Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee | |
---|---|
Genre | Comedy Panel show Game show |
Created by | Guy Montgomery |
Presented by | Guy Montgomery |
Composer | Mahuia Bridgman-Cooper |
Country of origin | New Zealand |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 8 |
Production | |
Camera setup | Multi-camera |
Running time | 60 minutes (inc. adverts) |
Production company | Kevin & Co. |
Original release | |
Network | Three |
Release | 16 February 2023 – present |
Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee is a New Zealand television comedy panel show on Three created and presented by Guy Montgomery and co-hosted by Sanjay Patel. [1] [2] The show is loosely based on a spelling bee: each episode, four comedians participate in a series of rounds, where the goal is almost always to spell words or names in rounds that are "designed to be infuriating to take part in and entertaining to watch". [3] The winner of each episode competes again the following week, and the loser of each episode (the one who got last place) must wear a dunce cap in the Dunce's Corner. [1]
The first series of Guy Mont-Spelling Bee aired in 2023, and a second series has been ordered.
Guy Montgomery, inspired by the Scripps National Spelling Bee, began hosting spelling bees with other comedians over Zoom and broadcast live on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic. [4] Following the success of those games, Montgomery developed the concept into a show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, [1] and then into a television series in 2023.
The first YouTube series of six broadcasts took place in 2020. The contestants were Tim Batt, Tom Sainsbury, Rose Matafeo, Madeleine Sami, Paul Williams, Alice Snedden, Jackie van Beek, Kura Forrester, Chris Parker, Ayo Edebiri, Paul F. Tompkins, Blair Socci, Joe Mande, Aaron Chen, Lily Sullivan, Colin Burgess, Jamie Loftus and Amy Hoggart. [4]
A shorter, second series of contests were streamed in 2021, featuring Laura Daniel, Urzila Carlson, David Correos, Rebecca Lucas, Alexei Toliopoulos, Angella Dravid, Brynley Stent, Concetta Caristo, Chris Parker, Alice Snedden, and Pax Assadi. [4]
After the streaming broadcasts, Montgomery took the spelling bee to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2022, performing four shows across April. The guests for each show were Becky Lucas, Urzila Carlson, Chris Parker, and Suren Jayemanne; Melanie Bracewell, Sam Campbell, Phil Wang, and Rhys Nicholson; Emma Holland, David O'Doherty, Luke Heggie, and Fern Brady; and Danielle Walker and Vidya Rajan. [3]
Guy Mont-Spelling Bee returned to the MICF in 2023, with five shows. The guests this year were Tim Batt, Josie Long, Patrick Golamco, and Patti Harrison; Anne Edmonds, Mark Watson, Jason Leong, and Frankie McNair; Ed Gamble, Courtney Dawson, Tim Key, and Chloe Petts; Kitty Flanagan, Urzila Carlson, Sam Pang, and Ed Kavalee; and Michael Hing, Rosie Jones, Geraldine Hickey, and Guy Williams. [5] The next month, in May 2023, Guy Mont-Spelling Bee premiered in Sydney. [6]
A bee was held in August 2023 in Auckland, featuring Abby Howells, Courtney Dawson, Joe Daymond, and David Correos. [7]
Guy Mont-Spelling Bee was developed into a television series by Montgomery together with comedian Joseph Moore and the production company Kevin & Co. [1] Financial support comes from NZ On Air. Montgomery also serves as the showrunner.
The "retro" feel of the show is intentional, as Montgomery wanted the set to feel "timeless" by using physical props and as few screens as possible. Sacha Young was the stylist for the production. Additionally, Montgomery notes that the "hokey" title of the show "sets the tone for the experience". [8]
Series 1 was filmed in November 2022 in Auckland, [9] and was broadcast for eight weeks starting in February 2023 in the 7:30 p.m. timeslot on Three. [8] On 10 July 2023, it was announced that the show had been renewed for a second eight-episode series. [10]
Every episode begins with The Spelling Round, a standard spelling bee round in which the contestants select a word from three containers with varying levels of spelling difficulty ranging from 1–3 points: the Coward's Cup, the Person's Purse, or the Bucket of Bravery. [1] [2] Other rounds include:
Each episode ends with The Buzz Round, a themed, timed, fast-paced round in which contestants hit a buzzer first for the chance to spell each word; they lose a point if the spelling is incorrect.
No. in series | Guests | Original air date |
---|---|---|
1 | Abby Howells , Matt Heath, Hayley Sproull , Josh Thomson | 16 February 2023 |
2 | Brynley Stent , Chris Parker , Courtney Dawson, Hayley Sproull | 23 February 2023 |
3 | Urzila Carlson , Tim Batt, James Mustapic, Brynley Stent | 2 March 2023 |
4 | Angella Dravid, Guy Williams, Audrey Porne, James Mustapic | 9 March 2023 |
5 | Laura Daniel , David Correos , Becky Lucas, James Mustapic | 16 March 2023 |
6 | Ray O'Leary , Mel Bracewell, Jamaine Ross, David Correos | 23 March 2023 |
7 | Kura Forrester, Jack Ansett, Karen O'Leary, Jamaine Ross | 30 March 2023 |
8 | Paul Williams, Bubbah Olo , Dai Henwood , Jamaine Ross | 6 April 2023 |
A spelling bee is a competition in which contestants are asked to spell a broad selection of words, usually with a varying degree of difficulty. To compete, contestants must memorize the spellings of words as written in dictionaries, and recite them accordingly.
