ACTOR AND COMEDIAN JAY PHAROAH BOUNCES TO FOX AS HOST OF ALL-NEW GAME SHOW THE QUIZ WITH BALLS, PREMIERING THIS SUMMER

New Series Comes from Reality TV Mega-Producer John de Mol and Eureka Productions, Creator and Producers of the new FOX hit The Floor

FOX has tossed the ball to actor and comedian Jay Pharoah (SNL, The Blackening) to host its new game The Quiz with Balls . Pitting brains against balls, while combining a high-stakes quiz show with a large-scale physical competition, each episode of The Quiz with Balls features two families competing for $100,000 in a “battle of the balls.”

Standing on a high platform over a glistening pool, they must all work together as they face a multiple-choice quiz where each answer is allocated to a spot with a giant ball positioned up behind it. If the correct answer is chosen, the ball rolls down and stops just before colliding with the player… if the answer is wrong, the massive ball rapidly descends and mercilessly whacks them into the pool below. The more players each team loses, the harder the questions get. The longer they last, the more money they bank, until one “dry” family member plays the final round for The Quiz with Balls’ $100,000 Grand Prize. The all-new series, executive produced by Talpa Studios and Eureka Productions, is set to premiere this Summer on FOX.

“Playful, quick-witted and high-energy, Jay’s going to make a huge splash as our host of The Quiz with Balls ,” said Allison Wallach, FOX Entertainment’s President of Unscripted Programming. “No matter the stage or show, Jay’s singular brand of humor and comedic timing elevates everything he does. With him at the helm of The Quiz with Balls , viewers of all ages are assured an exciting and hilarious hour of fun playing along with Jay and our family contestants.”

“When I got hit up about hosting an epic face-off between big brains and even bigger balls, I was like…’I got this,’” said Jay. “Then I found out it was a game show series on FOX and thought…even better!”

Last Summer, The Quiz with Balls premiered on SBS6 in The Netherlands, where it became an instant summer hit and was rewarded with an order for a four-episode winter special. A second season of the show will air on SBS6 later this year. In addition to the U.S. format, Talpa Studios will soon announce other markets where this successful format will travel to.

The Quiz With Balls is produced by Eureka Productions and Talpa Studios. John de Mol, Maarten Meijs, Chris Culvenor, Paul Franklin, Wes Dening and John Leahy serve as executive producers. Anthony Carbone serves as showrunner and executive producer.
 

About Jay Pharoah
Actor and comedian Jay Pharoah is one of the industry’s most highly-anticipated leading men. Pharoah most recently appeared in the Toronto International Film Festival triumph, The Blackening, as Shawn. The film sold out of the festival to Lionsgate and was released last year on Juneteenth, grossing over $6 million in its opening weekend and making its production budget back. In the last few years, Pharoah has appeared in the Neil Bogart/Casablanca Records biopic Spinning Gold, Comedy Central’s Out Of Office alongside Ken Jeong and Oscar Nuñez and in the independent comedy Mort In Sherman Oaks with Lucy Hale and Jim Gaffigan. He starred in Netflix’s Resort To Love opposite Cristina Milian for producer Alicia Keys and in the Lionsgate thriller Private Property. Pharoah also co-starred opposite Harry Shum Jr. in Universal’s All My Life, in Justin Simien’s critically acclaimed feature film Bad Hair for Hulu, and in Lionsgate’s 2 Minutes Of Fame for director Leslie Small. On the small screen, Pharoah starred as J.J. Evans in ABC’s Emmy Award-winning Live in Front of a Studio Audience version of All In The Family and Good Times. He previously hosted and produced the Nickelodeon hit gameshow Unfiltered. Best known for his spot-on impressions, Pharoah spent six seasons as a cast member on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. In 2017, he shifted to his first leading role as Floyd Mooney in Showtime’s White Famous, which was executive-produced by Academy Award-winner Jaime Foxx and inspired by Foxx’s real-life experiences. Additional film and television credits include Sony Pictures’ animated feature, The Mitchells Vs. The Machines, Steven Soderbergh’s Unsane, Universal’s animated feature Sing, CBS Films’ Get A Job, CBS’s All Access’s Remote, Searchlight’s Lola Versus, FOX’s Family Guy , FOX’s The Simpsons , Netflix’s Bojack Horseman and Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken. In addition to acting and his stand-up, Jay released his first EP titled Spittin Image in August 2021. The tracks are a marriage between Jay’s impressions and his love of songwriting and rapping. All songs are written by Jay and produced by Andrew Hypes. Pharoah continues to headline comedy clubs across the country throughout the year.
 

