoa actually has enough professional quizzers to stand in as a group of Eggheads. I know the team at Believe It Or Not Quizzes (the local team that runs quiz nights around the country) might have a few people in mind, but it’s still a hard ask.
There is also another possible problem in that the format, now that The Chase is such a huge hit, becomes somewhat outdated.
The physical set is no issue though – all you need are some chairs, a desk, and some contestants.
When it comes to hosting, the pool is big. I’d not hesitate to throw Newstalk ZB‘s Mike Hosking in the ring as a possibility, with his sharp wit and intellect being big drawcards for audiences.
How likely is it? 4/10
Mitchell Hageman joined the Herald’s entertainment and lifestyle team in 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist for Hawke’s Bay Today.