‘Jeopardy!’ greats try villainous personas for ‘The Chase’

“The Chase“is on.

Like “Jeopardy!” where Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter dominated, earning their spots on the quiz show’s Hall of Fame, ABC’s new game show required the brainiacs to flex their intellect. But the series, debuting at 8 p.m. Thursday, also asked for a little bit of savagery.

Holzhauer, Rutter and Jennings, who triumphed over his fellow “Jeopardy!” legends in a tournament, will take turns performing the role of the Chaser, a role the network describes as “a ruthless quiz genius determined to stop them from winning cash prizes.”

First, individual contestants build a cash pile, answering as many questions as they can in one minute, with each correct answer worth $25,000. Then he/she goes head-to-head against the Chaser, answering multiple choice questions with hopes of securing the money for the final round when team members unite. If team members can answer enough questions in two minutes to elude the Chaser in the final round, the combined cash pot is divided among the team equally.

The show is hosted by Sara Haines, a personality on ABC’s “The View.”

A British version of “The Chase” premiered in 2009. An earlier American

adaptation of the series debuted in 2013 on Game Show Network.

For Jennings’ intimidating Chaser persona, he borrowed a certain Springfield Nuclear Power Plant owner’s signature finger steepling.

“That’s straight up Mr. Burns,” says Jennings, raising his hands to make the motion. “He’s taught me everything I know about evil.”

For Holzhauer, being the Chaser is an ideal role.

“I grew up kind of dreaming of being either the evil pro wrestling character who denies the patriotic American his title belt, or a ‘Jeopardy!’ champion,” he says. “This is kind of like the amalgamation of both of those things.”

Haines says out of the three, Holzhauer was “the only successful villain.”

“These guys, they have a very deliberate victory style and although they talk big, they do let people down lightly,” she says. “They do not revel.”

“James revels in all of it,” she says.

BATZDORFF/ABC RON “Jeopardy!” legends James Holzhauer, from left, Ken Jennings (with Mr. Burns hands) and Brad Rutter appear on ABC’s new game show, “The Chase.”