Down for the Guap, winner of the Best Game Show award at the 2016 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs), tests the limits of just how far people are willing to go to win R10 000.
The brand new ‘reality adventure game show’ was conceptualised by Johannesburg-based content creation agency The Launch Factory.
“The idea originated within The Launch Factory. We started discussions with Vuzu early in 2015 around a local and fun game show we could create for them, from there on it was a collaborative process,” explains executive producer Apollo Zake. The goal was to create a South African game show that represents South African youth.
Pushing the boundaries of friendships, the eight-part reality game show first aired on Vuzu AMP (DStv channel 114) in June 2015, hosted by the undeniably hilarious and (almost) excessively vibrant best friend duo TJ and Larry, best known for belonging to the South African hip-hop dance outfit The Repertoires, and as stars of previous Vuzu reality show Running with the Reps.
Directed by Eugene Naidoo, the youth-centred game show sees contestants – in the form of best friends – being put through the paces, in order to win a piece of the R10 000 cash prize up for grabs in every episode. In each standalone episode, an unsuspecting ‘victim’ is lured by his or her best friend into a challenge. The nominated friend is then monetarily rewarded for simply accepting the challenge. Then a larger sum of money is offered to the friend to take on a challenge alone. At this stage of the game, R5 000 in prize money has been won by the nominated friend, the contestant is then given the opportunity to double the money by teaming up with their friend to compete in the ultimate challenge against the two hosts.
Commenting on the way in which the format for Down for the Guap came about, Zake says: “We looked at all the international game shows out there and we found that they were very serious, very Survivor-like, lots of backstabbing, etc, and we thought South Africans aren’t like that, we’re very light-hearted, we enjoy having a good time…so from that we created a new, simple, fun, youth-oriented game show that hasn’t been done before in the country.”
The result was a young, urban, unapologetically South African game show that more importantly, worked equally as well on second screens. “It was important that the show worked equally as well on social media…this is what we wanted to create,” says Zake. Interestingly, the second-screen interaction on the show was not just limited to audience feedback, as all casting for Down for the Guap was done using social media.
“Contestants were found via Instagram,” explains Zake. “We were looking for vibrant 20-somethings, who wanted to win R10 000. To enter contestants had to send their submission to the show using Instagram where they had to explain why they deserve the money.” Zake says that entries were received from young people wanting to fund everything from their driver’s license to Cape Town holidays, while some just wanted a little extra cash for an extravagant night out. “A lot of the contestants were in university – so they were just trying to have some fun,” he says.
Production on Down for the Guap took a total of three months with all episodes shot in downtown Johannesburg – from Maboneng Precinct to Wits University and Melville to showcase the splendid urban landscapes that Johannesburg has to offer and keep with the urban theme.
Commenting on the show’s SAFTA award win for Best Game Show, Zake says: “The great thing about the SAFTAs is that the panel of judges have been in the industry for a long time, I think it was interesting for us to see the outcome because the show was so different from the other contenders in the category… I think it won because Down for the Guap is just about pure entertainment and fun. It allows you to watch TV and not think about the day you’ve had. I think that’s what the judges saw.”
