Game shows are going wild right now. But will Australia back this worldwide hit?

It might be actor and presenter Rodger Corser’s first time fronting a prime-time quiz show as host of The Floor, but he has some unexpected trivia experience up his sleeve.

“I used to host pub trivia 20 years ago,” he says. “I remember 2006 being a bit of a lean year for me, so I was a short order cook at a cafe and doing pub trivia, just before I did Underbelly. Some people take pub trivia so, so seriously. We didn’t have smartphones then … but people were cheating and so you had to rap them over the knuckles, just remind people that we’re all here for a bit of fun.”

Rodger Corser hosts new game show The Floor.Credit: Nine

His new show is certainly a bit of fun. Since The Floor format launched in 2023 in the Netherlands it has become a worldwide smash, with a reported 22 international versions (Rob Lowe hosts the US one) either currently airing or in the works.

The fast-paced format has 81 contestants each starting on a tile on an LED grid as they compete for a top prize of $200,000. Each wannabe winner has their own chosen area of expertise, everything from dogs to the periodic table to quirkier topics like the kitchen drawer. The players compete in duels to knock one another out and gain more ground on the floor, with only one reigning supreme. There’s a mix of everyday folk with familiar faces like Married at First Sight’s Jules Robinson and MasterChef’s Amina Elshafei peppered in.

The Floor has 81 contestants compete on a large grid of LED tiles.Credit: Nine

“There is something for everyone because it has great gameplay,” says Corser. “If you like strategic board games, there’s that element. There’s just straight trivia and general knowledge for other people. But [there’s] also the way that a bunch of eclectic people interact when you throw them in one space. It’s a great social experiment, so it’s got the best part of a reality TV show as well. We don’t go throwing wine glasses on anyone, but emotions are heightened.”

The Floor is part of a new generation of game shows sweeping the globe that are bigger, brighter and bolder than series of the past. In the US, Deal or No Deal has spun off into the larger-scale Deal or No Deal Island, which incorporates physical challenges and social gameplay – and yes, is set on an island. No longer content to simply open briefcases in a studio, these kinds of shows are competing in a crowded market and searching for hooks strong enough to grab viewers’ attention.

Corser likens the brightly lit, oversized spectacle of The Floor to a bustling sporting match. “It’s a really impressive set. You walk in and it’s huge. It’s as big as a small basketball stadium and there are screens and lights and cameras everywhere and the studio audience. It feels like a sporting arena.”

The set of The Floor.Credit: Nine

Corser, known to viewers from his acting stints on Doctor Doctor, Underbelly and Rush, is coming to The Floor off the back of hosting the local version of The Traitors. Despite the franchise being a hit internationally (the US iteration picked up the Emmy for outstanding reality competition last year), the Australian show has not returned to our screens after a two-season run. Was he disappointed that it didn’t take with audiences?

“You’re disappointed when anything felt like it was going to go longer than what it did,” says Corser. “But there are so many places people can get their entertainment these days, it’s a new landscape. So some shows won’t work, and it’s not necessarily the show’s fault. It’s just hard to get eyeballs these days.”

A dapper Rodger Corser hosted two seasons of the Australian version of the reality show The Traitors.

With The Floor, Corser feels confident in its appeal, as he has experienced first-hand its addictive pleasures from watching the overseas versions with his children.

“What’s good here is that everyone really gets their teeth into it,” he says. “Primary school kids can kick their parents’ butt in categories. We’ve got primary school maths, for instance. [My children] would beat me and my wife regularly in a lot of the categories – it’s a great family show.

“The kids have asked me who wins [the Australian version]. And I’m like: ‘There is no chance I’m even giving you half a hint - no way!’”

The Floor premieres Monday, April 28 at 7.30pm on Channel 9 and 9Now. Nine is also the owner of this masthead.

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