Upfronts 2013: GSN Orders Quiz Show ‘The Chase'

Net puts six series into development following record year

By Andrea Morabito -- Broadcasting & Cable, 4/9/2013 11:12:53 AM

Complete Coverage: Upfronts 2013

New York -- GSN has ordered eight one-hour episodes of the U.K. inspired quiz show The Chase, to be produced in connection with ITV Studios America, the network announced at its upfront presentation Tuesday morning at the Sony Club.

The Chase has a team of four contestants answer quick-fire questions to amass money while withstanding intimidation from "The Beast," a quiz genius. The series will premiere on GSN later this year.

Chase joins the previously greenlit new version of Minute to Win It hosted by Apolo Anton Ohno, which GSN announced will premiere June 25 at 8 p.m.

Fueled by acquisitions like Family Feud and original series The American Bible Challenge (the network's highest-rated original ever), GSN grew 40% with adults 18-49 and 31% among adults 25-54 in primetime season to date, according to Nielsen.

Hoping to continue that growth, GSN has put six series in development: Dance Rivals, about two rival dance studios in Utah; It Takes a Church, where a congregation searches for suitors for a single parishioner; and Mind of a Man, where two female contestants try to guess how men would answer questions about dating, marriage and working with the help of a celebrity panel.

Also on tap are The Imposter, where two contestants with an existing relationship move into another family's home for 48 hours and must guess which family member is a fake embedded with the real family; the dating show Where Have You Been All My Life, where singles must choose a date based only on old photos and stories of their potential suitors; and You Don't Know What You're Missing, a game show that challenges family members to recall 10 meaningful items on display in their home.

GSN grew its distribution to 77 million homes in the last year, and will pass 80 million in 2013, according to president and CEO David Goldhill. Executive VP of ad sales John Zaccario also noted the network added 106 new advertisers in the last year.