Street Smarts is an American game show that featured two in-studio contestants trying to predict the outcome of interviews of people who were found on the street. The show, which was hosted by Frank Nicotero, aired in syndication from 2000 to 2005. Nicotero would be on locale with the on the street contestants, virtually any and everywhere in the United States. The in studio gameplay however, was at G4 and TMZ, headquarters, Victory Studios, in Glendale, California.
Think Fast is an American children's game show which aired on Nickelodeon from May 1, 1989, to March 30, 1990, with reruns airing weekly until June 29, 1991.
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, with a book written by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spelling bee set in a geographically ambiguous Putnam Valley Middle School. Six quirky adolescents compete in the Bee, run by three equally quirky grown-ups.
A spelling test is an assessment of a person's ability to spell words correctly. Spelling tests are usually given in school during language arts class, to see how well each student has learned the most recent spelling lesson. Typical intervals for spelling tests are one per week throughout the school year, except for spelling bees, which are generally held once per year. Spelling tests are associated with linguistic prescriptivism, the idea that language should be used in a certain manner as opposed to others.
The Singing Bee is an Australian game show which is based on the original American version of the same name. By combining karaoke singing with a spelling bee-style competition, contestants have to sing lyrics to songs without making a mistake or risk elimination.
The Scripps National Spelling Bee, formerly the Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee and often referred to as the National Spelling Bee or simply “the Spelling Bee” in the United States, is an annual spelling bee held in the United States. The bee is run on a not-for-profit basis by The E. W. Scripps Company and is held at a hotel or convention center in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area during the week following Memorial Day weekend. Since 2011, it has been held at the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center hotel in National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland, just outside Washington D.C. It was previously held at the Grand Hyatt Washington in Washington D.C. from 1996 to 2010.
The Singing Bee is a sing-along game show that originally aired on NBC and then CMT. Combining karaoke singing with a spelling bee-style competition, this show features contestants trying to remember the lyrics to popular songs. Originally slated to begin with a six episode season during late 2007, it launched early in reaction to Fox's competing Don't Forget the Lyrics!
7 Days is a New Zealand comedy game show focused on current events, hosted by Jeremy Corbett and created by thedownlowconcept. It has aired on Three since its premiere in 2009. Two teams, consisting of a team captain — until 2022, nearly always Paul Ego and Dai Henwood — and other comedians, answer questions about stories from the last week; since 2022, the team captains have changed each week. As of 2024, 7 Days has aired for 16 seasons.
Have You Been Paying Attention? is an Australian panel game television quiz show on Network 10. The series, which is produced by Working Dog Productions, is a mix of news and comedy which sees host Tom Gleisner quiz five guests on the week's top news stories.
The Great Australian Spelling Bee was an Australian reality series on Network Ten. Hosted by Grant Denyer and Chrissie Swan, and produced by Shine Australia, the series premiered from 3 August 2015 until 17 September 2016. The series also stars Chris Edmund as pronouncer.
The second season of The Great Australian Spelling Bee premiered on 17 July 2016 on Network Ten. The season sees Grant Denyer and Chrissie Swan return as hosts.
The Big Spell is a British game show which aired in January and February 2017 on Sky 1. The program is an adaptation of the Australian program The Great Australian Spelling Bee. It features 20 children aged between 9 and 13 competing in a series of spelling-related challenges, and delves into both the spellings and the meanings of various words. The show is hosted by Sue Perkins and Joe Lycett, with newsreader Moira Stuart the pronouncer. Perkins stated that she only was interested in presenting the show if it was "nice" and avoided cynicism. The show was cancelled after one series, with only 160,000 viewers watching the finale.
The Project is a New Zealand current affairs show hosted by Jesse Mulligan, Kanoa Lloyd, and Jeremy Corbett with rotating guest panelists. It aired at 7 pm weeknights on Three.
Guy Montgomery is a comedian from New Zealand. He was the winner of the Billy T Award in 2014 and the Fred Award in 2023.
Genius Junior is an American television game show that debuted on March 18, 2018 on NBC, during the 2017–18 season. In March 2017, NBC ordered ten episodes for the first season of the series, which was hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. The series shows children, aged 12 and under, competing in teams of three in five increasingly difficult rounds. Each round tested the teams in various subjects including spelling, mathematics and memory. The winning team received the "Genius Junior Grant".
Urzila Carlson is a South African-born New Zealand comedian and actress, known for her stand-up performances as well as her appearances on television programs in both New Zealand and Australia. Carlson is a regular panellist on 7 Days and both the Australian and New Zealand version of Have You Been Paying Attention? She has also been a panellist on The Masked Singer Australia for the show’s second and third seasons. and a contestant on the second season of Taskmaster NZ.
Have You Been Paying Attention? is a New Zealand panel show on TVNZ 2, based on the original Australian series Have You Been Paying Attention?. The series is a mix of news and comedy in which host Hayley Sproull quizzes five guests – permanent panelists Urzila Carlson and Vaughan Smith and three others – on the week's top news stories.
Paul Anthony Williams is a New Zealand comedian and musician. Williams plays the role of Taskmaster's assistant on the New Zealand version of the international television series Taskmaster, and is one of the show's principal writers. He was nominated for the 2017 Billy T Award for up-and-coming New Zealand comedians for his stand-up comedy.
Brynley Alexandra Stent is a New Zealand actor, comedian and scriptwriter. She appeared on the first season of the New Zealand adaptation of Taskmaster and played the character Kelly-Anne Johnson on long running New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street. She won the 2021 Billy T Award for best breakthrough comedian for her show Soft Carnage.