Wait, Brian Cox wasn’t already a Bond villain? You might ask yourself that question as the new reality competition 007: Road to a Million kicks off.
None of the competitors on 007: Road to a Million (Prime Video) are in the running to be the next James Bond. But while the producers of the legendary film series continue their search for a new 007 to replace Daniel Craig, they’ve authorized this reality competition, which pits nine pairs of players against challenges issued by Brian Cox (Succession‘s Logan Roy) as the kind of omniscient mastermind who might otherwise antagonize Bond on one of the superspy’s missions. On offer is a million pounds in prize money, which they’ll access by answering questions placed at sites spread across the globe. But the specter of answering correctly comes with its own cost. Road to a Million is single elimination, so if you guess wrong there’s no time to die another day.
Opening Shot: With a familiar blast of Bond music fanfare, we open on an aerial shot of a sports car as it winds toward Gravina in southern Italy. The couple driving, Kamara and Josh, next find themselves standing on the picaresque town’s ancient Roman aqueduct. But it’s the looming, modern tower crane before them where their target lies.
The Gist: There’s no centerpiece mansion in Road to a Million, no rose ceremonies, council meetings, or tenuous alliances forged around a champagne bar. Instead, two-person teams of contestants work independently of other players, guided on their quests by “the man” or “the voice” – which is Brian Cox as “The Controller.” In his silk ascot and articulated beard, Cox sits before a control panel with a bank of monitors. And when he phones the contestants, they must follow his cryptic prompts to discover a metal suitcase. (It actually looks more like something Ethan Hunt would be issued in the Mission: Impossible movies, but stay with us.) Inside is his question, which might be an elusive fact from history or include data that must be reasoned out. Get it right, and contestants continue to the next level of the game. Get it wrong, and The Controller strikes their names from his master list.
Early on we meet the Bone brothers, James and Joey from South London, as well as sisters and recent university grads Saiqa and Sana. Married couple Kamara and Josh are in the mix, plus nurses Beth and Jen, the father and son team of James and Sam, retired cops Keith and Nick, and various sets of friends including Grace and Daniela, Tanaka and James, and Danny and Colin. As The Controller says, the players represent “a cross-section of Britain today,” and for the most part they enter the competition with thoughts of comfort zone-challenging adventure and the hook of a life-changing monetary award.
Now, 007: Road to a Million isn’t issuing its contestants Walther PPKs, white tuxedo coats, ball gowns, or Aston Martin DB5s.
