Rise and Fall is a British reality television series broadcast on Channel 4, which premiered on 19 March 2023 and was hosted by Greg James.
Sixteen contestants divided themselves into the "Rulers" and the "Grafters". While the Rulers lived in a luxury penthouse making the decisions, the Grafters lived in the basement, carrying out tasks to win money for the prize pot. In each episode, the Rulers voted on one of their number to be eliminated from the game and one (or more) of the Grafters had a chance to move up to the penthouse to join them. The winner was chosen from the Rulers at the end of the series to win the prize pot of up to £100,000.[2]
The first episode was broadcast at 9pm on Sunday 19 March 2023;[3] subsequently episodes were broadcast at 10pm on weekday evenings before being available for streaming on All 4.[2]
Sixteen contestants arrive at a building in central London and, after briefly getting to know one another, have to decide amongst themselves who becomes a "Ruler" and who remains as a "Grafter".[4] Rulers take the lift to a luxury penthouse, while the Grafters remain in the no-frills basement. The series winner will be eventually chosen from the Rulers to win the prize pot of up to £100,000.
The Rulers are responsible for making decisions about how to get the best from the Grafters, who complete tasks to make money for the prize pot. Two Rulers also face an additional challenge to pick four Grafters to do overtime, motivating their teams by each setting a production target in the overtime task.[5]
At the end of each second episode, the Rulers have to vote on which ruler leaves the game. One or more of the Grafters then has a chance to join the Rulers and move to the penthouse. New "Grafters" regularly join the Basement as the series goes on, to make up the numbers.
Channel 4 ordered Rise and Fall from production company, Studio Lambert, in August 2022.[1] An application was made in November 2022 to film the series at Southbank Tower in central London, but filming eventually took place in London's 1927 55 Broadway tower.[6]
Presenter Greg James made a telephone call to The Traitors' presenter, Claudia Winkleman, for advice about how to approach the presentation of the series.[7]
During the series, contestants were filmed 24 hours a day.[7]
The soundtrack for the series was composed by Patrizio Knight, who had previously worked on Studio Lambert franchise The Circle.[8] Voice-over artist Emma Clarke provided the voice of The Lift.[9]
In June 2023 Channel 4 announced they were considering axing a second series, citing the cost of filming, mistakes made filming with a fast turnaround and the show's lack of success in comparison with BBC's The Traitors.[10] This was confirmed in January 2024.[11]
Sixteen contestants initially entered the building:[2][3]
Ali left in episode 1, after finding out he was to become a Grafter.[17]
Joanna left the show in episode 9 on medical grounds, after suffering a trapped nerve in her arm.[16]
Ramona, who had been the first Ruler to be voted out of the game in the first few days of the show, re-entered the game as a Grafter in episode 9.[18]
In episode 13, after walking away from the show, Connor rejoined the show as a Grafter the morning after his departure.[19]
Joas was ejected from the show in episode 14, after throwing a glass of water over Sophie during an argument.[16]
Six episodes were broadcast in the first week Sunday 19 March to Friday 24 March. These would be followed by four shows a week, at 10pm Monday to Thursday, for a further three weeks;[20] there will be 18 episodes in total.[21]
The final would be broadcast on Thursday 13 April.[16]
For the final, all the previous eliminated Rulers returned to the programme to take part with the remaining Grafters.[22]
Six rulers were in the penthouse for the final: Ramona, Rossi, Eddy, Moses, Sydney and Matt. Rossi was the first to lose his place, following a task which involved the other contestants becoming 'bricklayers'.[23] Each ruler chose someone to work for them, filling six boxes with coloured bricks. Rossi lost by one brick.[24]
The remaining five rulers gradually eliminated one another from the game. Ramona was voted out next, but in a surprise twist found she had the power to vote out the next Ruler. She chose Moses, who was then given the power to choose who came third. He chose Matt.[24] Eddy and Sydney were left as the final two. Ramona, Moses and Matt had to decide between them who deserved to be the winner. They chose Eddy, who walked away with the £85,610 prize pot.[23]
Votes took place amongst the Rulers in every other episode, to decide which one of them would leave the game.
Key
Notes
The Guardian reviewer described the series as "The Apprentice Traitors Big Brother" and gave 3 out of 5 stars, concluding that "so far there are no revealing interactions between the proles and the blinged-up bosses, nothing to compete with the psychological subtlety and strain of The Traitors’ extended bluffs. Beneath that shiny veneer of newness is an old-fashioned, backstabbing bunfight between unlikable people – entertaining, yes, but business as usual."[26]
The reviewer from The Telegraph described Rise and Fall as "The Traitors’ garish little cousin", adding that "contestants in the The Traitors had to do mean things but it was always just a game; here, you suspect that some of them just aren’t very nice people." The Telegraph gave the show 2 out of 5 marks.[27]
The Lancashire Post concluded that Rise and Fall was "not immediately gripping, but as time goes by the dynamic becomes more and more fascinating, and especially after this week, you can’t help hoping for a revolution".[28]
At the end of the first week, The Observer described Rise and Fall as trying to be "a primetime TV treatise on capitalism and power". It criticised it for too many of the contestants being "hyper-camera-aware wannabes" and the tasks as "Torture TV" that would put off families from watching.[29]
After the end of the second week, The Tab highlighted the lack of diversity amongst the Rulers, suggesting that 'unconscious bias' was having an effect. All four ethnic minority rulers had been voted out, followed by the remaining two women, leaving all six rulers as white men. The Tab concluded that "the show right now has a real problem and looks questionable".[30]
It was revealed in July 2023 that TVN Warner Bros. Discovery Group had obtained the rights to the Rise and Fall format[31] and Constantin Entertainment Polska had begun looking for contestants for a Polish version of the show, called Na szczyt (meaning To the Top).[32]