Returning: Mastermind

Mastermind returns to SBS on Monday with host Marc Fennell on a new-look set.

Season Five comprises 85 episodes leading up to a Grand Final on Friday, 9 June (now that’s planning ahead!).

Marc Fennell said: “We may have a new set that looks like I’ve just stepped out of Tron, but the core of the show remains as classic as ever. I love the purity of Mastermind – bloody tough questions, incredible contenders and I get to channel my favourite Bond villains in the quizmaster chair – that ain’t bad either.”

In 85 episodes, a new batch of contenders from across Australia will be challenged by quizmaster and multi-award-winning journalist Marc Fennell in a bid to become Australia’s next Mastermind Champion.

Celebrating 50 years in the UK, and after four successful Australian seasons, the toughest quiz on TV, the ACCTA nominated Mastermind is back. This season, quizmaster Marc Fennell will ask over 14,000 questions to more than 220 contenders. The darkroom and the spotlight remain, and no matter who takes the iconic black chair in the spotlight, the tension is always immense.

Australian contenders are ready to entertain and educate the audience with a diverse range of subjects, from The Life & Works of Henri Vieuxtemps, Hollywood Stars of the 30s, Anne Boleyn, Tori Amos, Greek Mythology, Virginia Woolf, the History of Frisbees, Eurovision, to Back to the Future.

From Monday to Thursday, four contenders per night will face each other for a chance to win through to the weekly final on Friday. In round one, contestants have two minutes to answer as many questions as possible on their specialist subject. In round two, each contender has 90 seconds, this time on general knowledge. The person with the highest combined score for both rounds is declared the winner. Each Friday the weekly finals will see one person advance to the semi-finals and eventually compete against other winners at the end of the season for the prestigious title of Australia’s Mastermind.

Mastermind is a BBC UK format and is produced for SBS by BBC Studios.

Monday 13 February at 6.00pm on SBS.