From Los Angeles to New Orleans to a purpose-built quiz show set at an undisclosed location, Quiz Lady was filmed to evoke a very quintessentially American road trip and, of course, the long-running show Jeopardy!. The comedy starring Sandra Oh, Awkwafina, and Will Ferrell debuted at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, but it didn’t find its way to home viewing until its Hulu debut in November.
The film follows Anna, obsessed with quiz shows, and her devil-may-care and often impetuous sister Jenny, who have to team up to pay off their mother’s gambling debts. However, things become even more complicated when Anna’s beloved dog is kidnapped by the man that mom owes the money to, and the sisters embark on a road trip, intending to turn Anna into the champion of the quiz show Can’t Stop the Quiz. The set of this knock-off game show was built entirely from the ground up.
Where was Quiz Lady filmed?
Los Angeles, California
© Matt Gush/stock.adobe.com
With the narrative of the film exploring the backstory of the sisters, it made sense to film in areas of L.A. where the characters grew up. The story reveals the siblings grew up in Burbank, so in flashbacks we see location work done in and around L.A.
Of course, the road trip means plenty of sun-drenched open road shots too, so for the parts of the story with the girls on the move, there was plenty of footage taken on the roads of California.
Filming in L.A. began on June 7th and ran through to July 22nd.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Credit: Peter Unger/Getty Images
It was reported that filming also took place in New Orleans and the area is no stranger to film crews, with shows such as American Horror Story and NCIS being produced there.
It is also worth noting that the comedy horror Renfield starring Nicholas Cage, Nicholas Hoult, and Awkwafina was also filmed in New Orleans.
Studio Set
Jason Schwartzman and Awkwafina on the purpose-made Can’t Stop the Quiz set.
The film follows Anna on her journey to make the money she needs to pay for her mother’s debts, and to get her dog back, and she ends up on the fictional quiz show Can’t Stop the Quiz, hosted by Will Ferrell. The studio set perfectly captures the feel of a cheesy televised game show and was constructed for the movie, but the exact location of the studio used is unknown.
Who produced Quiz Lady?
It has been widely reported that the film was produced mainly by Will Ferrell’s company Gloria Sanchez Productions. Ferrell also has a role in the movie.
The same company also produced May December, a loose adaptation of a true story coming later this year, as well as Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga on Netflix.
Is Can’t Stop the Quiz a real show?
Can’t Stop the Quiz is not a real show, but it does take its inspiration from one — the popular and long-running U.S. quiz Jeopardy!. Can’t Stop the Quiz is an obvious pastiche, with Will Ferrell providing a somewhat understated turn as the show’s host.
It seems that Ferrell is mimicking the long-time host of the show Alex Trebek, and he would also famously parody the host on the late-night comedy show Saturday Night Live in the late 90s and early 2000s.
RELATED:
