Fox’s The Quiz With Balls isn’t your typical game show. It’s part trivia, part wipeout, and 100% chaos. Picture two teams of five, answering multiple-choice questions while standing in front of giant yellow balls. Get the answer wrong and boom, you’re launched into a pool like a human pinball. All of it plays out for a $100,000 prize and, honestly, some priceless TV moments.
The show was filmed in Melbourne, Australia, inside Dockland Studios, where they had enough space to build the massive set filled with water, platforms, and those big cartoonish balls. The production only took about a week in early 2024, but the setup was so technical that it needed top-notch crews to pull it off safely. Hosting the madness is comedian Jay Pharoah, who keeps the energy high while contestants fly into the water.
Premiering on May 28, 2024, The Quiz With Balls proves that trivia can be just as physical as it is mental, and sometimes, the funniest answer is a splash.
Details on The Quiz With Balls’ filming explored
The Quiz With Balls picked Melbourne as its home base, and honestly, it was the perfect fit. Australia’s already known for pulling off big TV projects, and Dockland Studios Melbourne, smack in the Docklands district at 476 Docklands Drive, has everything the show needed. Think six giant sound stages (over 10,000 square meters of space) plus all the extras like offices, dressing rooms, makeup areas, and storage. They even had mess halls, workshops, and special water facilities, which were pretty important when your show involves contestants being blasted into pools by oversized yellow balls.
The wildest part was that the whole first season of The Quiz With Balls was shot in just one week, January 30 to February 5, 2024. That meant crews had to run a super-tight, down-to-the-minute schedule where every department worked in sync. Pulling off something that fast while building a set this bonkers wasn’t easy, but Melbourne made it happen. It wasn’t just about making a game show. It was about proving the city can handle high-stakes, high-splash TV magic.
The concentrated schedule allowed The Quiz With Balls producers to maintain consistent set conditions and crew availability throughout filming. Weather independence provided by the indoor studio environment eliminated potential delays from external factors.
Melbourne's experienced television production workforce facilitated the rapid filming pace, with local crews familiar with similar game show formats and technical requirements. The show's elaborate set required significant construction within one of Dockland Studios' sound stages. Engineers designed platforms, ball mechanisms, and water systems to ensure contestant safety while maintaining entertainment value.
Technical teams installed precise ball release mechanisms synchronized with answer selections. Water pool systems required careful engineering to manage splashing and contestant safety protocols. The set's scale demanded substantial studio space, with multiple team stations, host areas, and camera positions integrated into a cohesive design.
Dockland Studios Melbourne has hosted numerous high-profile Australian productions, establishing its reputation as a premium facility. Previous shows filmed there include MasterChef Australia, The Masked Singer Australia, and The Bachelor Australia.
The studio's track record with game shows and reality television made it an obvious choice for The Quiz With Balls production. Experience with water-based elements from other productions provided valuable expertise. Australia's Got Talent and Blow Up represent additional successful productions that utilized the facility's capabilities, demonstrating its versatility across different television formats.
What were the benefits of international production?
Australia's film-friendly policies and experienced crew base attract international productions seeking high-quality facilities at competitive rates. The Quiz With Balls represents this trend of American shows utilizing Australian infrastructure.
Melbourne's timezone advantages allow efficient communication with American networks during post-production phases. The city's reputation for delivering professional results on schedule and budget appeals to international producers. One big reason The Quiz With Balls worked so smoothly in Australia is that Melbourne has all the fancy tech and English-speaking crews, which means no mix-ups or lost-in-translation moments on set. Filming wrapped up in just a few weeks between January and February, leaving plenty of time to polish the chaos in post-production before the May 28, 2024, premiere on Fox.
The tight schedule actually worked in their favor. It kept things efficient while giving editors space to cut together the splashes, laughs, and near misses. Choosing Melbourne turned out to be a win-win: Fox got the quirky, high-energy game show it wanted, and Australia got another chance to show off why it’s becoming a go-to spot for big international TV productions. In short, the city didn’t just host a game show. It proved it can handle just about anything television throws its way, even giant yellow balls.
You can watch The Quiz With Balls on Fox.