Duluth family flies to Belgium to film game show episode

Chelsey Moerke’s family is more likely to be spotted around Duluth or Los Angeles than on a studio stage in Belgium, but in February they were flown to Antwerp to film an episode of The Quiz with Balls. Fox 21 promoted the segment as a special broadcast May 4, turning a far-off TV production into a hometown viewing moment for St. Louis County.

The appearance gave the Northland something beyond the usual celebrity-sighting novelty. Moerke’s sister, brother-in-law and nephews are all involved in acting, and the family moved to Los Angeles six years ago to keep looking for acting work and game-show opportunities. When the family needed a plus one for a November taping, Moerke ended up in the mix. She described the experience as nerve-racking and exciting at the same time, a fitting reaction for a competition built around high platform, water and pressure.

The Quiz with Balls is hosted by Jay Pharoah and launched on FOX in 2024. Each episode pits two families against each other for up to $100,000 in what FOX has called a high-stakes quiz show with large-scale physical competition. The format comes from Talpa Studios and centers on a pool-and-ball challenge in which wrong answers can send contestants into the water. Official format materials say each team is made up of five friends, family members or colleagues.

FOX renewed the show for a second season in 2025 after it performed strongly with Adults 18-49, giving the Duluth family’s appearance a larger backdrop than a one-off novelty. The series premiered May 28, 2024, and has become part of FOX’s broader reality competition lineup rather than a short-lived stunt.

For Duluth viewers, the local angle is plain: a family with Northland roots stepped out of ordinary life and into an overseas game show setting where timing, nerves and a little luck mattered as much as trivia. With Fox 21 bringing the episode back to local screens, the story landed as both a hometown curiosity and a reminder that families from St. Louis County can show up far from home in nationally televised competition.