Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee

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Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee
Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee title card.png
Genre Comedy
Panel show
Game show
Created by Guy Montgomery
Presented byGuy Montgomery
ComposerMahuia Bridgman-Cooper
Country of originNew Zealand
Original languageEnglish
No. of series1
No. of episodes8
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time60 minutes (inc. adverts)
Production companyKevin & Co.
Original release
Network Three
Release16 February 2023 (2023-02-16) 
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]

Contents

The first series of Guy Mont-Spelling Bee aired in 2023, and a second series has been ordered.

Background and production

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.

YouTube broadcasts

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]

Live shows

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]

Television

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]

Format

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 13 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.

Episodes

Series 1 (2023)

No. in
series
GuestsOriginal air date
1 Abby Howells , Matt Heath, Hayley Sproull , Josh Thomson 16 February 2023 (2023-02-16)
2 Brynley Stent , Chris Parker , Courtney Dawson, Hayley Sproull23 February 2023 (2023-02-23)
3 Urzila Carlson , Tim Batt, James Mustapic, Brynley Stent2 March 2023 (2023-03-02)
4 Angella Dravid, Guy Williams, Audrey Porne, James Mustapic9 March 2023 (2023-03-09)
5 Laura Daniel , David Correos , Becky Lucas, James Mustapic16 March 2023 (2023-03-16)
6 Ray O'Leary , Mel Bracewell, Jamaine Ross, David Correos 23 March 2023 (2023-03-23)
7 Kura Forrester, Jack Ansett, Karen O'Leary, Jamaine Ross30 March 2023 (2023-03-30)
8 Paul Williams, Bubbah Olo , Dai Henwood , Jamaine Ross6 April 2023 (2023-04-06)
Winners in bold, dunces in italics.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Ward, Tara (February 16, 2023). "'Everybody spells': Guy Montgomery on the buzz of making a comedy spelling show". The Spinoff.
  2. 1 2 Croot, James (February 16, 2023). "Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont Spelling Bee: Three's shockingly hilarious new game show". Stuff.
  3. 1 2 "Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee (NZ)". Archived from the original on 20 March 2022. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Guy Montgomery's Guy-Mont Spelling Bee". RNZ. July 18, 2022.
  5. "Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee (NZ)". MICF. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  6. "Guy Mont-Spelling Bee | Sydney". Allevents. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  7. "Guy Montgomery's Guy-Mont Spelling Bee". Q Theatre. Retrieved 27 August 2023.
  8. 1 2 Newall, Steve (16 February 2023). "Guy Montgomery chats about his new show, Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee". Flicks.
  9. Montgomery, Guy. "It is happening! Eight episodes of Guy Montgomery's Guy Mont-Spelling Bee are going to be recorded on high definition cameras in front of a live studio audience and YOU ARE INVITED!". Instagram. @guy_mont.
  10. "Lifting The Lid On Aotearoa New Zealand – More Stories To Engage Audiences | Scoop News". www.scoop.co.nz. Retrieved 2023-07-10.