For those mourning a Family Feud-shaped hole in their lives, fear not. TV WEEK Gold Logie winner Grant Denyer says his new game show, Game Of Games, is going to be “next level”.
Originating as a segment on US daytime talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, everyday Australians will tackle huge obstacles and hair-raising challenges as they compete for a $50,000 prize.
“I knew it’d be silly, but it was so much crazier than any of us ever expected,” Grant, 41, tells TV WEEK. “It’s like a giant game of Mouse Trap – but for humans.
“All the power is in my hands, and it brought out a sinister side to me I never knew I had.”
One of Grant’s favourite games is the Tomb Of Doom – but despite the ominous title, the host promises the challenge will have viewers in fits of laughter.
“It’s basically a giant pyramid of stairs,” Grant explains. “The job is to get two of your team members to the top. The problem is, the steps are so slippery, they’re virtually impossible to climb.
“Just as contestants get to the top, they end up cannonballing down and taking people out like human tenpins.”
Another of Grant’s favourite games is Know Or Go. Contestants stand above a trapdoor. If they answer a question incorrectly, he pushes a button, the trapdoor opens and they disappear down the chute below.
“I always turn around to watch the audience when they see someone drop down the chute for the first time,” Grant says.
“It’s quite confronting. It feels like I’m leading them to their death – but with a smile!”
Jokes aside, Grant believes Australia needs a show as silly as Game Of Games is.
“We live in a serious world,” he says. “And the scarier and darker it gets, the more we need shows like this. It’s so ludicrous – you’re laughing from start to finish and it takes your mind off everything else.”
As to whether there might be a celebrity version in the works, Grant hopes so.
“I’d love to have the other gameshow hosts as contestants,” he says. “Imagine dropping Andrew O’Keefe [who hosts The Chase Australia] into a giant pavlova, or shooting Eddie Maguire [the host of Millionaire Hot Seat] in the face with a cannon full of paint? It’d make breathtaking television – for me, anyway!”
Game of Games premieres Sunday, 7th of October at 7:30pm on Network Ten.
