Release the Hounds
| Release the Hounds | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality television |
| Presented by | Reggie Yates |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of series | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 16 |
| Production | |
| Running time |
60 minutes (including commercials) |
| Production company(s) | Gogglebox Entertainment |
| Distributor | Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | ITV2 |
| Picture format | 16:9 |
| Original release | 28 October 2013 – present |
Release the Hounds is a British television show broadcast on ITV2 since October 2013. It is hosted by Reggie Yates and culminates in the participants being chased by dogs in the hope of winning a large cash prize.
Background
Release the Hounds was first broadcast on ITV2 as a one-off Halloween episode on 28 October 2013[1] and repeated on 31 October.[2] Having attracted 658,000 viewers a further six programmes were commissioned in January 2014, to be made by Gogglebox Entertainment in collaboration with Sony Pictures Television.[3]
Filming locations
The show purported to take place in a haunted country estate in the English hills, but was actually filmed at a location next to the A11 near Hemel Hempstead.[4] For the 2015 series (which began its broadcast on 30 September) the filming was transferred to Eastern Europe.[5] The new filming site, in a square mile of Lithuanian forest, was created by Gogglebox Entertainment after similar programmes were commissioned for Sweden, Denmark, Russia, the Netherlands and Lithuania itself.[6] A similar film set was planned for South America to film series for Peru and the USA.[6] The German version was also filmed in the original set near London and premiered on 01 March 2014 on ProSieben.
Format
The show begins with the disclaimer "The producers would like to thank the families of the participants. No dogs were harmed in the documentation of this event".[1] Each contest occurs at night, as three contestants take part in gory and unpleasant challenges[4] to find (or release) a key.
After each successful round, one of the contestants has to run a floodlit course pursued by snarling dogs. They are given a head start, which reduces in length the longer the contestants take to pass each task. The contestant carries a red backpack containing several thousands of GBP, which they keep if they successfully reach the end of the course before the dogs catch them.
Contestants who fail to reach the end of the course before being caught by the dogs appear to be torn apart and killed.[1]
Transmissions
| Title | Episodes | Start Date | End date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Halloween Special | 1 | 28 October 2013 | |
| Series 1 | 6 | 22 September 2014[7] | 27 October 2014 |
| Jingle Hell Christmas Special | 1 | 18 December 2014[8] | |
| Series 2 | 7[9] | 30 September 2015 | 11 November 2015 |
| Halloween Special | 1 | 28 October 2015 | |
| Jingle Hell 2 Christmas Special | 1 | 9 December 2015 | |
- In December 2014, a Christmas Special was broadcast, starring Jordan and Ashley Banjo and Perri Kiely of dance troupe Diversity.[8] The winnings were donated to charity.
- In October 2015, Charlotte Crosby, Pete Bennett and Joey Essex took part in a Halloween special of Release the Hounds.[10] The winnings were donated to charity.
Critical reception
The Guardian described the pilot show as "both great and stupid, which ticks the only television boxes you need to worry about."[1] The South Wales Argus was more scathing, saying the contestants appear "to have been brought down by none other than Lassie" and "the pursuit carries all the fear factor of an Ashleigh and Pudsey routine."[4] The show has both been nominated multiple times at the Broadcast Awards as well as winning awards including Realscreen and most recently Best Entertainment show at the Royal Television Society Awards 2016.
References
- 1 2 3 4 Filipa Jodelka (26 October 2013). "Release The Hounds: ITV's Halloween game show could do with more dogs". theguardian.com. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ↑ Leo Barraclough (22 January 2014). "TV Commissions Full Season of ‘Release the Hounds’". Variety. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ↑ Jamie Harris (23 January 2014). "Release the Hounds gets full series order for ITV2". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- 1 2 3 Maria Williams (26 September 2014). "COUCH POTATO: Release The Hounds has a bark worse than its bite". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 10 October 2015.
- ↑ Rachel Babbage (21 September 2015). "Release the Hounds is returning to ITV2". Digital Spy. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- 1 2 Alex Farber (9 October 2014). "Gogglebox eyes Release The Hounds hub". Broadcast. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ↑ Alexandra Chapman (23 September 2014). "Plebs and Release The Hounds boost ITV2". Broadcast. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- 1 2 Lynn Connolly (18 December 2014). "EXCLUSIVE: BGT winners Diversity tease tonight’s “terrifying” Release the Hounds: Jingle Hell Christmas Special VIDEOS". Unreality TV. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ↑ Peter White (25 March 2015). "ITV2 returns to Release The Hounds". Broadcast. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
- ↑ "Release The Hounds". "ITV Press Centre".