The Quiz with Balls
The Quiz with Balls is an American game show that premiered on May 28, 2024, on Fox. The series is produced by Talpa Studios and the Eureka Productions division of Fremantle, and hosted by Jay Pharoah. Contestants must answer pop culture and general knowledge questions correctly, or else incorrect answers will result in contestants being pushed into a giant pool of water.
This game show is the adaptation of the Dutch TV series De kwis met ballen. Although Pharoah and the contestants are American, the show is actually produced and filmed at Docklands Studios in Melbourne, Australia.
Format
Season 1
Two teams compete per episode, each consisting of five members from a different immediate/extended family, and attempt to win up to $100,000. Six giant numbered balls are placed at the top of a set of parallel ramps leading down to the edge of a swimming pool. These balls correspond to possible answers to the questions that will be asked during the game.The main game is played in five rounds and uses a list of 10 categories, each of which can be played only once. Both families receive one turn per round.
The family in control chooses a category and is asked a question with six answer choices, and as many correct answers as the number of members still in the game. Each answer is assigned to a different ramp, and the members must stand at the bottom of the ramps for the answers they believe to be correct, facing away from the ramps and over the pool. The balls are then released, ether all at once, in groups, or singly as requested by the host. If an answer is correct, a mechanism stops the ball before it can reach the bottom; if not, the ball hits the contestant and knocks them into the pool, eliminating them from the game.
Correct answers are worth $1,000 each in Round 1, with the value increasing by $1,000 per round. Initial control for Round 1 is determined by random draw, while for all others it is determined by high score or by low score. If a round ends in a tie, the family who had initial control retains it for the next one.
A family can win the game in one of four ways:
- By being in the lead at the end of Round 5.
- By playing first in Round 5 and having an insurmountable lead after their turn.
- By having the lead at the start of Round 5 and the opponents failing to tie or surpass their score. The family in the lead takes their turn as in other rounds.
- By having at least one member survive their turn in any round while all opponents are eliminated. If this happens before Round 5, the surviving family continues the game alone, taking one turn per round until they either lose every member or complete Round 5.
The winning family chooses one member who has not been eliminated to play the bonus round. That member selects one of two categories and is asked a question with six answers, five of which are correct. They must choose one answer at a time and stand at the bottom of its ramp as the ball is released. Finding all five correct answers increases the family's total to $100,000, while finding the incorrect answer ends the round immediately and allows the family to keep their main-game winnings.
Season 2
Starting with Season 2, the main game is shortened to three rounds rather than five, and both teams receive two turns per round unless all the members of one team are eliminated. A new set of four categories is presented at the beginning of each round, and each team chooses one when their turn comes; no category may be used more than once. In addition, a lifeguard is on duty to help eliminated players swim to the edge of the pool and climb out.The first two rounds are referred to as "Kickoff" and "Double-Up", and are played as in Season 1. In the third "All or Nothing" round, the team in control must find all the correct answers to their question in order to win $10,000. The team in the lead after the last question advances to the final "Golden Balls" round, in which one surviving member chooses one of two categories and is asked five questions, each with one correct answer. The same set of six responses is used for the entire round, with correct answers being removed after they are chosen. Correctly answering all five questions increases the team's winnings to $100,000, while a miss at any time ends the round and allows them to keep all money won to that point.
Each team can win up to $50,000 in the main game.
Ball Breaker Round
If the scores are tied at the end of the game, an extra "Ball Breaker" round is played. The host announces a category, and each family selects one member to represent them. The host asks a question with six answer choices, which are ranked by how closely they fit the stated criterion. Each contestant selects one answer; the one with the higher-ranked choice wins the game for their team and plays the Golden Balls round.Production
On February 7, 2024, it was announced that Fox had ordered the series. On February 21, 2024, Jay Pharoah was announced as the host. On March 4, 2024, it was announced that the series would premiere on May 28, 2024.In February 2025, the series was renewed for a second season, which premiered on June 2, 2025.
Episodes
Series overview
Season 1 (2024)
Season 2 (2025)
International versions
International format and distribution rights are held by Talpa Studios.| Country | Name | Presenter | Channel | Broadcast |
 Argentina |