As depicted in 1994’s Quiz Show, a series of cheating scandals damaged TV game shows in the 1950s. For a more recent version of a similar transgression in the UK, we go to 2020’s three-part TV mini-series Quiz.

In the late 1990s, the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? becomes a smash hit in England. At the urging of his family, British Army Major Charles Ingram (Matthew Macfadyen) competes for the £1 million prize.

After a difficult initial appearance, Charles gets into a groove and seems to steamroll his way toward the winnings. However, eventually the appearance that Charles succeeded due to underhanded tactics emerges and threatens his payday.

At its start, Quiz offers a fairly cheeky take on the topic. We get a lot of understated comedy as the series digs into the creation of Millionaire as well as the quirky Ingram family.

This allows Quiz to zip through its first two episodes. Fresh and fun, we dig into events that lead through Charles’ victory in a lively manner.

Matters shift when Charles gets accused of a crime, and the third episode seems darker. This doesn’t mean Quiz suddenly becomes a different series, though, as director Stephen Frears manages the change smoothly.

The last episode spends much of its time in the courtroom, though we also get a strong glimpse of how the scandal impacts the Ingram family. We see the ugly ways the public pre-judged the Ingrams.

Along with the depiction of the trial, these components allow a more serious vibe to emerge, and it works. It also helps that Quiz doesn’t really favor either side of the events.

Did Charles cheat? I won’t offer spoilers – even though Quiz follows real life events, I suspect many viewers will enter without foreknowledge, so I don’t want to ruin that.

I will say Quiz offers compelling arguments on both sides. We get plenty of reasons to believe Charles gamed the system as well as many to think he didn’t.

Even though we get the real-life verdict, Quiz will leave the viewer with questions – as it should. At least as depicted here, Charles’ guilt seems questionable, so I appreciate that the movie allows viewers to make up their own minds.

It helps that we crank through the series’ 152 minutes at a brisk pace and never feel a hint of boredom. Frears keeps us actively engaged in the tale from start to finish.

The actors help as well, especially in the case of Macfadyen. His Charles starts as a bit of a goof but evolves into a more complete human as the episodes progress, and Macfadyen evolves the character in a believable manner.

All of this leaves us with a pretty terrific little mini-series. Quiz balances comedy and drama well to turn into a delight.

Quiz appears in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect solid visuals here.

Sharpness worked fine. Only minor softness emerged along the way via some interiors, but the episodes largely appeared accurate and concise.

Neither jaggies nor moiré effects marred the presentation. Edge haloes remained absent, and I saw no sign of source flaws.

Colors leaned toward a mild amber and teal vibe, though these didn’t rise to an oppressive level. As painted here, the hues seemed appropriately rendered.

Blacks looked dark and tight, while shadows felt smooth. I felt totally pleased with the series’ picture quality.

I didn’t anticipate sonic fireworks from the DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio of Quiz, and the end result came as expected. Largely a character-based tale, the soundscape remained pretty low-key.

That meant a general sense of environment and a good musical presence. I’d feel hard-pressed to find anything here that stood out as memorable, but the soundfield seemed appropriate for the story at hand.

Audio quality worked fine, with speech that appeared crisp and distinctive. Music appeared full and rich.

Effects lacked much to impress, but those elements came across as accurate and tight. While never an exciting mix, the track worked fine for the material.

In terms of extras, we get four short featurettes. These include “A Look At the Series” (2:13), “Constructing the Set” (2:06), “Michael Sheen Is Chris Tarrant” (4:20) and “Introducing Charles and Diana Ingram” (4:45).

“Set” provides a time-lapse look at the assembly of the location. Across the others, we hear from actors Michael Sheen, Sian Clifford, Helen McCrory, and Matthew Macfadyen.

The clips examine story/characters, the Millionaire TV show, cast and performances. We get a smattering of insights but these reels tend to feel superficial.

A major scandal in the UK become the focus of Quiz. It brings a peppy and engaging drama that digs into the subject matter in a consistently dynamic manner. The Blu-ray comes with very good visuals and appropriate audio but it skimps on bonus materials. This winds up as a really lively exploration of events.