"So, we have every celebrity that is going to be a part of the show? We need to go through each of them, take a few mock tests and ask them to study a bit or they won't be able to answer any of the questions."
In a meeting room, the man with the bushy beard — The Producer who had met Wade was heading the meeting that was called to ensure that everything went well.
As they were going to deal with celebrities, it was best if they could have meaningful conversations. The audience would like anyone entertaining, so they were marking down people who they felt could be the ones they could focus on.
The program team couldn't afford to mess this up after all.
"I think out of all them, Rake is the most educated among all of them. He has a master's degree from Harvard, and I heard he's very smart."
One of the female employees said. Rake was a singer who was doing quite well in recent years and was trying to break into worldwide popularity by collaborating with different artists.
"Yeah, he could be the one to become the main selling point. Let's hope he can have good chemistry with the host."
"Yeah, but the others don't look too good. Liz seems like a good character, and she's pretty, and Rapper Lil Dog is a podcaster on the side, so he might do well on the game. Oh, yeah, Aiden Silvereye too. He seems to have a pretty sophisticated and cool personality from what we have about him, but the rest look pretty weak."
Everyone nodded at those words, and a few people sighed. There was a perception that a lot of celebrities were dumb because of saying things that they don't know a lot about due to trends or just because it's a prevalent issue.
Although the program team had tried to bring in smart people, a lot of them weren't free. They also weren't able to go for top-rated celebrities due to schedule and if they actually did it, the attention of the whole show would be on one person.
They didn't want that.
Those that they gathered were people from all sorts of professions: Singer, Actor, Rapper, Model and even Comedians. Due to the diverse cast, the program team didn't know who would do well among these.
"It's fine if others are weak. We just need a few smart guys. Not like everyone would reach the main game."
The producer again opened his mouth and seeing that the attention was back on him, he continued.
"Just make sure that the celebrities are well behaved and don't go around throwing tantrums. At the same time, try to get them to cooperate with each other. It's going to be embarrassing if some of them made it to the main game and weren't able to earn a lot."
"Won't it be better if they mess up? They are going to get trolled and a lot of attention will come to our show. Internet is vicious after all."
The producer shook his head at that comment.
"It might give momentary interest from the public but it's going to die down as soon as something else more interesting comes up. Moreover, these types of things only blow up after the program ends."
By his words, it was clear that he wanted to give a good program to the viewers watching the show. He didn't want to rely on something like devil's editing or waiting for the celebrities to make a fool of themselves.
"I want good episodes. No matter how, make sure that this week, our program is a big hit. Find a person among the celebrities that could truly get our ratings up!"
***
After deciding that Aiden was going to be a part of 'The Million Dollar Game', Wade quickly handled everything and talked to the crew about it. They were fine with it as the shooting of the reality show was going to just take two days.
Phineas even told him to go for a million dollars, so the focus of the audience would be on him going into the release of [Sherlock of the Shadows]. Of course, he was not serious and even Aiden knew that he realistically won't be able to answer every question successfully.
But he had the Lucky coupons that he was excited to try.
If he used them, then for the next hour, he would be extremely lucky and Aiden wanted to test them.
Though, he had decided to not use them until he really needed to. As he only had two of them, he needed to be a bit smart.
So, he hopped on a flight and moved to LA where the set of the 'The Million Dollar Game' was.
"You were on X-Star right? So you have some experience of reality TV shows already."
"Yeah, but I have never been to a game show before."
"Don't worry too much. You would do good. Not like we are a live show. Just enjoy the atmosphere and don't hesitate if you make it to the main game."
Aiden nodded at those words. He was currently talking to a tall, distinguished looking man in a suit. He had begun his career as a radio host before entering the TV industry. Aside from being a great host, he had also worked in a few movies and series in small roles.
His name was Nicolas Roberson, the host of 'The Million Dollar Game'. He was an old guy in his 50s who has brown hair and a few wrinkles on his face but he still appeared quite good.
Last Aiden saw of him was when he played an aristocrat in a medieval fantasy series about dragons and the role suited him a lot.
"Anyway, complete your styling. I will go visit the other contestants for today. Let's see each other on the stage."
After saying that, Nicolas left and Wade who was sitting in a corner opened his mouth. Next to him, there were few general knowledge books that Tom had brought for Aiden.
"He looks friendly."
"Yeah, I have heard good things about him. Looks like they aren't off."
Aiden sat down on his seat and the stylists started setting up his hair and doing light makeup on his face, so that he looked the best on the stage. He was casually wearing a white shirt and jeans that looked good on him.
His look would be complete after donning a jacket on top of it. Obviously, all his clothes were sponsored.
"We both know that Nicolas isn't going to cause any problems but I'm worried about the contestants. Wade started speaking as the stylist did his hair. "Other than you, there are a few that have a problematic past. At least rumors."
"I don't think it matters. I'm not competing against anyone other than the qualification round. If I reach the main game, then I would only have to talk to Nicolas."
"Still…"
Wade's voice trailed off and Aiden shook his head.
"Don't worry, I have a good feeling about today. Luck would be in my favour."
***
The shooting of the show soon began. Cameraman panned the cameras on the stage and the lighting crew did their work like the professionals they were. The producers and writers of the game show were backstage, keeping an eye on everything.
Reality TV shows were a lot of work and it was evident by the amount of time a program team had to give to shoot one episode.
Soon, Nicolas Roberson appeared on the stage with the introduction that the audience was already accustomed to.
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to 'The Million Dollar Game'. Tonight, we have some special contestants that will be playing to win a million dollars in spite of a lot of them already being millionaires."
The jibe at the end made a few people in the audience chuckle. Nicolas took a glance at them and saw a few familiar faces working in the Panther TV network.
A lot of the employees get free passes to the live recording.
After that, Nicolas explained the whole segment that the weekend episodes would take and then invited all the celebrities participating today one by one.
His introduction of them was on point and it seemed like the celebrities were also given instructions on how to act but some of them still messed up. Like a comedian accidentally stuttering while speaking to Nicolas due to nervousness.
This was a very small thing but Aiden was sure that it could be edited out in the final edit.
He had first hand knowledge on how reality TV worked and how they could use anything to up their ratings. It was a game of life and death for them.
Aiden's introduction came at the very end.
"Now, for the final person that would be joining us today, it's Aiden Silvereye, a singer and actor that is taking America by storm."
A short and precise statement and Aiden was greeted by a round of applause.
After shaking hands with Nicolas and talking about how he had followed 'The Million Dollar Game' a lot and was grateful to be here, he sat down in a corner seat.
Nicolas turned to face the audience after the introductions finished.
"Now that everyone is here and everything is in place, let's begin 'The Million Dollar Game' and see if these celebrities would be able to go till the end and tell the world that they are worthy to be here."
The sounds of cheers and applause filled with the studio as the reality TV show began.
….
