M6 launches its summer treasure hunt. From this Monday, at 6.40 p.m., “La Route des Coffres” will see three pairs set off in motorhomes on the French national and departmental roads to try to win, at each stage, up to 3,000 euros (in total, 100,000 euros are put into play). “There are quizzes, games of skill, puzzles, it’s a roaming board game,” summarizes host Stéphane Rotenberg.
“We opted for the mechanics of the champion: as long as we win, we come back to the next episode”, adds David Warren, producer at Studio 89. . To keep his place in the adventure, he must face, during a final test, two new competitors wishing to integrate the competition.
Looking at the first episode, 20 minutes has been able to watch, the dramaturgy is less focused on suspense than on a good-natured state of mind, no doubt more conducive to broadcasting in access prime time. “In the beginning, the money doesn’t have much meaning for the candidates. It’s abstract. They first think about playing. When we approach the end and some motorhomes are full of tens of thousands of euros, it becomes more concrete and things change, warns Stéphane Rotenberg. There is additional tension in the August episodes. This dimension of the jackpot, as old as TV games, still works very well. »
“The French love to discover their land”
For production, The Route of Chests is also an opportunity to “show a France that is a little different from the one we usually see”. “We do not appear as a cultural or discovery program but we learn things implicitly”, specifies the host. And to add: “The regions were very happy to welcome us each time. People are proud of their places, of their heritage. The French love to show off their land. »
The quizzes and tests are largely inspired by local specificities. For the first, in Provence, the candidates have the mission of… counting wallabies in an enclosure of the Animal Park of La Barben. “Local does not mean tradition. it was interesting to sometimes be surprised or out of step,” emphasizes Stéphane Rotenberg.
David Warren, gives the example of a next stage, in Nyons (Drôme): “They have an olive pit spitting contest over there. So we wanted to have fun with it. The idea is to keep it simple, with accessible rules. “My nephews and nieces love to be inspired by games like Beijing Express Or Koh Lanta to play together, says the producer. We wanted to offer a bouquet garni of games that people could repeat at home. »