The title says it all! Comic Jay Pharoah is back to host Season 2 of The Quiz With Balls, a goofy game show in which family teams of five take to a platform high above a pool to answer multiple-choice questions. If they’re right, the giant yellow balls positioned above and behind them are released but stop before bumping the contestants off. If they’re wrong? Into the drink the players go. “Merging quiz knowledge and somebody getting knocked into the water — you can’t really go wrong there!” says Pharoah. Here, he answers our questions about the next round.
What’s new in Season 2?
Jay Pharoah: We added “Do or Die,” an all-or-nothing round where you have to get everything right in order to get an extra $10,000 added to your score. It’s a chance for the teams who are falling behind to gain money and catch up.
Were there any upgrades to the balls?
We’ve got gold ones now, so in the finals round, there are golden Pac-Men that you can look forward to seeing.
Fox
The contestants last season were a hoot. Can you tease what families we’ll see this year?
Man, there was so many. There’s a couple of families who were heavily Christian, you’ve got teams that like hockey. Everybody has a lot of personality this season.
Will there be themed episodes again?
We’ve got New York vs. New Jersey and a battle of the barbecue with Texas vs. North Carolina.
New Yorkers vs. Jerseyans must have been wild.
[Laughs] Yeah, a lot of talking! My head was hurting after that episode. But they were all sweet.
Are you ever surprised by how wrong some players can be when they’re answering these questions?
You know what? Sometimes in a championship round, you’re just expecting somebody to know the answer, and they get it wrong! You’re like, “What’s going on?” If I know it, they should know it. [Laughs]
If you could pick your own celebrity team, who would you want on it?
Katt Williams, Terrence Howard, Jeff Bezos, and probably Mike Tyson…he knows a lot. But if he gets knocked in the water, that would be hilarious.
The Quiz With Balls, Season Premiere Monday, June 2, 9/8c, Fox