Blog du Wren

The Chase

(SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't watched the episode and want to be surprised, I encourage you to go watch before reading this post. It's available on Hulu (Season 3, episode 3).)

In what is becoming a bit of a habit, I was recently a contestant on a TV game show, this time one called The Chase. The show is in its 3rd season on ABC primetime (after a 4 season run on Game Show Network). Following the model of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire (which, of course, I was also on), the original version was British and there have been over a dozen international versions. If you haven't seen the show, it is worth checking out (and not only because yours truly makes more than a brief appearance.) But I digress...

We taped the show in LA in March. They flew me down, put me up (in a nice hotel!), and facilitated all transportation while I was there (I was even picked up by a fancy complete with sign and everything!) Taping was a veritable rollercoaster, with excitement, doubt, frustration, amazement, nervousness, and more...and that was even before I got on set! While my contract precludes me from saying too much about taping, I can say that it was 1) really impressive (such an amazing , so much going on, and very professional environment) 2) really fun (I had a super and team, the was amazing*, and it really felt like a success just being there), and 3) crazy nerve-racking (if you've watched, you know the half of it. I'll have to tell you the other half in person.) Overall, it was a super fun experience.

The other really fun part, of course, was when the episode aired. We had a nice little watch party at my house where I got to tell behind the scenes stuff, answer questions, and relive the excitement. And since I was seeing it for the first time along with everyone else, there was all sorts of fun in that. There were parts I barely remembered from the taping, since I was so nervous. And I'm extremely pleased with how the editors made me look somewhat normal and fun. I was really worried that I might come across either crazy or overly-nervous. Yes, there was a cringe-worthy moment or two and definitely some questions that I probably should have gotten right, but again, overall, I'm really pleased with how the edit turned out. How the ending turned out, well that's a different story.

Besides watching the episode with friends, it was really neat to hear about others watching it. I loved how people and me on to include me in their experiences. Then there were commenting on (for the most part, surprisingly positive!) I'm realizing that this element of the experience was equally enjoyable as the taping—something about connecting with my larger community and feeling support from them as they cheer me on.

A few random things:

I love that they included my juggling (albeit in a small way). It's a pretty dang good promo pic to have!
For the taping, I wore my special socks from Della (which read "pretty decent boyfriend") under my dress socks to have her there with me. She was very much a part of my other two game show appearances and I so wished she was there by my side.
I lucked out by being featured in the ad for the season premiere! A couple friends saw it air in the wild* and it even showed up on my instagram feed*!
The Chase contacted me to apply which felt pretty special. I was walking the Camino at the time so did my interviews and zooms from albergues in the evening after walking 20 miles!
An image of me was also featured in the promotional tweet for the episode, which was really neat!

This being my third TV game show appearance, it was interesting to have the points of comparison. While all three experiences were fun, I would perhaps place this the most fun, which is odd being that it was the least lucrative. Maybe it was because I was more relaxed or because I had managed my expectations better. Maybe the perspective of the previous two helped. Who knows? And while of course I wanted to win, I'm surprisingly okay with the somewhat devastating ending. I got another entry in my TV/Film resume, a really fun experience, and another great story to tell. Thank you to The Chase for allowing me to be a part, Scott and Jill for being awesome teammates, and you, dear readers.

Now for a few more screenshots!

Friday May 20 2022

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on Thu 26th May, 2022 04:33 pm CDT Horge said:
That's very cool (and I agree very special that they asked you to apply, and then featured you in their promos).
I have to say though, that it was a bit too much of a tease seeing you in the first photo with a coat and tie, but the desk hiding your legs. I was REALLY hoping that you were sporting some shorts with that coat and tie (a la "Business up top, party down below, but not in any kind of an innuendo-kinda way, dude"). At least I'm glad you got some juggling in there - despite the dapper suit, I'm glad to see it's still juggling Wren underneath it.
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on Thu 26th May, 2022 04:35 pm CDT Horge said:
Unfortunately I can't watch Hulu here, so may have to wait to switch countries where it's not blocked. Also on the last image just noticed that you were up against 2 Chicagoans - just a coincidence, right?
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on Wed 15th Jun, 2022 09:51 am CDT Horge en Lanzarote said:
Finally got a chance to see it. Sooo close! Glad that you did well enough yourself in the Qs, audibly cheerful/supportive and most importantly seemed to be enjoying yourself! Which shows is next? Keep aiming for Jeopardy!
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