Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (American game show)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (sometimes called Millionaire) is an American quiz show based on the British show of the same name. One can win up to one million United States dollars ($1,000,000) on the show for answering fourteen (or fifteen in older versions) multiple choice trivia questions in a row.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire
Genre	Game show
Created by	David Briggs Mike Whitehill Steven Knight
Directed by	Mark Gentile (1999–2002) Matthew Cohen (2002–2010) Rob George (2010–2013) Brian McAloon (2013–present)
Presented by	Regis Philbin (ABC versions; 1999–2002, 2004, 2009) Meredith Vieira (syndicated version; 2002–2013) Cedric the Entertainer (syndicated version; 2013-2014) Terry Crews (syndicated version; 2014-2015) Chris Harrison (syndicated version; 2015-2019) Jimmy Kimmel (2020-present)
Composers	Keith Strachan (1999–2010) Matthew Strachan (1999–2010) Jeff Lippencott (2010–present) Mark T. Williams (2010–present)
Country of origin	United States
No. of seasons	19 (3 on ABC, 16 in syndication)
No. of episodes	ABC (Original): 363 Syndicated: 2,655 (as of October 6, 2017) ABC (Super Millionaire): 12 ABC (10th Anniversary Special): 11 Total: 3,018
Production
Executive producers	Michael Davies (1999–2010) Paul Smith (1999–2007) Leigh Hampton (2004–2010) Rich Sirop (2010–present)
Running time	39–48 minutes (ABC) 22–26 minutes (Syndicated)
Production companies	Valleycrest Productions (1999–present) Celador (1999–2007) 2waytraffic (2007–present)
Original release
Network	ABC (1999–2002, 2004, 2009) Syndication (2002–present)
Release	ABC August 16, 1999 (1999-08-16) – June 27, 2002 (2002-06-27) Syndication September 16, 2002 (2002-09-16) – May 31, 2019 (2019-05-31)

The first version of the show was hosted by Regis Philbin and it aired on primetime on ABC. It aired from August 16, 1999 to June 27, 2002. The current syndicated version started airing on September 16, 2002. Meredith Vieira hosted it for eleven seasons, leaving to work on other projects. Cedric the Entertainer was signed up to be the next host, and episodes with Cedric started in September 2013. Cedric announced on April 30, 2014 that he would not return for a second season because of his busy schedule. Terry Crews was signed up to be the next host, and episodes with he started in September 2014. Terry announced then that he would not return for another season because of his busy schedule. Chris Harrison was signed up to be the next host, and episodes with him started in September 2015. Harrison remained on the show until its cancellation in May 2019.

The format of the show has changed several times since the show has been on the air. The original format featured fifteen multiple choice questions that got harder as a player continued, and the money amounts got higher. Starting in 2008, the show started using a clock and contestants were timed. If time ran out, they were forced to walk away with the last prize amount they won. The format changed again in 2010 where the first ten questions had random money amounts and difficulty. The second round is then similar to the older Millionaire shows. There are only fourteen questions in this version.

The format was changed back in 2015, the format featured fourteen multiple choice questions that got harder as a player continued, the money amounts got higher, the first 10 question amounts are no longer randomized.

On January 8, 2020, ABC renewed the show for a 21st season, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. The new season premiered April 8, 2020 and its success led to the show being renewed for further seasons.

Other websites

• Official website
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US – 1999–2002) on IMDb
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at TV.com
• Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (US – current) on IMDb
• Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire (US) on IMDb