Rise and Fall is reality TV meets Parasite, says Channel 4 boss
Hosted by Greg James, the new reality competition sorts its contestants into the Rulers and the Grafters.
Channel 4's chief content officer has described new competition series Rise and Fall as "a reality version of the movie Parasite" ahead of its Sunday start date.
The reality show, hosted by Greg James, sees 16 ordinary people either placed in a position of power as a Ruler or become powerless as a Grafter, with the latter getting the chance to rise up and win a cash prize.
Speaking to RadioTimes.com and other press ahead of Rise and Fall's release date, Channel 4's chief content officer Ian Katz said that the reality show is one that "Machiavelli would love".
"[Channel 4 is] about trying to find the shows that capture something about the zeitgeist of the country at a particular moment in time and have something sharp to say about the way that we live now.
"And this show, Rise and Fall, is a show about some really age old themes about power, about what people will do to get power, about how they wield it, and about what power does to them."
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He added that the upcoming competition is a "hugely timely and relevant show".
"Because at a time when the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' has never felt wider or more unbridgeable, this is a show rather like a reality version of the movie Parasite that turns on the relationship between the two."
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South Korean black comedy Parasite, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 2020, follows a lower class family living in Seoul whose scheme to work for a wealthy family by posing as highly qualified individuals eventually takes a dark turn.
Produced by the team that created BBC One's hit show The Traitors, Rise and Fall will see the players compete to win £100,000, with the contestants including a trainee nurse, a care home manager, an account manager from one of Britain's oldest aristocratic families, and a member of the Young Conservatives.
Rise and Fall is coming to Channel 4 on Sunday 19th March at 9pm. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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