(ABC/John Fleenor)
You may want to “phone a friend” with this news. ABC has decided against ordering a third season of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire TV show, at least for now.
A revival of the long-running primetime and syndicated quiz show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is hosted by late night’s Jimmy Kimmel. As in the original versions, contestants try to answer multiple-choice trivia questions for ascending amounts of money, with the hopes of winning the million-dollar prize. Players can take advantage of lifelines to help them answer questions and get further in the game. In this version, the lifelines are “Ask the Host” (replacing “Ask the Audience”), “50/50”, and “Phone a Friend”. Contestants can also invite an expert guest (anyone of their choosing) to help them answer questions. In the second season, the contestants are celebrities (playing for charities), frontline heroes, and others affected by COVID-19. Celebrity contestants include Tiffany Haddish, Joel McHale, and Julie Bowen.
The second season of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire averaged a 0.46 rating in the 18-49 demographic and 3.15 million viewers. Compared to season one, that’s down by 44% in the demo and down by 45% in viewership. It was one of the network’s lower-rated unscripted series of the regular 2020-21 season.
Deadline reports that the door is being left open to bring the series back at some point but truly, the end result is the same as a cancellation. Any series, particularly an unscripted one, could be revived. For now, there won’t be any new episodes.
What do you think? Did you enjoy the latest primetime incarnation of the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire game show? Would you have watched season three? Are you hoping it does return someday?