Sleuth 101: re-inventing the game show genre

The creators of Spicks and Specks are back with a new offering that combines murder mystery, comedy and game show. Encore joined them in Melbourne to discuss their new format, Sleuth 101.

Comedians are known for their analytical skills, which help them make the poignant and witty observations people pay them to hear. But that doesn’t necessarily make them the first people you’d call to solve a murder mystery, unless you’re on the ABC’s new Friday night show, Sleuth 101.

The concept was created by series producer Anthony Watt and executive producer Bruce Kane for Mayhem TV. Watt and Kane worked on the ABC’s successful music quiz show Spicks and Specks, and noticed the emergence of similar programs, featuring panels and people sitting down. They realised there was a need for something a little more ‘physical’ and decided to go beyond a traditional game show by incorporating a scripted narrative portion to its structure, as well as an element of improvisation.

“I was always a fan of mystery, so a whodunit kind of show suggested itself and we thought, how can we turn that into a game show?” said Watt.