Quiz (TV series)

Quiz is a British drama television serial developed for the ITV channel and AMC and written by James Graham, based on his play of the same name commissioned by William Village and the book Bad Show: the Quiz, the Cough, the Millionaire Major by Bob Woffinden and James Plaskett. It is directed by Stephen Frears  and consists of three hour-long episodes. The series focuses on the disgraced Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? contestant Charles Ingram, a former army major in the Royal Engineers, and how he unexpectedly won the £1 million jackpot on the quiz show in 2001, followed by a criminal trial in which he and his wife were convicted of cheating their way to success.

Quiz premiered on ITV on 13 April 2020. The series received positive reviews from critics. Released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns worldwide, Quiz received a large audience — similar to the Netflix documentary Tiger King — with the first episode being seen live by an average audience of 5.3 million in the UK. While the show was still airing, Ingram's Wikipedia article was one of the most viewed on the site.

Summary
In 2001, at the height of the public obsession with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, a British army major named Charles Ingram and his wife, Diana, apparently swindled the British game show. The morning after Ingram bumbled his way to a million pounds, broadcaster ITV and production company Celador realized something had been amiss: a series of coughs by the Ingrams' alleged accomplice, Tecwen Whittock, may have led Ingram to the answers. It was a massive scandal, resulting in a court case that found all three guilty.

Cast

 * Matthew Macfadyen as Charles Ingram
 * Michael Sheen as Chris Tarrant
 * Sian Clifford as Diana Ingram
 * Mark Bonnar as Paul Smith
 * Helen McCrory as Sonia Woodley QC
 * Michael Jibson as Tecwen Whittock
 * Aisling Bea as Claudia Rosencrantz
 * Trystan Gravelle as Adrian Pollock
 * Elliot Levey as David Briggs
 * Risteárd Cooper as David Liddiment
 * Jasmyn Banks as Nicola Howson
 * Andrew Leung as Kevin Duff
 * Martin Trenaman as DS Ferguson
 * Nicholas Woodeson as Nicholas Hilliard QC
 * Paul Bazely as Lionel from Legal

Development
In March 2018, Deadline Hollywood reported that Left Bank Pictures was developing a television adaptation of Quiz. In April 2019, Left Bank was in talks for Stephen Frears to direct the adaptation.

In August 2019, it was announced that ITV and AMC co-commissioned the drama series, with Graham writing and Frears directing all three episodes.

Filming
The scenes in the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? studio were filmed in a set constructed at Wimbledon Studios. Scenes were also filmed outside Southwark Crown Court and inside a former court building in Hammersmith.

International broadcasts
In Australia, the Nine Network, which aired both Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and its Hot Seat spin-off between 1999 and 2023, aired the serial in three parts on consecutive Thursday nights in late 2021. The first part, which aired on 25 November 2021, followed an episode of Hot Seat in which contestant Antony McManus became the show's final winner.

Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, the series holds a 95% approval rating based on 36 reviews, with an average rating of 7.57/10. The website's consensus reads, "With clever writing, a slick production, and a pitch perfect Michael Sheen, Quiz crafts a captivating snapshot of a wild scandal that will keep viewers on their toes."

Ingram himself, who has always denied the charges, praised the series, calling it "balanced".