What is “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”?
A: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is an American television game show
adapted from the same-titled British program.
Who created the British program?
A: David Briggs, Steven Knight and Mike Whitehill.
Who developed it for the United States?
A: Michael Davies.
The show features a quiz competition with contestants
attempting to win a top prize of what?
A: $1,000,000 by answering a series of multiple-choice questions, usually
of increasing difficulty.
When did the original U.S. version premiere?
A: On August 16, 1999, on ABC, as part of a two-week daily special event
hosted by Regis Philbin.
After this and a second two-week event aired in
November 1999, ABC commissioned a regular series that launched when?
A: On January 18, 2000, and ran until June 27, 2002.
Philbin hosted the entire run of the original network
series as well as what?
A: Two additional special event series that aired on ABC in 2004 and 2009.
A daily version of Millionaire produced for syndication
began airing when?
A: On September 16, 2002, and was initially hosted by Meredith Vieira.
When did Cedric the Entertainer take over the show?
A: In 2013 following Vieira's departure, with Terry Crews replacing him in
2014.
Who was the syndicated series' final host?
A: Chris Harrison, who took over from Crews in
2015 and hosted until the
show was cancelled, with the finale airing on May 31,
2019.
On January 8, 2020, seven months after the cancellation
was announced, ABC renewed the show for what?
A: A twenty-first season, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel (who is also a co-executive
producer of the show) with celebrity contestants.
When did the twenty-first season premiere?
A: On April 8, 2020, and its success led to the show being renewed for
another season.
The show has had numerous format and gameplay changes
over its runtime and, since its debut, how many contestants have answered
all questions correctly and won the top prize?
A: Twelve.
As the first U.S. network game show to offer a
million-dollar top prize, the show made television history by becoming what?
A: One of the highest-rated game shows in the history of U.S. television.
The U.S. Millionaire won how many Daytime Emmy Awards?
A: Seven.
TV Guide ranked it where in its 2013 list of the 60 greatest game shows
of all time?
A: No. 6.
At its core, the game is a quiz competition in which
the goal is to correctly answer a series of fifteen (14 from
2010 to 2019)
consecutive what?
A: Multiple-choice questions.
Each question is worth a specific amount of money; the
amounts are not what?
A: Cumulative.
If at any time the contestant gives a wrong answer, the
game is over and the contestant's winnings are reduced to $0 for tier-one
questions, $1,000 for tier-two questions, and how much for tier-three
questions?
A: $32,000.
However, the contestant may choose to walk away after
being presented with a question, allowing them to do what?
A: To keep all the money they have won to that point.
With the exception of the shuffle format, upon
correctly answering questions five and ten, contestants are guaranteed what?
A: At least the amount of prize money associated with that level.
Contestants giving an incorrect answer see their
winnings drop down to what?
A: The last milestone achieved.
Since 2015 in the syndicated version, contestants
answering a question incorrectly before reaching the fifth question, leave
with how much?
A: $1,000, even on the first question that is worth only $500.
For celebrities, the minimum guarantee for their
nominated charities is how much?
A: $10,000.