About Eureka Productions
Award-winning unscripted entertainment company, Eureka Productions, was founded in 2016 by Co-CEOs Chris Culvenor and Paul Franklin. Headquartered in Los Angeles and Sydney, the company has since grown a portfolio of over 40 series for network, streaming, cable, and digital platforms in the U.S., Canada, and Australia, becoming one of the TV industry’s fastest growing international producers. Eureka’s current US slate includes returning shows such as the US reboot of The Mole (Netflix), the U.S. version of Fremantle’s international format Farmer Wants a Wife (FOX), as well as all-new series The Floor (FOX). Other recent productions include Stars on Mars for FOX and The Parent Test for ABC (adapted from Eureka’s Australian hit Parental Guidance). Eureka is also known for US hits such as Holey Moley (ABC), Full Bloom (HBOMax), TwentySomethings Austin (Netflix), Frogger (Peacock), Name That Tune (FOX), The Real Dirty Dancing (FOX), Finding Magic Mike (HBO Max), Dating Around (Netflix) and Crikey It’s the Irwins (Discovery). In Australia, Eureka’s slate includes Million Dollar Island for Channel 7, Luxe Listings for Amazon, Byron Baes for Netflix Amazing Race Australia for Network Ten, Parental Guidance for Nine Network, and many more. In 2022, Eureka also took on the development and production of all Fremantle’s entertainment, reality, and game show formats in Australia, including Australian Idol and Farmer Wants a Wife for Seven Network. Eureka Productions is a Fremantle company. For more information, visit eurekagroup.tv.
 

About Talpa Studios
Talpa Studios, the independent global content house founded by John de Mol, is a dynamic creative powerhouse that fosters innovation and produces next-level non-scripted formats. With access rights to premium broadcast and streaming channels in the Netherlands and Germany, Talpa Studios has solidified its position as a pioneer in the entertainment industry. With exceptional content creations and originating evergreen entertainment brands, Talpa Studios sets new standards, connecting people within their homes and around the world.
 

ABOUT FOX ENTERTAINMENT
With a legacy spanning nearly 40 years, FOX Entertainment is one of the world’s most recognizable media brands and a prolific content producer across its iconic broadcast network and both owned and third-party streaming platforms. Known for its independent, innovative spirit and provocative, groundbreaking storytelling, the company was reinvented in 2019 with the formation of FOX Entertainment. While maintaining its leadership in broadcast television (9-1-1: Lone Star, The Simpsons, The Floor, The Cleaning Lady, Hell’s Kitchen, LEGO Masters ), the company is building a portfolio of businesses and library of owned original content. To date, FOX Entertainment’s long-term growth strategy has included the acquisitions of award-winning animation studio Bento Box Entertainment (Bob’s Burgers, The Great North, Krapopolis, Grimsburg ), entertainment platform TMZ (TMZ Investigates ), and global production studio MarVista Entertainment (The Way Home ), as well as the formation of the culinary and lifestyle content venture Studio Ramsay Global (Next Level Chef, Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, Idiot Sandwich ) in partnership with Gordon Ramsay. The company also established its in-house unscripted studio FOX Alternative Entertainment (The Masked Singer, We Are Family, America’s Most Wanted, Snake Oil, I Can See Your Voice, Name That Tune ), FOX Entertainment Studios (Animal Control ) to develop scripted content, and worldwide content sales unit FOX Entertainment Global.
 

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